Using PEG for dimensional stability
The discovery and use of PEG for stabilizing previously unseasoned lumber. 1998.
by Professor Gene Wengert
Q.
I read an article in a magazine several years ago, which describes soaking lumber in a solution of PEG in order to acheive dimensional stability after drying. I cannot remember any more about the article than that, but I hope that you might know something about this subject.
A.
Years ago, some researchers discovered that if green wood was soaked in a solution of polyethylene glycol-1000 (PEG-1000, where the number stands for the molecular weight of ethylene glycol--many molecules of PEG are tied together in a string to make PEG-1000; ethylene glycol-1 is antifreeze), the chemical gradually moved into the wood. This chemical ended up bulking the wood so the wood couldn't shrink when it was dried. So, PEG 1000 became a way of stabilizing green, never-dried-before, wood.
It has been used for many items, including walnut and maple gunstocks, coffee tables, and water soaked wooden artifacts. The wood itself must be porous enough, when green, to allow the PEG-1000 to diffuse into the wood.
PEG works well, although the chemical is expensive. There is some slow bleeding of the PEG out of the wood (it is waxy) in warm weather, potentially leading to finishing problems. However, cleaning the surface before finishing and then applying polyurethane works very well.
My favorite publication on PEG and how to use it is "How PEG helps the hobbyist who works with wood" by H. Mitchell, US Forest Products Lab, One Gifford Pinchot Drive, Madison, WI 53705. Many magazines have published information on PEG too. A very good write-up is included in Bruce Hoadley's book UNDERSTANDING WOOD; see Chapter 11 (1980 edition).
Professor Gene Wengert is Extension Specialist in Wood Processing at the Department of Forestry, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
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