I have lots of sugar maple in the form of a stump it is beautifully spalted and burly perfect for carving, but there is a problem. The wood has been left outside far too long. It has become soft and extremely spongy and fragile. I know that there are epoxies and hardeners that can be bought but what I really want to know is which to use, I want to harden it before I work with it so it doesn't fall apart- but I don't want it to be unusable or loose its color due to the hardener. Does anyone have any segestions