Wood stabilization.... is it necessary? Absolutely. We treat all woods with a special stabilization and wood preservation process to withstand climatic changes. Our stabilization process reduces shrinking of the wood in dry areas and it reduces swelling in humid areas. Building cues in Nevada is quite different than building a cue in Florida. As such, our cues can be shipped all over the world with the same stability and consistency in each area. Many cue makers do not take such precautions. We have seen many cues built in drier areas become stressed out when the end user resides in Michigan and visa-versa. So... here we show our dipping tank which is nothing more than PVC pipe coupled with a lid and base. It is held stable with a wood base. All these items can be purchased at your local Lowes or Home Depot (our home away from home). The wood should be treated early on so as to allow it to dry. We dip each piece for about 60 seconds or so which allows it to penetrate deep to the core. For example, we dip shafts early on when they are about .950 dowels. We then take about 8-10 cuts (over a period of about a year) before they reach our final taper. Even on the last cut we still get the odor of the chemical coming out of the wood during the final cut. We dip our butt section after all work is done (inlays, rings, etc.); when it's about .0010 - .0020 out from final cut. Sometimes we dip butt sections early on and then once again before final cut. Nothing is etched in stone. Dipping is done in a well ventilated area. We do our dipping early in the morning with our garage door open. We then place the wood on a rack (see the inset photo) to dry. It takes less than an hour to dry but we leave them sitting out for as many hours as we can. We bring them inside just before we are leaving for the day. So what is this secret chemical solution? One word.... Resolute! |