# Buckeye burl question



## Ray Cover (Mar 19, 2010)

OK folks I have another question

This one is about buckeye burl. I have used buckeye burl on fly rods in the past but I always have my fly rod woods acrylic stabilized by WSSI. This gives the soft woods a serious degree of hardness.

We love the way the wood looks it is just too soft to use as a graver handle in its natural state.

Is there a finish that can be used to soak into buckeye and harden it enough to use as a handle without the expense of WSSI stabilizing?
The acrylic stabilizing itself cost more than Rachel is likely to be able to sell her graver handles for so we are looking for a practical user friendly alternative. It needs to be something a 15 year old kid can safely do. 

Again thanks in advance.
Ray


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## txpaulie (Jul 21, 2010)

Welcome Ray!

You do BEAUTIFUL work, thanks for sharing!

I've used MinWax wood hardener with some success, be careful with it though...

It does, on occasion, change the color of the wood a bit.:blink:

Usually use CA glue on smaller stuff.
Precautions include avoiding the irritating vapors, along with not gluing yer fingers together!:yes:

You can watch it smoke and hear it hissing and bubbling in the more rotten spots.

I've used it on buckeye burl pistol stocks in the past...
Long gone, they are, sorry no pics.

p


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## Ray Cover (Mar 19, 2010)

Thanks for the info.

I do mostly metal work and like I said the woods I generally use are pressure filled with acrylic so there are a lot of products out there I have not kept up with. 

Is the wood hardener something I can get at a local hardware store like lowes or is that something I would have to get at a specialty place like Woodcraft or Rockler?

On the CA are we talking just plain old dollar store super glue?

Are these treatments done before turning?

Thanks for the suggestions. We will try both and see which works best for Rachel's application.

Ray


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## wildwood (Jan 25, 2011)

Have no experience with PC-Petrifier knife handle makers use it to harden wood. Water base and inexpensive might be worth a try. If look at instructions below pretty much have to soak wood in container of product for few days then let dry before turning. 


PC-PETTRIFIER WOOD HARDNER
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&productId=100649629&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&cm_sp=BazVoice-_-RLP-_-100649629-_-x&locStoreNum=3631

Scroll down for instructions.

http://burlsales.com/woodinfo.html

Burl wood contains crazy cells and voids, guess if product can penetrate cells and harden wood okay. Not sure would fill voids. Read HD reviews company also make 2 part epoxy to fill voids.


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## Ray Cover (Mar 19, 2010)

Thanks Wildwood.

What I usually do on my fly rods when I run into voids is mix up some fine sawdust with super glue and putty it in before the glue dries (have to work fast though)

I am not so much worried about voids on engraving tools as long as they are aesthetic. Most engravers are artistic type people and would appreciate the voids as long as they don't detract from the handle.

The actual hardness and structural stability is more my concern with the buckeye burl. I don't want Rachel to sell a guy a graver handle for $15-$20 and then have it break on the first job he uses it on.

Ray


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## txpaulie (Jul 21, 2010)

Ray Cover said:


> Thanks for the info.
> 
> I do mostly metal work and like I said the woods I generally use are pressure filled with acrylic so there are a lot of products out there I have not kept up with.
> 
> ...


Ray,
The wood hardener is available at most big-box stores...
Recently saw a post describing the cost of the stuff at +/- $80. /gal...

I usually turn down close to final shape, the soak the crap out of the blank...

I've put as much as 12 oz on a single rotten piece...

Also, I suspect any CA glue will work, but again, expect to use a good bit of it...:yes:

Good luck,
p


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