Shopsmith Forums

Anyone ever use a wood hardener on soft or punky wood? I saw Bondo and Verathane brands on the shelf this weekend and made me wonder.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rDGhL_Tu3M


I have not personally used it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Cy1M4w3Mfk

I've used Minwax Wood hardener. It seems to work pretty well. Wood soaks it up like a sponge and it hardens the wood into a kind of plastic. It's expensive - about $10 a pint, and a pint doesn't go very far. It's also very volatile; you want to use it outdoors if possible. You have to wear gloves - if you get it on your hands, it's worse to get off than Gorilla glue, if you know what that means!

I’ve used Cactus Juice with good success, but it’s also very pricey at over $100 per gallon! . A friend and I bought a gallon for a few projects we were working on. Mine was birch which had dried for a couple years and was beginning to get powdery. It soaked up large quantities! I also used it on some ash with limited success. It could be that I didn’t let it soak long enough or the ash was so dense that not as much soaked in as I would have liked.
Good luck.

Be well,
Ben

benush26 wrote:I’ve used Cactus Juice with good success, but it’s also very pricey at over $100 per gallon! . A friend and I bought a gallon for a few projects we were working on. Mine was birch which had dried for a couple years and was beginning to get powdery. It soaked up large quantities! I also used it on some ash with limited success. It could be that I didn’t let it soak long enough or the ash was so dense that not as much soaked in as I would have liked.
Good luck.

Be well,
Ben

Did you use a vacuum chamber? Makes a huge difference!.

I've tried the Minwax wood hardener with limited success.

Better for me was removing the bad stuff and filling in with epoxy-based wood filler. I've also thinned the epoxy stuff with acetone to apply it like spackle. I might've even thinned and applied regular epoxy that way, if I could only remember.

ChrisNeilan wrote:
Did you use a vacuum chamber? Makes a huge difference!.

I don’t have one, but have seriously considered making one to use with Alumilite.
I guess that the vacuum chamber is going to be bumped up on the list. CL had a paint pot for $25 but I’ve been looking at YouTube and figure I can build one from 3/4” plywood scraps. I have a couple handles I make that are too big to fit in a standard 5 gallon paint pot.
Thanks for the tip!!! It’s ironic that I flinch at the cost of the Cactus Juice, but am willing to pay extra for Alumilite, though I’m not certain it’s any better than the cheaper stuff.. I thought old age was supposed to bring greater wisdom. Maybe it skipped me!

Be well,
Ben

benush26 wrote:

ChrisNeilan wrote:
Did you use a vacuum chamber? Makes a huge difference!.

I don’t have one, but have seriously considered making one to use with Alumilite.
I guess that the vacuum chamber is going to be bumped up on the list. CL had a paint pot for $25 but I’ve been looking at YouTube and figure I can build one from 3/4” plywood scraps. I have a couple handles I make that are too big to fit in a standard 5 gallon paint pot.
Thanks for the tip!!! It’s ironic that I flinch at the cost of the Cactus Juice, but am willing to pay extra for Alumilite, though I’m not certain it’s any better than the cheaper stuff.. I thought old age was supposed to bring greater wisdom. Maybe it skipped me!

Be well,
Ben

For Alumalite you need a pressure pot, not vacuum. The pressure compresses any air bubbles to the point of being too small for the eye to see.

The concept has been around for many years. We used the WEST ( wood epoxy saturation technique ) system on plywood and solid wood for boats back in the 70’s. Now they have much safer methods using polyurethane but the concept is the same. You use the wood essentially as a mold to produce a block of resin or in the case of plywood to create a very stiff and waterproof component for a boat. It does add quite a bit of weight to the wood component though.
Paul

ChrisNeilan wrote:
For Alumalite you need a pressure pot, not vacuum. The pressure compresses any air bubbles to the point of being too small for the eye to see.

Interesting! I’ve just made pen blanks in flexible forms using the Alumilite and hadn’t used any pressure device. I’ve not noticed any bubbles, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t any, just that I hadn’t noticed or had to deal with them. I don’t stir very vigorously and add the colors and flecks without much speed. Maybe that has helped reduce them. A friend uses a repurposed paint pot and has offered to let me use it. From now on, I’ll use it until I buy one.
About to try turning a few vases using Alumilite and kiln dried Russian Olive (LOTS of cracks to fill with colored acrylic). I hadn’t planned on using a pressure pot, but I’ll have to try it. I assumed (incorrectly ) that I would need to vacuum out any air pockets, but now with your wise advice, I’ll change plans.
As with too many projects, I’ve guess I’ve been lucky that my lack of knowledge hasn’t blown up (literally) in my face.
I do like exploring avenues from the tried and true wood working, but have so much to learn.
Thanks for the information!

Be well,
Ben