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Thread: Starting to stabilise
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22nd December 2017, 08:35 AM #1SENIOR MEMBER
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Starting to stabilise
Hi all,
Thought I would start a thread just to record how I go with learning to stabilise. I was in the US for work recently so went a bit over the top and bought back a 8" x 18" vac chamber from turn tex.
Still collecting the other necessary bits and pieces, with a vacuum pump in the post (arriving today if I'm lucky so I can start playing over the weekend!). Still looking for an oven, they seem to be either a bit smaller than I'd like, or more expensive than ideal. If anyone has any suggestions for good oven options it'd be appreciated!
Got some redwood and paulownia sitting around which are both tricky to turn due to being so damn light, so thinking they'll be my first experimental batch, and then maybe some blackwood which I have a heap of, just to try out some dyes. Any other suggestions for species to try first up?
Cheers,
Danny
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22nd December 2017 08:35 AM # ADSGoogle Adsense Advertisement
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24th December 2017, 03:38 PM #2
Bloody nice choice of chamber
Oven - check out electric smoker on Ebay. I picked mine up for just over $300 and fits decent sized blanks. Just remember bigger blanks take longer to dry, vacuum, soak and heat setting the CJ.
As for timber, and spalted stuff is perfect to start with, being softer and less dense to start with. Hardwoods can take a looooong timeNeil____________________________________________Every day presents an opportunity to learn something new
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25th December 2017, 08:08 PM #3SENIOR MEMBER
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Thanks Neil - got my pump so decided to pick up a big w oven, should do me up to a bit over 300mm. Looking forward to trying it next week!
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28th December 2017, 11:38 AM #4SENIOR MEMBER
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About to throw some pen blanks into the oven to dry, will see how it goes! Got a somewhat random grab-bag of species to get an idea of how I go across species.
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28th December 2017, 12:18 PM #5
Rtyuiop, any chance of advising which pump you bought and perhaps a link to the chamber?
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28th December 2017, 12:26 PM #6SENIOR MEMBER
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Sure thing! It's this cheapy:
https://hvacdirect.com.au/70-l-pm-2-...m-vacuum-pump/
Model number seems to be VP230N.
It's actually causing me some pain today as I work on setting it up - the instructions say to add oil via the oil fill cap, but there doesn't seem to be an oil fill cap!
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28th December 2017, 12:27 PM #7SENIOR MEMBER
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Oh, and this is the chamber:
https://www.turntex.com/product/cact...amber-8-detail
Cheers,
Danny
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31st December 2017, 09:55 AM #8SENIOR MEMBER
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So yesterday got my pump sorted out and threw some dry blanks into cactus juice. Amazing to see how much air is in timber, it's still releasing a few bubbles after ~18 hours of vaccuum!
Did run into some hassles pulling vacuum - firstly discovered the switch on the chamber goes from open to closed and then back to a little bit open as you turn it, and then had to hold down the lid of the chamber to let it start pulling (the vacuum pull held it down after that, just needed to get it started.
Also discovered the TurnTex weight seemed to be too long to fit in the chamber (flat, anyway), so I turned myself up another out of some HDPE lying around. Glad I have the HDPE, but might need to make another out of another, thicker, sheet.
Cheers,
Danny
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31st December 2017, 11:17 AM #9
The unit is a 70lpm. They also sell a 130lpm for only a few dollars more. After your experience doing the first cast, do you feel the 70 was "big" enough? Did the long run time bother the unit at all?
I'm thinking of doing a few knife scales, pen blanks and importantly veneering and have been considering (forever!) which type of unit to buy.
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31st December 2017, 12:19 PM #10SENIOR MEMBER
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I have only ever used the one pump, so I can't say for sure - when I was pump shopping I just followed the advice of Curtis at turntex, that LPM/CFM doesn't really matter (what matters is what ultimate vacuum it can pull):
https://www.turntex.com/help-center/...-a-vacuum-pump
My experience yesterday seemed to match that - only took a few seconds to evacuate the air from my chamber, and my chamber is big and was mostly empty, so there was a fair bit of air involved.
Not sure if the principle is different for veneering though - might be worth spending the few bucks just in case?
Danny
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8th January 2018, 08:31 PM #11SENIOR MEMBER
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So I took my first batch out of the chamber and cured today (had some redwood in there and Curtis suggest soaking it for a week). Haven’t machined anything yet, but they look like they worked!
Got a second set of blanks under vacuum now with some black dye in the CJ, intrigued to see how it goes.
Danny
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8th January 2018, 09:12 PM #12SENIOR MEMBER
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I have nothing to add to the conversation (know next to nothing about the whole process) but I am reading/looking with interest!!
"All the gear and no idea"
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9th January 2018, 11:27 AM #13SENIOR MEMBER
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Anyone out there tried stabilising camphor? Wondering if the camphor oil will contaminate the CJ and cause issues.
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9th January 2018, 12:48 PM #14
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9th January 2018, 12:57 PM #15SENIOR MEMBER
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Thanks Neil!
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