Heating plugs before sealing

[Rockfish9]

What George says is true... hardwoods absorb sealer faster.. it doesn't take long to sink a maple or birch blank if left in sealer too long..

as far as heating the blank is concerned, I'm sure there is an upside...but in my warped way of thinkin.. by the time i heat the blank I could have turned 2 or three plugs bodies.. the extra work hardly seems worht the reward for me..... and if I was going to epoxy seal it... by the time I heated the epoxy, mixed it, heated the blank.. made a mess of my bench with dripping epoxy.. i could turn a dozen blanks.. for me.. the wasted time and expense is not worth preserving a piece of wood, which IMHO, looses some of it's natural "charm" when epoxy sealed... again, my warped way of thinking... If I want a "plastic" plug.. I'll buy one.. for me... wood is good.. my plugs are lucky I even paint 'em.

[piemma]

Originally Posted by Rockfish9

What George says is true... hardwoods absorb sealer faster.. it doesn't take long to sink a maple or birch blank if left in sealer too long..

as far as heating the blank is concerned, I'm sure there is an upside...but in my warped way of thinkin.. by the time i heat the blank I could have turned 2 or three plugs bodies.. the extra work hardly seems worht the reward for me..... and if I was going to epoxy seal it... by the time I heated the epoxy, mixed it, heated the blank.. made a mess of my bench with dripping epoxy.. i could turn a dozen blanks.. for me.. the wasted time and expense is not worth preserving a piece of wood, which IMHO, looses some of it's natural "charm" when epoxy sealed... again, my warped way of thinking... If I want a "plastic" plug.. I'll buy one.. for me... wood is good.. my plugs are lucky I even paint 'em.

I have been using 3 coats of Minwax lacquer out of a rattle can and you would swear they are epoxied. Takes no time either. I totally agree with Joe.

[gone fishin]

George I think my comment was difficult to understand. I don't heat the plug, but use the CO2 to level out the epoxy and eliminating bubbles. It also can be done by breathing on a single plug.

The only time I use heat is to set the createx and then I use a hairdryer.