Seasoning wood

[printer2]

Alright, I admit it. Sometimes I lack self control. Bought some wood here and there, nothing really special but decent enough to make an instrument from. Then another, then another. Just lean them up in the corner and it never really dawned on me but, I have a lot of wood. I was wondering about sticking a bunch of it up in the attic for a year or more? A lot of the tops are sanded to about 0.120", sticker them individually or will they get a sun tan with bikini stripes where the stickers are? Mid continental weather so up to 90 F (rarely) in summer down to -30 in winter. What do you think, worth the trouble?

[invguy921]

I'll be interested to hear what the pros say, but I think that those variations in temp might damage the wood. I'm pretty sure that attics tend to get hotter in the summer.

So, I could be totally wrong, but I think keeping the wood in a constant temp and humidity would be a better decision. Again, I'll defer to the peeps that know

[runamuck]

As long as the wood can expand and contract freely and is exposed equally on both faces to temp. and humidity changes it'll be fine.

[Tim McKnight]

Originally Posted by runamuck

As long as the wood can expand and contract freely and is exposed equally on both faces to temp. and humidity changes it'll be fine.

With all due respect ... not necessarily. It depends a lot on where the final completed instrument will reside. Lets say you live in Louisiana and the guitar was built there and the instrument will remain there then it will likely be OK ... BUT if you ship the instrument to AZ then its likely going to implode. Wood will seek it local wood moisture content equilibrium where it is stored regardless if its in an attic, interior closet, garage or basement.

{IF} you plan to build locally and then ship the completed instrument to somewhere where the RH / atmospheric moisture content differs vastly from your area then the wood must be stored in a controlled temperature and humidity room ... unless you are fortunate enough to live in a locale that has perfect RH with no changes or rapid environmental swings.

[runamuck]

Originally Posted by Tim McKnight

With all due respect ... not necessarily. It depends a lot on where the final completed instrument will reside. Lets say you live in Louisiana and the guitar was built there and the instrument will remain there then it will likely be OK ... BUT if you ship the instrument to AZ then its likely going to implode. Wood will seek it local wood moisture content equilibrium where it is stored regardless if its in an attic, interior closet, garage or basement.

{IF} you plan to build locally and then ship the completed instrument to somewhere where the RH / atmospheric moisture content differs vastly from your area then the wood must be stored in a controlled temperature and humidity room ... unless you are fortunate enough to live in a locale that has perfect RH with no changes or rapid environmental swings.

Good point, Tim. But the OP was talking about storing wood for a year or more.

[gauchita]

When wood is Season , the water content has reached an equilibrium with its environment . Wood also changes with age , it becomes harder and more brittle and from a wood workers point of view , more difficult to work . If your storing seasoned wood , it is better to try and slow down the ageing. So, keep it in a cool dry place , out of the sun and as stable as possible .

[Alan Carruth]

My understanding is that an attic, where the temperature and humidity swing widely over time, is the best place to season wood. All wood has some level of built-in stress when it's cut, and swings in temperature and humidity help to work this out. These changes also help break down the hemicellulose 'filler' in the wood, which is the component that absorbs moisture from the air. Over time with lots of such changes, the wood will shrink a bit and become more stable. If you store it is a place where the humidity and temperature are controlled it will just reach an equilibrium, and rate of stress reduction and hemicellulose degradation will be lower.

You don't want to run up to the attic in February, when there's a howling blizzard on and the alcohol in the thermometer has frozen, grab a set, and start turning it into a guitar to ship to New Orleans next month. Aside from the fact that the frost in the wood will cause it to condense moisture out of the air that will rust your tools, it's not going to be at the proper humidity. You need to plan ahead, particularly when the weather is extreme.

Ideally you'd get the wood down into the shop several weeks before you want to work with it. How many weeks is a matter of debate: I'd say four to six, but others will give longer or shorter times. This will obviously vary depending on the season and so on. If you have a good scale you can simply weigh the wood periodically, and use it when it has reached a stable weight in your (presumably) humidity controlled space.

Of course, you have to be aware of how your shop humidity compares with the humidity where the instrument will end up. If you're shipping to someplace dry then you'll need to see that the shop is dry too, and so on.

[Rodger Knox]

I've always thought of seasoning wood as storing boards before they are cut into guitar sets, after that they should be stickered and kept in a more controlled environment.

[redir]

If they are in sunlight then yes you will get tan lines but usually those get planed or sanded out anyway. I don't bother stickering plates that are already well seasoned and ready for usage. I just stack them and put a heavy board on top.

Here's a pile of maple I cut about 6 months ago. It's in an attic like environment and as Alan said that's a pretty good way to season it. The environmental swings from left to right are what you want. You want to 'stretch' the wood out in all directions to stabilize it. I realize the use of the word is a stretch

The boards are one inch thick and will be stickered for one year then cut into plates and stored in the shop for at least 3 months before I use them, and that's pushing it but it's part oaf a project... long story.

[Richard Mott]

Glad to hear Al Carruth weigh in, especially as I had left some Italian bearclaw archtop wedges up in the eaves of my uninsulated attic for ten years, cycling through 120 degree summers down to 10 below winters. It came out sounding incredible, like a church bell, though it may have gone in that way for all I know!

[printer2]

I doubt I will be doing much building this season, I have some tendon problems with my right hand and just picked up a brace which is suppose to keep my thumb immobile in the right position. I'll tell you right now a movable thumb that doesn't just stick out in the air is quite important in life. I joked with the guy in physio, 'what do you think, two three weeks?' and he laughed, more like maybe two or three months if things go well.

So I figure over 100 tops, 50 back and side sets, wood to be resawn into more, just bringing it up from the basement will take some doing. I do have a small garage out back where they could also go but it will not get to the temperatures that the attic will see. Might do that because I would have to build shelves in the attic, not a major thing. I am guessing I will have to weigh the stacks down so the wood does not get to squirrely. Speaking of, a squirrel got into that garage and made one heck of a mess. Nothing is easy.

[murrmac123]

i am slightly puzzled by the apparent consensus that a guitar should be built with the ambient humidity of the intended destination in mind.

IMO you build at 40% - 50% RH, with the wood acclimated to this RH prior to gluing anything up, irrespective of whether the guitar's (immediate) destination is Arizona or Florida. The ultimate destination down the line could be somewhere totally different.

The onus of ensuring that the guitar will be maintained in this RH lies squarely on the shoulders of the original purchaser ( and subsequent, if any) .

[redir]

Originally Posted by printer2

I doubt I will be doing much building this season, I have some tendon problems with my right hand and just picked up a brace which is suppose to keep my thumb immobile in the right position. I'll tell you right now a movable thumb that doesn't just stick out in the air is quite important in life. I joked with the guy in physio, 'what do you think, two three weeks?' and he laughed, more like maybe two or three months if things go well.

So I figure over 100 tops, 50 back and side sets, wood to be resawn into more, just bringing it up from the basement will take some doing. I do have a small garage out back where they could also go but it will not get to the temperatures that the attic will see. Might do that because I would have to build shelves in the attic, not a major thing. I am guessing I will have to weigh the stacks down so the wood does not get to squirrely. Speaking of, a squirrel got into that garage and made one heck of a mess. Nothing is easy.

I hope you will finish that 2x4 guitar though

[printer2]

Originally Posted by redir

I hope you will finish that 2x4 guitar though

I may have unexplained lapses in judgment the odd day.