Heating plugs before sealing

[pbadad]

Ed never thought of it that way,. Just assuming hard wood was harder to penetrate. So far I haven't had much of an increase initially. during the drying process the weight levels off. I'll keep the advice in mind for the next sealer dive.

[Rockfish9]

What George says is true... hardwoods absorb sealer faster.. it doesn't take long to sink a maple or birch blank if left in sealer too long..

as far as heating the blank is concerned, I'm sure there is an upside...but in my warped way of thinkin.. by the time i heat the blank I could have turned 2 or three plugs bodies.. the extra work hardly seems worht the reward for me..... and if I was going to epoxy seal it... by the time I heated the epoxy, mixed it, heated the blank.. made a mess of my bench with dripping epoxy.. i could turn a dozen blanks.. for me.. the wasted time and expense is not worth preserving a piece of wood, which IMHO, looses some of it's natural "charm" when epoxy sealed... again, my warped way of thinking... If I want a "plastic" plug.. I'll buy one.. for me... wood is good.. my plugs are lucky I even paint 'em.

[piemma]

Originally Posted by Rockfish9

What George says is true... hardwoods absorb sealer faster.. it doesn't take long to sink a maple or birch blank if left in sealer too long..

as far as heating the blank is concerned, I'm sure there is an upside...but in my warped way of thinkin.. by the time i heat the blank I could have turned 2 or three plugs bodies.. the extra work hardly seems worht the reward for me..... and if I was going to epoxy seal it... by the time I heated the epoxy, mixed it, heated the blank.. made a mess of my bench with dripping epoxy.. i could turn a dozen blanks.. for me.. the wasted time and expense is not worth preserving a piece of wood, which IMHO, looses some of it's natural "charm" when epoxy sealed... again, my warped way of thinking... If I want a "plastic" plug.. I'll buy one.. for me... wood is good.. my plugs are lucky I even paint 'em.

I have been using 3 coats of Minwax lacquer out of a rattle can and you would swear they are epoxied. Takes no time either. I totally agree with Joe.

[gone fishin]

George I think my comment was difficult to understand. I don't heat the plug, but use the CO2 to level out the epoxy and eliminating bubbles. It also can be done by breathing on a single plug.

The only time I use heat is to set the createx and then I use a hairdryer.

[numbskull]

Originally Posted by pbadad

Ed never thought of it that way,. Just assuming hard wood was harder to penetrate. So far I haven't had much of an increase initially. during the drying process the weight levels off. I'll keep the advice in mind for the next sealer dive.

It is a strange process, Billy, at the outset they pick up some weight quickly, then slow down a bit, then all of a sudden start soaking it up like crazy. Furthermore different blanks soak it up at different rates. It is pretty easy to over do it with birch and maple and as Joe says you can sink them. One trick is to weigh one periodically and when it gets to the right weight watch how it floats in the sealer, then take the other plugs out when they get to the same level.

[gone fishin]

I'm with Joe when it comes to heating..I think your problem with bubbling is possibly with handling during the process from sealing to finish with epoxy. If the plug is not clean you will get bubbling especially with the epoxy. If using e-tex, I am assuming you are using a propane torch and passing the flame under the plugs after epoxying. I usually do this after the plugs are all on the spinner and the epoxy is setting up.