The technology is designed to create completely new materials with the right characteristics. She is well known to craftsmen who often work with methyl methacrylate polymer and other bases that give wood strength. The article talks about the intricacies of such a process.
Process principle
This processing method is conservation, which gives the tree endurance and high strength while maintaining the decorative qualities of the source material. To stabilize wood means to fill its pores with agents capable of polymerizing or hardening. These are paints, oil, resins and varnishes. The technology is complex, but if you strictly observe it and be careful, you can get strong and beautiful wood that is resistant to negative factors. Decor items made from it will serve their owners for many years without losing their properties.
Processing benefits
Stabilized wood surpasses the raw material in decorative and technical characteristics. Its structure becomes dense, indicators of resistance to temperature fluctuations and humidity increase, properties that extend the operational period of products are added. The stabilizing composition makes the material inaccessible to the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation. In the case of a short contact of a tree with an open fire, the polymer to stabilize the wood retains all its characteristics unchanged.
Material of natural origin after processing is not saturated with oil and becomes impervious to organics and solvents. Preservation shows decorative qualities of lumber, it becomes much easier to work with it. Valuable and durable rocks tend to age and collapse over time. Oak or ash are deformed, dry out, or, conversely, swell from dampness, and a stabilized tree is reliably protected from wear, which is due to polymers.
Stabilization process
To properly stabilize the natural material and get the desired result, you will need a special approach, albeit at home. First of all, you need to ensure the temperature, pressure level and vacuum. The master will need components for the preparation of a stabilizing composition or a finished product - anacrol or methyl methacrylate.
Very often blanks are used for the production of decorative elements and souvenir products, so special attention is paid to the texture with a beautiful natural pattern. From hardwood: chestnut, birch and maple - they make caskets, knife handles, figurines, furniture details.
The stabilization of the tree at home begins with the impregnation of pieces of material with methyl methacrylate. There are several types and technologies of impregnation. A blank of small thickness is impregnated with the cold method. During hot impregnation, the workpiece is boiled or soaked in a heated composition. When heated, the consistency of the funds changes, the impregnation becomes more liquid - its penetrating ability increases, and this is what you need.
They also use the vacuum stabilization method. The billet is sent to a chamber from which air is pumped out using technology, including the one in the material. Then methyl methacrylate or other means of a similar action are injected, penetrating deep into the pores of the natural material.
Wood canned by impregnation under pressure. The workpiece is dipped into the product and together with the container sent to the camera. Under pressure, air is squeezed out of the pores, and its place fills the solution.
The main technological condition presented during stabilization is the hardening of wood fibers - polymerization. For the workpiece, the temperature is maintained at which it is dried. The market offers products that not only harden themselves, but also give the material the desired shade. The material is reinforced, it becomes more massive, acquires a noble color and improves performance.
Step-by-step processing of wood “Anacrol”
The popular Anacrol product is included in vacuum preservation technology. To properly assemble the vacuum installation, the master will need plastic containers, pipes and taps. You will need a vacuum pump and compressor. These two units are the main elements of a home-made system.
Pressure control is carried out using a pressure gauge, and as a drying oven, a high power furnace and even an air grill are allowed.
It is better to start with a small piece of well-dried deciduous tree to make it easier to work. The thickness of the workpiece should not exceed 30 mm. The length is selected small.
The workpiece is completely immersed in the composition, poured into the flask. Then, vacuum conditions are created in it until the formation of air bubbles ceases. Now it takes time to insist, about 20-30 minutes. Then, overpressure in 2–4 atmospheres is created in the flask. To do this, include a compressor and a pump. The tree is allowed to “rest” for about half an hour, and the process is repeated until the workpiece begins to sink.
In the end, it is dried at 100 ° C. After drying, the tree acquires a dense structure. The material is easier to polish. If dye is added to the solution, then you can find the original woody pattern.
Epoxy resin treatment
Stabilization of the wood at home using epoxy resembles the previous process. The difference is that alcohol is required here, which is used to dilute the stabilizing composition to ensure fluidity. The disadvantage of working with epoxy resin is the long polymerization and the risk of boiling in a vacuum, however, if the technology is observed, the workpiece will acquire useful properties and will look very beautiful. For this method, you can also use methyl methacrylate - a well-established polymer. When choosing a product, make sure that its important property - fluidity - is at the right level: the more liquid the composition, the better.
Oil impregnation
If methyl methacrylate or epoxies are not suitable for you, you can make the process simple by applying hemp, flax or walnut oil. Their protective property is not so pronounced, to strengthen it, it is better to use a vacuum installation, although you can do without it by immersing a piece of wood in oil for a couple of weeks. If you plan to stabilize the tree yourself in order to make a decorative part from it - a carved flower or a figurine, read a detailed description of the process, you can watch a thematic video to consolidate the information.