cactus juice

anyone tried this stuff

have some material that might not turn well as it is but this cactus juice might make it possible

it is expensive so i would not want to experiment but i see knife makers using this to stabilize scales for handle making so maybe i could use it for that if not for turning

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Electric Comet
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Graham

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graham

did they mention any brand names

i also read about one called pentacryl

some of it seems a bit over the top and i think the vacuum stuff is minimally useful for forcing the resin into the wood and in one video it looks like they are boiling off the volatile compounds in the resin product

some of the products contain a polymer in a solution of acetone or the like

Reply to
Electric Comet

"Cactus Juice" is the brand name.

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Don't know.

That's probably air coming out. A friend who uses epoxy to impregnate wood, puts the pot of mixed epoxy in a vacuum chamber for a while and it foams up as the air bubbles, that were emplaced during mixing, are forced out.

When the newsletter describing their techniques comes out, I'll provide more info. Graham

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graham

right like the subject but i guess that was the only one discussed

as pressure decreases boiling point goes lower so if it is volatile at room temp it is more so as pressure decreases

but some could be air from mixing

looking for some cross sections of stabilized pieces to see how far resin penetrates

Reply to
Electric Comet

I'm aware of that but in this case I think air coming out is dominant.

One of the presenters made knife handles and in the examples I saw, penetration was at or close to 100% of the porous parts. Incidentally, they also spoke of a much more environmentally and healthy type of epoxy that is much less prone to give allergic reactions. I'll give the name when I get the newsletter.

Graham

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graham

curious how they determined 100 percent

the cactus juice was advertised similarly iirc

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Electric Comet

If you are a member of the AAW, there is an article in the January 2014 (29:1)journal on stabilizing wood with methyl methacrylate, a 2-part resin that is cured by heat. It seems that Cactus Juice might be that as it comes mixed or in 2 parts. Once mixed, it will keep for some months as it needs 200F to cure. Graham

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graham

As it happens, the guy in our club didn't use cactus juice but the following: Godfrey Wing 95-1000A Google it and look at the non-GW sites. It is expensive but if you are into a lot of wood impregnation, or have friends that will split the cost, it might be OK. Graham

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graham

interesting stuff seems overpriced but they are a specialty business and not geared toward consumers

i did a cost benefit analysis and decided that using a two part resin is the way to go

will just use less catalyst to slow setup time

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Electric Comet

Please report back! Graham

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graham

Here is what he said: "The stabilizer he prefers is called Godfrey Wing 95-1000A. It costs about $450 for 5 gallons. The stabilizer consists of 2 parts, but must be heated to set. The stabilizer once mixed can be stored up to 2 years in a fridge until it is used. The purpose of a stabilizer is to take a piece that would normally just fall apart and to cast it into a solid piece. Once cast the piece can be cut, turned, carved, etc. and it will still hold together as one piece."

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graham

amortize the price over the club and sell quarts and price not so bad

their main business seems to be filling voids and gaps in castings which struck me as odd

from my little experience in casting if you had voids and gaps then you did a bad job in setup

maybe they are working at a micro scale though

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Electric Comet

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