One of my favorite woods!

Customgripper

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Just finished this set for Abel in Texas. Made of stabilized Desert Ironwood for his full size 1911. He was very pleased as these were going to be displayed on the 1911 pistol that his late father owned and left to him. This is the type of project that means the most to me, when it can be a blessing to someone else.

Abel's Desert Ironwood (left).jpg

Abel's Desert Ironwood (right).jpg
 

TRfromMT

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Gorgeous work, as always.

Question... What do you do to stabilize desert ironwood?
 

Mike Hill

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Great grips Curt - as always first class! On an aside, I got my thickness sander from Byrnes yesterday.
 

Greenacres2

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Gorgeous work, as always.

Question... What do you do to stabilize desert ironwood?
Got to agree with all the comments on beauty. But...i'll second the question above--how much resin can you get a wood that dense to accept?? I held that picture up to my vac pump and i swear i heard it whimper!!
 

Customgripper

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Gorgeous work, as always.

Question... What do you do to stabilize desert ironwood?
Hey Tony, acrylic resin is introduced into the wood under pressure, then heated. And, as I'm told, the wood needs to have no more than about 6% moisture content to stabilize it. I don't do the stabilization, my source does that. I buy it already stabilized.
 

Customgripper

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Got to agree with all the comments on beauty. But...i'll second the question above--how much resin can you get a wood that dense to accept?? I held that picture up to my vac pump and i swear i heard it whimper!!
I don't have the answer for you Earl. I don't do the stabilizing, my source does.
 

TRfromMT

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Hey Tony, acrylic resin is introduced into the wood under pressure, then heated. And, as I'm told, the wood needs to have no more than about 6% moisture content to stabilize it. I don't do the stabilization, my source does that. I buy it already stabilized.
I'm familiar with stabilizing, just never had ironwood stabilized and up til now never heard anyone say it works on ironwood (quite the opposite, actually). I was wondering if you maybe meant stabilizing cracks with CA glue.

Do you use K&G?

Thanks.
 

Customgripper

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I'm familiar with stabilizing, just never had ironwood stabilized and up til now never heard anyone say it works on ironwood (quite the opposite, actually). I was wondering if you maybe meant stabilizing cracks with CA glue.

Do you use K&G?

Thanks.
Don't know Tony. That's what they told me and, you can smell the resin when working it. K&G did some spalted maple blocks for me several years ago, but no, I don't get my ironwood from them. Might give them a shout back though, I'd forgotten all about them. Lakeside, AZ I believe. Forgot the guy's name there. But, then again, at my age you forget a lot of stuff! :lol2:
 

Customgripper

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Don't know Tony. That's what they told me and, you can smell the resin when working it. K&G did some spalted maple blocks for me several years ago, but no, I don't get my ironwood from them. Might give them a shout back though, I'd forgotten all about them. Lakeside, AZ I believe. Forgot the guy's name there. But, then again, at my age you forget a lot of stuff! :lol2:
Well Tony, I must stand corrected. They indicate their ironwood is "stable" in their catalog and I took that to mean it was stabilized. I queried them about it and they agreed they do not do the stabilization procedure on their ironwood per se, but in fact use CA glue to stabilize the cracks and voids in the wood. Thanks for your input or I would have gone on blissfully thinking they had actually stabilized it the way I perceive the stabilization process.

AZIR.JPG
 

TRfromMT

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@Customgripper that's who I buy from and have seen that statement in their listings. I always understand it meant it was well seasoned, but even that's ambiguous. Even using CA glue on the block or the slabs provides limited value because those surfaces usually end up ground away and you have new cracks to fill.

I always use CA glue and pack in some dust from my sander and the cracks vanish.
 

Customgripper

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@Customgripper that's who I buy from and have seen that statement in their listings. I always understand it meant it was well seasoned, but even that's ambiguous. Even using CA glue on the block or the slabs provides limited value because those surfaces usually end up ground away and you have new cracks to fill.

I always use CA glue and pack in some dust from my sander and the cracks vanish.
Yep, done that too.
 
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