Buying and Storing Tonewoods

[rccosta]

If I'm interested in buying some rare back/side sets (blackwood, BRW, etc.) for a future build for 10+ years down the line, what's the best way to store those woods?

Temp? Humidity? Stacked with air circulation or stacked with large blocks of wood keeping them pressed flat and together? How often to examine for checking? Other tips?

[printer2]

I have mine stacked next to each other. Temperature does not fluctuate much but the humidity does. I have not noticed any problems with them, I am guessing I have had most for five to eight years.

[charles Tauber]

Assuming that the wood you are buying is already fully dried, there are two approaches that are most common. One is to put "stickers" (spacers) between each board and stack them with a weight on them and/or rubber bands to squeeze them flat and together. This allows some air flow over the wood. The other is to stack them one of top of the other with a weight on top of the stack, which allows little air flow over the wood.

Some will argue to allow seasonal temperature and humidity fluctuations while others will suggest you keep them in a constant environment. Regardless, a month or so before actually using them, they should be stored in the environment in which the building will take place, typically, stickered to allow air flow around them to reach equilibrium.

I'm not sure that there is much "hard" evidence to support one practice over the other. Most of mine is stacked and weighted without stickers because it takes up a lot less storage space.

[printer2]

A piece of wood exposed to free air on one side will gain and lose humidity on that side which may result in the sheet to cup somewhat until the moisture level across the thickness stabilizes. So you can sticker them allowing air on both sides or have them stacked together with one side (roughly) no more exposed than the other. Either way you should store them so they do not have a lot of free movement that they can get bent out of shape.

[tadol]

If you are serious about storing for 10 years or more, ideally you’d find a secure place where you can stack and sticker it where changes in temp and humidity are gradual. Building a wood locker might be an extremely good way to start -

[printer2]

Originally Posted by tadol

If you are serious about storing for 10 years or more, ideally you’d find a secure place where you can stack and sticker it where changes in temp and humidity are gradual. Building a wood locker might be an extremely good way to start -

But build it twice as big as you think you need. Unless you have more self control as some people.

[lar]

Is there a preferred orientation?

For example, for a long board, should it be stacked vertically or horizontally, or either? I assume if horizontally it should be supported every few feet to avoid bending. And if vertically, then it should be very close to vertical and not leaning against anything that could cause it to bend.

[redir]

I have an outdoor seasoning room in my barn where the fresh cut wood is stored stacked and stickered for years. After it's been resawn it comes into the environmentally controlled shop and gets stacked with no stikers becasue as Charles mentioned it takes up far less room. If I buy wood from luthier supply houses it comes directly in the shop and stabilizes at least a month before I use it.

I like to stack them on top of each other laying flat rather then vertical. But in a controlled environment that probably doesn't matter.

[tadol]

Your first post indicates you plan on buying rare back and side sets - so I would assume they are re-sawn, and closely sized. And you also say you want to store them for quite some time. In my mind, I’d want them stacked and stickered and weighted down in a secure box or cabinet that allows some air movement, but in a dry location that maintains a pretty constant low humidity. You want to be careful about moisture, especially the possibility of mold or mildew causing stains, and if the material isn’t well quartersawn, you want to do what you can to prevent any warping - especially if its resawn to rough thickness, and there’s not much to take off before you’re at finished thickness.

For long term storage, buying material that is in larger pieces - logs, billets, slabs, etc - can be much easier to store and preserve for longer times - but getting access to material in that form has a bunch of other problems -

[rccosta]

thanks, all! This was very helpful