Wood Storage

[iluvteles]

Just wanted to ask the forums advice about how other hobby builders store there wood. The reason being is that I'm building up a collection of high figure drop tops like English Yew, Ash and Walnut, body blanks and neck blanks. They are glued up and drum sanded flat but after a while they start to warp. the drop tops and body blanks tend to curve.

What am I doing wrong. Its seems like a basic question and answer but I need to know as I dont want to add to my private stock if it wont store well.

Do I store it in a cold dry garage?

Do I store it indoors where it is warm?

Do I wrap it in plasic or not?

Any advice would be great

Thanks

[westhemann]

Sounds like they may not be dry when you get them.They usually aren't as dry as claimed.

When i get new wood in I make sure the ends are sealed and store it for years before touching it except in cases where i know the seller personally.

Of course this is the proper way to store wood

But I just stand it up in a closet .Main thing is I don't start working with it until it Stops moving.I wish I had a well ventilated attic I would store it there

[iluvteles]

Thanks for the reply Wes. just to be clear. You keep your wood indoors? Do you wrap it in plastic or just open to the environment?

I have some great high figure stuff and I know they will glue down but I want them to be right.

[Prostheta]

Maximise airflow around the faces! Wrapping will localise moisture, promoting fungal growth and staining (although "covering" is quite different). Outside, the wood should be in a position where it is (reasonably as possible anyway) protected from sunlight, localised heating (such as one end of the stack warmer than the other) and dampness.

For wood that is cut down close to the final size for use and "dried" (ie. body and neck blanks) then sticking and stacking is overkill for smaller amounts, however you still need to maintain good airflow. Bodies can be stored as you would books, leaving a little space around them rather than rammed together. Necks or longer stock should ideally not be left leant at angles, so horizontal (or at a pinch, vertical with no weight bearing) storage is good practice.

Any wood that is going to be left for a protracted period of time unused should be sealed at the ends as Wes says. Endgrain is far more porous than face grain, so wood will lose and gain moisture from the atmosphere quicker at these points (kind of like a bunch of straws for visualising). This differing rate of seasonal adjustment between the end grain and the wood further in promotes cracking as they expand and contract at different speeds. You might lose a couple of cm from the ends of sealed wood, however that easily moves into double figures once you start pulling old unsealed wood from stock.

Environmentally stable without huge quick changes or excesses of moisture and heat. Your garage will be as good as indoors more than likely, plus more wife friendly than the wardrobe.

[westhemann]

After posting in here I decided I was tired of having all my wood in the closet,so since my woodshop is eventually going to be at the back of my storage container I built a shelf

It is just a bare bones thing...the verticals and 4 horizontals are screwed to the wall behind,and I just threw some 2 by 4s between them,used the oak flooring as "tickers",and started stacking.Like Pros said,all of this wood is dry for years,so I just started stacking.The boards are not jammed together front to back,so there is reasonable airflow.Most of this wood is pretty flat,except for the Spanish Cedar close to the top..so I stacked some weight on it to flatten it as it sits.

Nothing too complicated about it.If I get new wood in I will ticker it for a few years and then stack it too.

It may look like just a small amount of wood there,but there is actually quite a bit..enough for a dozen guitars or more.In that stack is Mahoganies,Red Cumaru,Longhi,Limba,Bubinga,Bocote,Walnut,Alder,Maple,Jatoba,Bloodwood,veneers, Spanish Cedar,Sapele,and something that has grain like sapelle but is brown instead of reddish brown.I forget what it is called.

[Prostheta]

Making your first store of wood is a life-affirming experience.

[iluvteles]

Thanks for the replys. The wood I have is dried already so this is what I'm going to do. I'm keeping to wood in my garage which is dry. Once cut into rough body blank thickness I'll just stack them up out of sunlight and not touch them for two weeks. Then i'l drum sand them flat and leave until I need to use them. I'll only joint and glue when I'm ready to build instead of having a stock of glued up blanks and tops.

Lee has a plan