Storing Timber

[theaxe]

Hey guys,

Got a few caps, bodies and necks hanging around..

At the moment everything is stored on top of each other.

Is there a better way to do this to reduce the timber warping?. Or is their no real way?.

Already i have seen a bit of warp in one of my caps..

Sorry if this is in the wrong section.

Deano

[Mattia]

Stickering and weighting is the safest way to keep things from moving about, particularly thinner stock.

Basically, thin sticks of scrap wood/pine/melamine (1/8" to 1/4" thick), evenly spaced, between bits of wood you stack, and some weight on top. This provides even airflow all around the piece.

Personally, I sticker wood as it comes in, and after a few months I simply stack and weight it. Works fine for my acoustic back/side sets and tops (very thin). Big boards in the rough get the same treatment: sticker for a while, then stack. Once I start actually working on them, I tend to leave them unstickered in an environment that's relatively stable (I have a digital hygrometer/thermometer I check once in a while, one in the 'inside' shop where projects in progress live, one in the 'outside' shop where raw lumber in big board form lives). If it's going to move a little, I'd rather know that before gluing it up. A little cupping (ie, requiring minimal pressure to push into place) is fine, major twisting (particularly in necks) tells me the material's not suitable for what I want to use it for.

[fryovanni]

Exactly what Mattia said .

[theaxe]

Hey,

Thanks for the help.

What do you mean by 'stickering'

Cheers,

Deano

[oz tradie]

This past thread should shed a bit more light.

click

[Jon]

The "stickers" space the wood to make airflow for the wood to create a micro-atmosphere. Then the weight on top keeps everything dead flat. Here's the first picture I took of my stickered stack, I still need to get two more pieces cut and finish building it! Also, I added a 4'x8' piece of plywood on top + weight to keep it all dead flat, I haven't had any problem with the boards warping or checking yet, although I have 10+ months to go.

[theaxe]

Cool guys,

Ill get some timber tomorrow and get on to it!.

Should I do the same with long length's (2-4m) or is that unnecessary?.

Thanks again.

Deano

[fryovanni]

Be sure to align your sticks so that you transfer the pressure of the top weight straight down through the stack(else you will cause more distortion than you prevent by adding pressure.

It will also improve even drying if you make sure you have air circulating between the pieces. If the air in the space you are stickering is slow, a small fan can keep things moving better. I have stickered stacks in rooms with slow air movement, and have read higher moisture content tward the center of the stickered stack. It only takes a little movement to prevent this.

Yes, you should treat all new wood to your shop the same as it aclimatizes. Be sure to use more sticks on longer pieces of wood. You want to use enough to provide a good reasonably even support. I use 3 on a 20-28" stack, four if I have 32-36" and so forth...

Peace,Rich

[Bainzy]

I just bought a 1 piece Alder body blank, dimensions 2" x 13 5/8" x 23 3/4" - it looks like it still needs to dry out a bit more, although it was quoted as being KD to 8-10% for 30 days before being listed for sale - how should I store this when it arrives? I work in my garage, the climate here is typical north of England climate so the garage can get a bit cold, should I leave it in the garage or in the house before working on it? Is stickering 1 piece and weighting a waste of time?

http://i10.ebayimg.com/04/i/000/ag/ab/9cf7_1.JPG

http://i8.ebayimg.com/05/i/000/ag/ab/9e64_1.JPG

Edited August 30, 2007 by Bainzy

[Jon]

Hard to say, but I certainly wouldn't leave it in a cold garage. I'd leave it in a controlled climate, like somewhere in your house for 3-4 weeks to acclimatise. If they say it's 8-10%, then it should be around there.

[Woodenspoke]

Wet wood use stickers.... dry wood stack. I do not like to sticker dry wood for two reasons weight keeps the boards flat and stacking reduces moisture evaporation and slows the process down so it has a chance to gradually acclimate to your shop. Just keep your wood off any concrete floor or it will suck up moisture. The sticked pictures sure do look pretty but is a waste of time in my opinion. If you have thin tops to stack place some heavy weight on top like a piece of plywood and a few bricks or hard wood to keep everything flat and be patient before you use it. IF you have to dry it fast then sticker it but I always buy years in advance so I never sticker.

[fryovanni]

Wet wood use stickers.... dry wood stack. I do not like to sticker dry wood for two reasons weight keeps the boards flat and stacking reduces moisture evaporation and slows the process down so it has a chance to gradually acclimate to your shop. Just keep your wood off any concrete floor or it will suck up moisture. The sticked pictures sure do look pretty but is a waste of time in my opinion. If you have thin tops to stack place some heavy weight on top like a piece of plywood and a few bricks or hard wood to keep everything flat and be patient before you use it. IF you have to dry it fast then sticker it but I always buy years in advance so I never sticker.

I find your advice solid just about all the time Spoke, but on this point I do not agree with you. I deal with a fair bit of wood, and am confident my methods.

Unaclimated(but fairly dry wood) is best stickered not because it speeds up any drying, but more importantly it evens out the exposure to the air from all of its faces(same rules as usual with end sealer, but it is much less important than with wet wood). The picture I posted is a stack of Spruce that is cut wet (this is the best method for processing Spruce to smaller dimension), and needs to be air dried quickly as possible to limit discoloration (sticker and fan do the job). After wood has been fully aclimated then regular stacking is perfectly fine (and I do this myself). As far as trying to aclimate a deep stack of wood, you will be fine (the face on the top and bottom of the stack notwithstanding). However it will take much longer to aclimate depending on the stack, and you will have real uneven drying unless you allow a lot of time(a wide stack, say 8" wide stock stacked 6" tall, could very well take over a year or years just to aclimate from a fairly dry state). Speed (within reason) in drying is a very good idea with light colored woods, because removing that moisture cuts down on discoloration from mold(a real problem with Spruce, and figured Maples).

Peace,Rich

[Woodenspoke]

Wet wood use stickers.... dry wood stack. I do not like to sticker dry wood for two reasons weight keeps the boards flat and stacking reduces moisture evaporation and slows the process down so it has a chance to gradually acclimate to your shop. Just keep your wood off any concrete floor or it will suck up moisture. The sticked pictures sure do look pretty but is a waste of time in my opinion. If you have thin tops to stack place some heavy weight on top like a piece of plywood and a few bricks or hard wood to keep everything flat and be patient before you use it. IF you have to dry it fast then sticker it but I always buy years in advance so I never sticker.

I find your advice solid just about all the time Spoke, but on this point I do not agree with you. I deal with a fair bit of wood, and am confident my methods.

Unaclimated(but fairly dry wood) is best stickered not because it speeds up any drying, but more importantly it evens out the exposure to the air from all of its faces(same rules as usual with end sealer, but it is much less important than with wet wood). The picture I posted is a stack of Spruce that is cut wet (this is the best method for processing Spruce to smaller dimension), and needs to be air dried quickly as possible to limit discoloration (sticker and fan do the job). After wood has been fully aclimated then regular stacking is perfectly fine (and I do this myself). As far as trying to aclimate a deep stack of wood, you will be fine (the face on the top and bottom of the stack notwithstanding). However it will take much longer to aclimate depending on the stack, and you will have real uneven drying unless you allow a lot of time(a wide stack, say 8" wide stock stacked 6" tall, could very well take over a year or years just to aclimate from a fairly dry state). Speed (within reason) in drying is a very good idea with light colored woods, because removing that moisture cuts down on discoloration from mold(a real problem with Spruce, and figured Maples).

Peace,Rich

Rich I think you hit the difference on the head, I dont need my wood dry quickly. I also build furniture in addition to my luthier builds. Have you ever tried stickering 100's of board feet of domestic lumber not easy. I also have 1/4 logs of pear and it is impossible to sticker as an example of things you cant do.

Yes when I am luckily enough to find some free wood its stickered when wet and end sealed. I cant remember buying any domestic wood which was sealed in any way on the edges just kiln dried standard fair.

If I buy spruce for tops it sits in a billet in a pile until I can get to re sawing the board, enough time to let things settle and acclimate. the same with necks, sides and backs and bodies. I see no reason to sticker a billet or thick 2" board. Maybe the first thing you do is resaw the bllet and then sticker. Apples and oranges to me different methods and needs. I avoid buying thin precut wood but look for thick billet sized pieces, even fingerboards all of which will need re-sawing in the future. I may have one piece of 12"x 2" x 6 foot mahagony board but it will not be stickered just put in the good pile.

But again I am in no rush to dry my wood as you may be to acclimate and use it, and your need to speed up the process.