Thread: Preserving Cross Sections for Jewelry (Stabilization? Finish?)

Hi guys, this looks like the perfect place to pose my question.

Basically, I have cut several cross sections from several different tree species with a view to making pendants out of them. They are each only about 1.5 center-meters in thickness and about the size of a 50 cent coin in diameter. I have sanded them using fine grain paper so that they are nice and smooth. Some were cut from recently felled branches and are 'green', others are cut from partially dried branches and are already pretty dry.

So the problem is how do I prevent them from splitting and how do I finish them? I heard about PEG and Pentacryl, but these don't seem to be available in Aus. I have also read people talking about using detergent to minimize cracking. I wan't to experiment and see what produces the best results. The idea is to end up with a product which has a nice finish and brings out the growth rings.

Any advice would be really appreciated. And if others are interested, I can share my progress on this site.