# ??chemical used to preserve burl wood??



## smithie55

I have a Red Alder burl that is green right now, has the bark removed and I want to preserve it so that it doesn't crack.
What chemical and/or method should I use?

Thanks much


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## troutfisher

I don't use any chemicals, just the stain and polyurethane for finishing. I let a carving sit in the garage to dry before I finish it. No direct sunlight, high heat, or water(causes mold). Maybe store it on a pallet or something to keep it off the floor. The slower it dries, the less cracks.


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## Sprig

PEG, poly ethylene glycol (sp?), a water soluble stabilizer that you submerge the piece of wood in and the chemical (apparently non-toxic btw) will displace the water (it is basically a wax) over several+ days, the wood remains perfectly workable, it will prevent splitting and degradation etc.. It is used to preserve archaeological (ancient) woods, like ships for example that have been submerged for 2000 years. It is inexpensive, readily available, and very easy to use, there is a lot of info on it, go Google M8!
Barring that there have been several methods discussed here (for larger slabs) of slow drying/curing, packing in straw or sand in a cool dry place are a couple, lots of info on that too espcially if you have a library nearby, but the gist is to do it slowly and sometimes endsealing is a good option to slow the process down but it really depends on the size of the piece I think. My 0.02$ worth fer da afternoon.

Hope that helps man!



Serge


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## smithie55

Sprig, Thanks for your .02 cents with the exchange I think your 2 cents is worth more here!!
I had never heard of packing in straw or sand, makes sense, I would assume that this process takes long, ?

Troutfisher, first of all I like your electronic fish
Thanks for your reply, do you turn your wood while it is green and then let it cure? is that what you are refering to?

I'm new to this form of woodworking but am really excited about getting into turning some projects. 
Are burls hard to turn ? like making into a bowl?

Thanks again


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## davidbrac

I have just started to try boiling my wood for carving & turning. You boil if for an hour and, let it cool and wrap in paper. So far drying time has been cut by half and cracking has been reduced.

its worth a try


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## zopi

you can stabilize smaller pieces, by immersing in thompsons water seal...or PEG and holding the wood under a vacuum for a time...knife guys do it...hmm...old pressure canner ought to do it...with a fridge pump and some tubing....maybe a brake bleeder for a fluid trap...


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## Themadd1

Personally, I have just used a piece of beech burl to inlay a mahogany table top. The burl sat in our shop for at least 5 years if not more. I found it under alot of crap when cleaning. 

My problem showed up when I started cutting the burl into thin strips to inlay. After about a day the burl started to warp and curl. I thought that because it was already dried it would be fine but since burl has curled grain it doesnt stay as straight as I has assumed. 

Just a little FYI for you in case this is something you might be doing with the burl. 

I have used PEG to prep rounds and some small boards but in the case of a burl the amount of time in the solution is going to be high because it has to soak into the wood completely. I think it is something like 30 days per inch thickness. So be prepared to wait a while. 

I have heard of people making a box out of wood and putting some regular bare light bulbs inside to dry wood. The heat from the light bulbs is enough to dry the wood and the enclosed space maintains the structure of the wood by drying evenly. You might look up more on this type of process. 

Or look around on the internet there are alot of people who have kilns that might offer their services at a reasonable rate.

Cheers


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## Kevin McPeek

If you want to slow the drying you should probably use some Anchorseal. I use that on all of my greenwood, it helps keep moisture up for initial turning and slow drying (in AZ thats hard to do) to minimize cracking until final turning.


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## aquan8tor

PEG isn't to slow the drying process. It actually replaces the water, and keeps the piece from swelling & shrinking seasonally. I've heard that it can take quite a bit more than 30 days, depending on the species; whether it has tyloses like oak. I also have read about the boiling process. I'm just getting started turning, though, so my experience is pretty limited. I just read a lot.


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