4-5 years ago I got into turning pens and it was great fun. I had a small General midi lathe and it was a great way to pass the time. When I moved, I sold my lathe and have since bought a much larger OneWay. I have invested in a whole array of interesting woods from all over the world with quite a bit of burls and exotics. I also invested in turning between centers and have the CNC turned bushings made. I have had in the past times when turning that the the wood (burl) just blew out. might have been a catch, but could have been a screw up on my end.

I am getting back into the pen game again as I have found new relatives in the UK and they all want a pen, and it seems their friends to too and are willing to pay good money to get interesting wood.

I have invested in a vacuum chamber and a pressure pot and now can stabilize and cast pens too. I am wondering for all my pens if it is worth stabilizing them all before turning. The thought that these are now being sold and the last thing I would want is for a pen to crack as you generally turn the wood to essentially a thin veneer around the brass tube. Will adding cactus juice help increase the strength of the pen to withstand more abuse (like getting dropped) or am I fooling myself?

Thanks for any advice that can be given.

Matt