Is 12 Percent Moistue Content Ok?

[Daniel Sorbera]

I was looking at some alder on ebay and it says it's been kiln dried to 12 percent moisture content. I was under the impression that guitar wood should be 8 percent moisture content. Would it be okay to use a peice of alder thats 12 percent?

[unclej]

6 to 8 percent is pretty much the standard content to shoot for. if you can afford to let the wood air dry for a while it shouldn't take long to dry to that level. at 12% you might still get some shrinking and checking.

[SwedishLuthier]

8 percent is usualy regarded as "instrument making quality" but I have seen guitars that been build with wood containing 12 percent and they were OK.

[rhoads56]

12 or maybe 15%, is considered "furniture grade" and you dont see twisted table tops, chair legs, etc.

[GodBlessTexas]

You also don't see a lot of tables with guitar strings under tension.

Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas...

[gun]

True.... but he's speaking of Alder, body wood

[Doc]

I build with 12 percent stuff all the time and haven't had any trouble with it other than my own mistakes.

You do need to rough dimension the stuff and let it sit for a couple of days if you're using 6/4 or 8/4. You should do this with any thickness and any moisture content if you want to avoid problems anyhow. This lets any inconsitancies in dryness equilibrate.

In some environments taking it down too low can cause problems. No finish keeps all of the moisture from moving in and out of a finished piece, be it guitar or chair.

Where I live in Virginia our ambient humidity keeps air dried lumber from ever even approaching 6%. We run 80% and up almost all summer. Sort of like living in soup. But it's good for the complexion.

[erikbojerik]

Alder especially likes to check and split a little after you plane it down from rough. I'd let it sit a few months.