I can’t say I’ve worked with a lot of mango, but this block seemed solid enough to support a 45 pound bow; it was as denser than most of the walnut I’ve used. I didn’t notice any voids or varying density anywhere. I was able to get enough for 3 risers out of it, and the 3rd will only have some small accents. Can all woods be stabilized? I’ve never done it before, but I think it’s done by forcing epoxy resin into the cells in a vacuum, right?
There are mixed opinions as to whether or not acetone improves or inhibits bonding of resinous woods. The way I understand it, anything that takes oil off of the surface of a wood and evaporates is going to pull moisture from the surface, which does cause oil/resin to migrate until it reaches stasis. It makes sense to me that oils migrating to the surface while the bond is curing could compromise the bond, but I imagine there are situations where there is too much resin on the surface for the glue to form bonds, and then it would be better to wipe it off.
I’ve done both with ea40. I used to wipe everything down with denatured alcohol, mostly because I worry about dust and oils from my hands interfering with a clean bond. The only pieces I’ve had come apart so far with ea40, though, are a couple of overlays on curves that probably didn’t have enough pressure.
The concern I had in this case was the amount of resin that was drawn out by the heat was surprising; the lignum had been dark green when I started, and afterward all the color had leeched out of it, and the resin formed puddles at the bottom of the oven, and even that bond held up. I did my best to test it, but only time will tell. I glued the rest of it at 120, and didn’t see any resin.
Topic: Lignum Vitae color change at cure (Read 5446 times)
