Nelsonite?
- Thread starter macguy
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Mac research wood stabilizer. There's another one but I forgot the name.
Nelsonite is widely used. It doesn't work on very oily woods though as far as I've seen. Doesn't do muc for cocobolo and the like.
The first step you need to think of is SAFETY. It is toxic and can kill you.
Dip woods outdoors only. Use thick latex gloves, wear a mask and hang newly dipped woods outdoors only for days.
It can be used on maples shafts right before the final passes. It doesn't make sense dipping shaft wood when they are still very thick imo. Unless you are really preventing thick shafts to warp. Imo, you should let them warp.
Some woods check easily. Dipping them on Nelsonite helps. Nelsonite dulls the tone of the wood a little so we don't go crazy on them on butts. Butt blanks you can dip early so they don't check( you can dip them for 3 minutes or so when they are still thick). After taking a few passes, regular sealer should be ok or dip them for a minute only.
How long you dip woods, you have to learn b/c it really depends on the wood and your climate and the season. Here in Southern California, it's not as heavily used as in extreme weather states.
Nelsonite is widely used. It doesn't work on very oily woods though as far as I've seen. Doesn't do muc for cocobolo and the like.
The first step you need to think of is SAFETY. It is toxic and can kill you.
Dip woods outdoors only. Use thick latex gloves, wear a mask and hang newly dipped woods outdoors only for days.
It can be used on maples shafts right before the final passes. It doesn't make sense dipping shaft wood when they are still very thick imo. Unless you are really preventing thick shafts to warp. Imo, you should let them warp.
Some woods check easily. Dipping them on Nelsonite helps. Nelsonite dulls the tone of the wood a little so we don't go crazy on them on butts. Butt blanks you can dip early so they don't check( you can dip them for 3 minutes or so when they are still thick). After taking a few passes, regular sealer should be ok or dip them for a minute only.
How long you dip woods, you have to learn b/c it really depends on the wood and your climate and the season. Here in Southern California, it's not as heavily used as in extreme weather states.
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nelsonite?
I personally do not like nelsonite. I do use it, but do not like it. I don't think it's as good as some would believe. For what it cost, and the light yellow color it leaves the wood, don't think it's worth the money or time.
Been using it for 20 plus years. Best way is to air dry your woods for years. However we have not the time nor the money it take to do this. If you find something else [ a wood stablizer] that is clear and thin, please let me know and we will trade our findings with each other, on a new product.
I also soak the butts, in nelsonite afer they have been inlayed, and turn-cut for the last time.
blud
macguy said:
I personally do not like nelsonite. I do use it, but do not like it. I don't think it's as good as some would believe. For what it cost, and the light yellow color it leaves the wood, don't think it's worth the money or time.
Been using it for 20 plus years. Best way is to air dry your woods for years. However we have not the time nor the money it take to do this. If you find something else [ a wood stablizer] that is clear and thin, please let me know and we will trade our findings with each other, on a new product.
I also soak the butts, in nelsonite afer they have been inlayed, and turn-cut for the last time.
blud
V
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macguy said:
Is that Nelsonite the same one they use to treat pool decks?
I know the Gloucester company had something similar called Phenoseal, used for concrete and wood but they have discontinued their production.
IMO, it's just a safety measure to help wood not warp. Proper drying, ageing and right moisture content and then sealing the wood properly would be best.
blud said:
You lost me a little, you don't like it but you use it? It seems the way players can be about things like, tips with or with out pads and ferrule types, capped drilled through and different types of screws. In general the minutia they can get into with the feel of a cue. That shafts treated with Nelsonite if they exhibit a different playing quality there would be discussion on the positive or negative of it. It does add weight to a shaft depending how long it is dipped. Left in long enough it will got the core of the wood. Do players or cue makers ever use it, or not, based on how it will effect the play of the shaft, if it does at all. It seems it would have to some effect.
nelsonite
Yes sir, it adds weight. I use it cause at this time got nothing any better.
Players don't know any differance, cause they are not told how cues are dipped and in what. not a secrect, just players never ask. I don't think you could tell anyway.The longer it's dipped, the more it weighs. Many cuesmakers use it. More than not....I, do but as stated, don't like the stuff. How much good does it do to keep cues from warping? Who knows? I also dip the butts......@ about $12.00 bucks a gallon, I tend to feel it's doing something, other than me gettin robbed..........
blud
macguy said:
Yes sir, it adds weight. I use it cause at this time got nothing any better.
Players don't know any differance, cause they are not told how cues are dipped and in what. not a secrect, just players never ask. I don't think you could tell anyway.The longer it's dipped, the more it weighs. Many cuesmakers use it. More than not....I, do but as stated, don't like the stuff. How much good does it do to keep cues from warping? Who knows? I also dip the butts......@ about $12.00 bucks a gallon, I tend to feel it's doing something, other than me gettin robbed..........
blud
test
Forgot to mention, that I test the nelsonite. I use a piece of stock, with each batch of shafts, handles, and birdseye, i get in, and cut a piece about 2" long and dip it in nelsonite that has an oil-based stain. [ this si so you can tell how far it's soaked in]. I soak it for 5 minutes, and cut into the stock, to see how far it's soaked in. If not to the center, I'll leave it for 8 or 9 minutes. Keep adjusting until it's all the way through, with one soaking..
blud
macguy said:
Forgot to mention, that I test the nelsonite. I use a piece of stock, with each batch of shafts, handles, and birdseye, i get in, and cut a piece about 2" long and dip it in nelsonite that has an oil-based stain. [ this si so you can tell how far it's soaked in]. I soak it for 5 minutes, and cut into the stock, to see how far it's soaked in. If not to the center, I'll leave it for 8 or 9 minutes. Keep adjusting until it's all the way through, with one soaking..
blud
Hi Blud,
Could the Nelsonite conceivably add more stiffness to a particular shaft?
The Predators Paul Dayton made for me hit stiffer than any other Predator shaft I've played with (and I've played with dozens). They're 2nds (B Grades), so my previous theory is that the darker maple is denser than the snowy white stuff they use in the A-grade shafts. But maybe it could be a wood stabilizer?!?
Thanks,
Roger
Could the Nelsonite conceivably add more stiffness to a particular shaft?
The Predators Paul Dayton made for me hit stiffer than any other Predator shaft I've played with (and I've played with dozens). They're 2nds (B Grades), so my previous theory is that the darker maple is denser than the snowy white stuff they use in the A-grade shafts. But maybe it could be a wood stabilizer?!?
Thanks,
Roger
stiff
Hi Rodger, The nelsonite is made to penatrate the woods "cells" and replace the air[moister] with a solid. So if and when this take place, yes, it would be a little stiffer. The reason I say if and when, is because it all depends on how long and how many times the shaft has been dipped? How much it's soaked in? The longer, the more weight also.
LOOKING, still looking for a better stabilizer if any of you guys can find some on the net. I have looked and looked again, found nothing about it.
830-232-5991
blud
buddha162 said:
Hi Rodger, The nelsonite is made to penatrate the woods "cells" and replace the air[moister] with a solid. So if and when this take place, yes, it would be a little stiffer. The reason I say if and when, is because it all depends on how long and how many times the shaft has been dipped? How much it's soaked in? The longer, the more weight also.
LOOKING, still looking for a better stabilizer if any of you guys can find some on the net. I have looked and looked again, found nothing about it.
830-232-5991
blud
This might be worth a shot at.
http://www.woodnshop.com/PENTACRYL.htm
http://www.woodnshop.com/PENTACRYL.htm
V
((VH))
Guest
blud said:
Blud,
Is that the same nelsonite used to treat pools and pool decks?
When you do a search on the net about nelsonite, all you see is pool decks
Where do you get yours at $12 a gallon?
My bad Blud.
Well, nothing wrong with good ole patience.
I bought a load of shafts last year from one very small supplier.
All quarter-sawn and tight grain. I've been turning them about every six weeks.
Didn't even dip them and exposed them to semi-controlled conditions.
They've mostly held up. Much better than the batches I got from two big suppliers.
One supplier sells kaka shafts and is shameless in hyping made up stories about their shaft stock. I threw at least half of them within two passes.
Also, there are wood suppliers I've scratched. Like you said before Blud, some kiln their woods way too fast. They arrive already checking.
Luckily there are still a few small suppliers that have good wood.
Well, nothing wrong with good ole patience.
I bought a load of shafts last year from one very small supplier.
All quarter-sawn and tight grain. I've been turning them about every six weeks.
Didn't even dip them and exposed them to semi-controlled conditions.
They've mostly held up. Much better than the batches I got from two big suppliers.
One supplier sells kaka shafts and is shameless in hyping made up stories about their shaft stock. I threw at least half of them within two passes.
Also, there are wood suppliers I've scratched. Like you said before Blud, some kiln their woods way too fast. They arrive already checking.
Luckily there are still a few small suppliers that have good wood.
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((VH)) said:Blud,
Is that the same nelsonite used to treat pools and pool decks?
When you do a search on the net about nelsonite, all you see is pool decks
Where do you get yours at $12 a gallon?
That is about the per gallon price when buying five gallons. Nelsonite's number is 616-456-7098 and they are located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Get the indoor version as it yellows the wood less. Also seal your cue with a light coat of epoxy before finishing, as wood treated with nelsonite often has a reaction with finishes and breathes lots of bubbles into the auto finishes. The epoxy serves as a barrier to stop that.
God Bless and Happy Cuebuilding!
Chris
www.internationalcuemakers.com
V
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cueman said:
Thanks Chris
nelsonite
Nelsonite will "not" breathe into the finishes, except when it's not totally dry.Before you paint over it, make sure it's totally dry. You don't have to use glue over the top of it either. When I use it, I just spray right over the cue with my clear/coat...not over glue...I have done it both ways, but it's not nessesary.
If you rush it, you then have problems.It's made to force out the air [moister], within the woods cell structures, and fill it with a solid [nelsonite].... If you decide to buy it, go with the "high solids" nelsonite, number "15-B-02"... They claim the more solids, the better. They sell a lot of it. Most high-end cuemakers don't use it any longer. We just wait for our shafts to be air/dryed....Then cut very slowly and weeks apart from one cutting to the next.....This is best.
blud
((VH)) said:Thanks Chris
Nelsonite will "not" breathe into the finishes, except when it's not totally dry.Before you paint over it, make sure it's totally dry. You don't have to use glue over the top of it either. When I use it, I just spray right over the cue with my clear/coat...not over glue...I have done it both ways, but it's not nessesary.
If you rush it, you then have problems.It's made to force out the air [moister], within the woods cell structures, and fill it with a solid [nelsonite].... If you decide to buy it, go with the "high solids" nelsonite, number "15-B-02"... They claim the more solids, the better. They sell a lot of it. Most high-end cuemakers don't use it any longer. We just wait for our shafts to be air/dryed....Then cut very slowly and weeks apart from one cutting to the next.....This is best.
blud
V
((VH))
Guest
Blud,
I think it's the same principle as stabilized woods... only difference is that stabilized woods use a sort of resin to fill up those gaps. Makes the wood quite heavy and brittle... could have been great if weight wasn't an issue... and the company that does that really charges quite a sum.
Nothing beats treating woods with TLC
I think it's the same principle as stabilized woods... only difference is that stabilized woods use a sort of resin to fill up those gaps. Makes the wood quite heavy and brittle... could have been great if weight wasn't an issue... and the company that does that really charges quite a sum.
Nothing beats treating woods with TLC