I have waited to review the products I had purchased until after I completed my first batch of stabilized wood. I am very pleased with the results, and with the quality and ease of use of the Turntex products.
I purchased the vacuum chamber, Cactus Juice resin, and temperature controller with timer. I also followed the recommendations regarding choice of vacuum pump and bought the American-made pump. Everything was easy to set up and appeared well made. I was particularly impressed with the digital temperature controller for the toaster oven. I was initially skeptical that the temperature could be controlled that precisely, but after tuning for my oven with the provided directions, and initial heating and stabilization, the oven maintained the temperature within a half degree for six hours of use.
The vacuum chamber is very well built and fit and finish is excellent. It was definitely worth the wait, which was quite a long time. But I am very pleased with the finished product. The vacuum pump quickly drew the vacuum down, but it was very smoky with much oil mist. I must add, the vacuum pump was not sold by Turntex so this part has nothing to do with his product. The air was quickly drawn out of the wood, and within ten minutes, the stream of bubbles had dwindled to a trickle. I had stabilized a 6" x 6" x 1.5" piece of hard maple, a half dozen 2" x 6" x .5" pieces of wenge, a block of elm burl, and a strip of ebony in my initial test. I had ordered a very large chamber; 8" x 16", and was able to easily accomodate this amount of wood. After drawing a vacuum and when most of the bubbles had stopped, I released the vacuum and turned off the pump. It was several days before I had the time to remove the wood and put it in the toaster oven, so I am sure the resin had completely penetrated the wood during it's time in the vacuum tank.
I was not interested in stabilizing wood for pen blanks and I had intended to use it for much thicker and bigger pieces of wood than what is generally used for pens. So I erred on the side of caution when it came to curing in the toaster oven. I left the wood in the oven for six hours to ensure that the resin had cured completely through the thicker pieces. Since I have not yet machined any of the wood that I have cured, it remains to be seen if I waited long enough. But there was no uncured resin when I unwrapped the wood blanks so I remain optimistic.
My recommendation of the Turntex products is very positive, and I feel that they are worth their cost. I am a firm believer in paying a premium for quality and buying only once. And in paying a premium to buy American. I have no problem recommending the Turntex products to others who have a need to stabilize wood.
