stabilizing questions

[Disney]

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Can someone explain what stabilizing is?  How is it done and why? I know it has something to do with dyeing and coloring wood but no one has ever said why it should be stabilized. I see alot of calls on eBay where it says the call is stabilized. Thankyou.

[southern_leo]

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Can someone explain what stabilizing is?  How is it done and why? I know it has something to do with dyeing and coloring wood but no one has ever said why it should be stabilized. I see alot of calls on eBay where it says the call is stabilized. Thankyou.

Stabilizing is putting wood in a vacuum container with a compound like resin or alumilite. Usually the colored items are alumilite. This is used for several reasons. Sometimes just getting old soft wood and forcing the resin into it just to make it hard, aka stabilize it. The alumilite is cool to add color. Others use random items like cactus, nuts, coffee grounds and endless other items and put them in small container with the compound to make blanks from unusual items. It's neat stuff. Youtube it there lots of good videos.

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[Disney]

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Thanks alot. I was a professional taxidermist for 42 years. I used different techniques to add coloring to different things such as fish, replica fish etc. Of course that's a different medium I worked on. Lately I have been experimenting with coloration on the pot calls I make. I have made calls for years, for family and friends. I am a new member and can say I have already gained a wealth of good information. I feel privileged to have fine people share their information with me. Thank you.

[mastevt]

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Like said above, it's main purpose is for bringing soft punky woods to a more harden state that you can work with, but also its important for burls.  Burls have a tendency to check and Crack anywhere.  By infusing it with resin during the process,  it bonds all the wood fibers together, to keep it from checking and cracking.  I like to use it because in my opinion, stabilizing the wood, makes the call much more consistent in the woods when exposed to different temperatures and humidity, producing a call more consistent in sound over the broad spectrum.