# When to stabilize?



## HuntsvilleTurner (Oct 7, 2018)

I'm new to casting, and don't have a setup yet for stabilizing, so I'm curious when it would be necessary to stabilize a piece of wood in a hybrid bank before casting.

If I seal the wood with resin before casting it, what type of problems would I be running into?

TIA

Brad


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## Sprung (Oct 7, 2018)

I have done a lot of stabilizing, but no casting. But stabilizing something you're going to cast makes a big difference, IMO. In turning hybrid blanks where the wood was stabilized I've noticed the wood/resin adhesion is stronger than if the wood wasn't stabilized. It also helps with the density, so the wood and resin portions are both of similar density and turn and sand about the same. I've also seen unstabilized wood separated from the resin because of seasonal wood movement - stabilizing pretty much eliminates this.

If I was making a hybrid blank, I would stabilize the wood in as many instances of possible. IMO it produces a higher quality blank that is easier to work with.

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Informative 2


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