Thanks for enjoying it!!

I like my metal chambers because they’re much wider than the PVC ones you can get from turntex or best value vacs. This allows me to do my larger burl pieces much more easily. I have links to all of the stuff I use on the tools I use page which is in the video description!

It’s unfortunately not possible to dye wood with pearlescent pigments. They essentially are tiny tiny pieces of plastic themselves and that’s why they sparkle. They technically don’t fully dissolve in liquid like pigments do and wont be able to penetrate the wood. It’d be sweet if they could though!

I buy them as pen blanks. But even when I make knife scales I cut them first. And I would in this case too if I was. Better penetration on smaller pieces, as well as it being easier to make straighter cuts on non stabilized wood. There’s really no benefit to stabilizing it as a slab if you’re going to cut it into blanks

Not really unfortunately. They were stabilized pretty well, so there really shouldn’t be any normal wood left for the dyed juice to penetrate and cure in.

I have a link on my website for tools I use at winecountrywoodworks.com It has a link to the yescom chamber with the glass lid!

@@CaseyMartin707 Good morning Casey. Thank you, my acrylic lid started spidering on my first try. But everything turned out well.

Haha thanks Robert. Have a great weekend to you too my friend

Shoot me an email Lee and let’s make it happen! I can make blanks of any size for you

There is a problem with the importation of that specific product and what little there is costs more than triple what it costs in the United States

So looking for options that can be used in Mexico I found paraloid b72 resin , This has been used to stabilize wood since approximately 1970 and your opinion on the matter would be interesting.

Yes you can and I forget what the shelf life is but it’s very long. It says somewhere on the bottle and I’m sure is somewhere on the website but I’d never worry about it

Yes I do! It’s how to dye Stabilized wood

Not in traditional terms. You can buy wood hardener which you just soak in it, but it’s not the same as stabilizing. It can definitely work for some things but not all. Hope that helps!

Yes all the time! Send me an email at casey@winecountrypens.com if you’d like me to make you some!

24 hours. I always go that long or like 16-18 (basically overnight) for big batches like that because I want to make sure every part of the wood throughout the whole big smoker gets cured. In my smaller toaster oven with less pieces I’ve gotten away with 3-4 hours. But still like to do 6+ to make sure, especially with any dye stabilized pieces. I’ve heard if the cured CJ is kind of crumbly it’s because there was a good amount of moisture left in the blank. Not sure if that’s what you’re describing. What it sounds like you’re referring to is it just not being cured. You should be able to touch a hard part like I showed on my bottom, and your finger shouldn’t be wet. Same with dyes, touch a hard piece of dyed CJ and not get color in your finger. It just wasn’t cured long enough. 2-1/2 hours is not that long for bigger pieces. Especially if you’re only at 180-190 F Best of luck!

Got it! I also make sure my pieces are completely dry but I’m pretty sure it just needs to sit in the oven for a few more hours than usual. Thanks Casey!

Once bubbles are gone you’re good to turn it off

Hi Adrian I don’t share my supplier as they are one of the few unique things I do in this industry. I share a lot of stuff on here but that’s the one thing I don’t

Hey Huw, just replied to his comment so you can see that there. Ultimately it’s too messy, this requires less clean up from bleed out. Thanks for the order and compliments my friend! Cheers!

@@CaseyMartin707 I will send you a picture of the pen I make from it if you want. Cheers, Huw. PS If there is another Makers Central next year are you coming over as I hope to say hello to Zac this year.

@@CaseyMartin707 Hi Casey, Maybe this is a stupid question but as I only have a small toaster oven would it make any difference if the blanks were laid flat? Cheers, Huw

I've seen other videos of people using toaster ovens with successful results. Just don't use it for pizza ever again. :)

No difference if they were laid flat! May just have more bleed out to clean up but not much.

No I don’t. I think the full cure may even be 7 days I’m not sure. But after 24 hours it’s plenty cured enough. Probably 99% of the way there

Casey Martin just worried I wont get a good polish if I don’t wait

You’ll get just as good of a polish!

It is a yescom vacuum chamber, link is on tools I use page

Masterbuilt 30 in, its on the tools I use page in the video description!

Not really. I mean you can get maybe like 40-50% penetration if you let the wood soak submerged in the cactus juice for weeks, but you’ll never get full penetration without it.

@@CaseyMartin707 thanks for your comments. I have burrs that I would like to stabilize in some way.

Cactus Juice is the name of a stabilizing resin. It comes from turntex.com. Let me know if you have any other questions!

No they don’t. I heard from a friend that years ago when CJ was first on the market there was a black light additive to see how well it penetrated. I wish it still had it! It’d actually be helpful. If the video was old or he had old CJ that could’ve been why ir maybe some reaction with the charcoal I’m not sure

@@CaseyMartin707 I don't know if it was an old video but it was a recent upload by Peter Brown. :) I can see where it would be helpful so they should do it. Bonus is that it is also cool. :D I love things that glow under a black light.

Peter didn't use Cactus Juice, he used a similar product: www.bestvaluevacs.com/bvv-wood-stabilizing-resin-usa-made.html

Yeah I saw the video since. Pretty cool! It’s basically s copycat of cactus juice. Only difference I can tell is the black light

@BlackCat2 I have been trying to come up with an easy additive for checking penetration with a black light without changing the color of the wood or other material being stabilized. Hopefully I will have results to share within the next week. If it works I’ll let you know!

You don’t have to. It is definitely recommended if you’re doing hybrid casting, but for normal wood it just helps a lot. It makes the wood much harder, stronger, resistant to moisture changes, and emphasizes the wood figure more. If a wood is really light and weak, it really really benefits from it.

@@CaseyMartin707 Thank you for the reply. I do not make pen blanks but I do make bowls, boxes etc. and am just getting into casting.

I’m not sure the chemistry behind it, if it’s because wet wood has more air than dry wood trapped in it, but I’ve just been told by Curtis (owner and founder of CJ), that if a wood will not stop having the fine small bubbles come up after 12-24+ hours, it’s because there’s still a bit of moisture in the wood. So that’s where that comes from. As for your other comment, CJ does not fume. I’ve been told for a fact by the owner/maker that it does not. And it does not cure exposed to normal air as long as it’s below 85 F. I also don’t know what you mean by vacuuming 5 hours harms the process in any way, that’s what you’re supposed to do. I know the owner of CJ sometimes recommends running a pump for 24 hours if need be. I’m just going by the book on the process the owner/maker of Cactus Juice recommends and it works for me!

@@CaseyMartin707 i have a chemistry degree here in germany. Water and solvents have a lower vapor point under vacuum . The solvent in CJ does vapor away at 27,5 Hg room temperature. Also the mma monomers do vapor away under those conditions. The owner of cactus juice has no degree in chemistry and has imported CJ from china and just given it another name. Of course he would tell you it is ok to vacuum it for 24 hours. In professional wood stabilizing you vacuum the air first and then bring in the stabilizing resin. When the wood is capped with juice, you return to normal pressure, leaving the juice in a closed environment. And if you harden the juice in an oxigen environment atleast the outside layer of the wood hardens worse since the oxigens reacts with the hardener (AIBN in this case) and colors become less rich. You can do whatever you want i was just trying to give some tips of how the pros do it.

@jimmi Kater @Casey Martin I think this is very interesting. I’ve been stabilizing wood for a while and I’ve never thought of this. I’m an engineer and don’t have a crazy knowledge of chemistry but this does make sense. I will play around with it. If there is a process that produces better results we should absolutely look into it and make it known to improve everyone’s stabilizing results! Thanks for the sharing of knowledge, this is what crafting/art is all about!!!