Hi all, total newb here, 1st post. I registered because I found useful information about stabilizing spalted maple in some Google searches. I have about 5-6 pieces of heavily spalted maple which needs to be bookmatched. The problem is, the wood is so punky, I can't cut it without first stabilizing somehow.
I have read about the CA method and the epoxy method, and I'm leaning towards the CA because I think it will finish nicer, maybe cure harder (?). However, a luthier friend of mine says that the CA will become hot enough to burn the wood if I use a large quantity! And I really need good penetration; all my boards are about 1" thick.
So here are my questions:
1) Has anyone here tried applying pressure to force the CA into the pores?
2) Can I slow down the curing to allow the CA to penetrate better? Maybe in a cold ice bath? Maybe add acetone or other solvent to dilute the CA?
All of my pieces are fairly big and REALLY soft. There are even a couple of cracks in some pieces but the black ink lines look incredible. I have been trying to inform myself for over a year now since I really can't afford professional stabilizing (which all uses pressure chambers).
Thank you so much and sorry if this topic has been discussed to death! It's just that my pieces are pretty unique and I don't want to destroy them.