Stabilizing punky cottonwood

[TyDonald]

I'm collecting info on how to stabilize punky wood to use for a bass guitar body.
There seems to be a few methods. I'm leaning toward using a vacuum setup but
I haven't decided on what type of solution to use.
I'd appreciate any feedback. Thanks.

[Michael Lewis]

Check with Jamestown Distributors, a boat supply company, for their penetrating epoxy. It is often used to stabilize deteriorating wood, rotten wood, etc.

[David King]

This would be the stuff http://www.smithandcompany.org/CPES/ . It's really stinky.

[TyDonald]

Thanks. I've been looking at Cactus Juice also. I'd love to hear if anyone has used either one of these resins.

[David King]

That "Cactus Juice" is mysterious stuff. It needs to be heated up to 200º F to solidify so you'll need to make sure that your wood is really dry before you start in on the process. He recommends baking it at 200 for 12 hours and immediately sealing it in plastic as it cools to keep moisture out. How you would pull sufficient vacuum on something the size of a bass body blank might be daunting but I'm sure there's a way. You probably don't want or need more than a few mm of penetration to keep the weight down but you would want to carve it down to final dimension or very close.

[Larry Davis]

Mysterious stuff, Cactus Juice indeed. Something he buys in bulk, re-lables and you do not get original mfg MSDS. Good luck with that stuff and "process".

[David King]

Could be "denture base acrylic", possibly polymethyl methacrylate with heat-cure initiator

http://www.slideshare.net/AbhilashMohap ... base-resin has some info about these types of materials but you'd want a solid chemistry background or be a denturist to get started in that field.