Shamus Blargostadt Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 (edited) I'm doing my first round of scale processing, using a half gallon of cactus juice. I was wondering, does anyone know if there are alternatives for hardeners/resins that cost less than this product that do the job just as well (or perhaps even better?) It seems to be very popular. I'm using a vacuum for infusing and oven for curing process. I have several maple burls and some spalted maple and some other spalted wood I need to stabilize. Edited July 31, 2017 by Shamus Blargostadt more info on what I'm doing, for clarification. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamus Blargostadt Posted August 2, 2017 Author Share Posted August 2, 2017 I found a pretty informative thread on a penmaking forum. Since nobody has responded here (and the viewing is high) I'll post the link for those interested. The short answer is "not really" http://www.penturners.org/forum/f43/alternatives-cactus-juice-140444/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzzkill Posted August 2, 2017 Share Posted August 2, 2017 Thanks for the link. I looked around a bit and also came to the conclusion that there wasn't really a better "cheap" solution. I ponied up for a gallon of the Juice and so far have only stabilized one piece of elk antler, but if it stays liquid and treats as many pieces as I think it will, the cost per stabilized piece will be fairly insignificant. It is a little pricey up front but appears to be worth the cost. If I run into anything negative I'll let you know, but so far so good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamus Blargostadt Posted August 2, 2017 Author Share Posted August 2, 2017 for my scales, I just did four of some really porous spalted maple, and two blocks of pretty dense burl. They soaked up about 1/3 of my half gallon jug. They did turn out really nice though.. so if I had found an outstanding deal on ebay or etsy and paid $10 each for them I've already saved a bit (considering shipping costs) on just the resin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John in Oly, WA Posted August 11, 2017 Share Posted August 11, 2017 My son just started making knife scales as a summer income project between school years. He'll be a high school senior this fall. He's just run through his first gallon of cactus juice stabilizing spalted maple knife scale sets - each scale has dimensions of 3/8" x 1 3/4" x 6". He calculated it out to be roughly $0.90 per set for the cactus juice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Manns Posted April 28, 2023 Share Posted April 28, 2023 thanks for this thread. I've used the BVV product. It's slightly cheaper than cactus juice. the company offers a couple of different qualities in stabilizing fluid too. I haven't used cactus juice yet so i have no basis for comparison. I bought the standard BVV stabilizer and used it in my vacuum chamber. It cures at about 110 F. i have stabilized a dozen or so blanks of cherry, spalted maple and birdseye maple. I like the results thus far. standard ($38/64oz): premium ($60/64oz) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Manns Posted April 28, 2023 Share Posted April 28, 2023 oops. BVV stabilizer cures at 194F not 110 as stated in my post. 110F? It gets that hot in Arizona all the time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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