Hybrid Calls

Some of the spalted and burl woods used require stabilization due to their low density. Stabilizing can increase the weight of the wood by up to 300%. A stabilized blank will generally sink if placed in water. The stabilizing process requires placing the wood in an oven at 220ºF for 24 hours to reduce moisture content to as close to 0% as possible. The wood is then cooled for several hours in a sealed container.

Next, it is arranged in a stabilizing chamber and submersed in a liquid resin and placed under full vacuum for 24 hours using an HVAC pump. This process pulls air from the cells of the wood. Once there is no more evidence (bubbles in the fluid) of air coming from the wood, the vacuum is released. This causes the liquid resin to fill the pores of the wood, replacing the air previously trapped in the pores. The blanks are allowed to absorb fluid for a minimum of 24 hours. Some woods (redwood burl) require as much as two weeks to sufficiently absorb resin. Once removed from the fluid, the blanks are wiped dry and placed back in the oven at 220ºF for two hours to cure the resin to a solid state.

At this point, solid (one-piece) blanks are ready to sand and mount for turning. Blanks with multiple pieces are prepped for resin casting. This process involves cleaning up the pieces to be cast and placing in a “form”. Urethane or epoxy resin is mixed along with various colors of dye, colorants and/or hologram glitter (as requested by the customer or according to my whim). The mixed resin is then poured over the stabilized pieces in the form. Urethane resin requires that the poured blank be placed in a pressure pot and placed under 35 lbs of pressure for up to four hours before de-molding the blank from the form. The cast blank must then sit for approximately one week before resin is completely cured and the blank can be turned.

This involved process produces a unique blank. Pricing will be quoted according to the material cost and time involved with producing the blank