Workshop New Wood Adjustment Time - a Q

[onocoffee]

I have an understanding that when you bring new wood into your shop you want to let it chill for a week or two for the wood to acclimatize to the workshop environment. Is this always the case?

Went by my local sawmill today and picked up some lengths of walnut and hard maple. This sawmill's display room is basically a big barn-ish structure that is unconditioned. Meaning it's basically the same temp and humidity as it is outside the big open barn doors.

My garage is also pretty darn cold and exposed to the humidity of the outside. Okay, maybe it's a little warmer (by maybe 5 degrees) as the outside. I only have a propane heater running when I'm trying to do some work.

Is acclimatization still necessary in these conditions?

 

[luvmytoolz]

Whether it's necessary or not I always leave new timber to acclimatize as long as possible to stabilise. Some really hard desert wood I used for a resin/wood charcuterie board had been standing in my well insulated shed for several years, but foamed up the resin as it was still too moist. When I got a moisture meter on it the reading was around 25%.

Some timbers are more forgiving than others, my experience with hard maple however is that it wants to twist in every direction when cut as the internal stresses are relieved. Walnut though is a very stable timber I've found.

 

[hdv]

Well, you need to think of where your workpiece(s) will end up. It is more important to make sure your wood is acclimatised to the  humidity in that place, otherwise your joints will get stressed and might get loose.

 

[rvieceli]

[member=82312]onocoffee[/member] Generally speaking you will want to work with wood that has been dried to somewhere between 7%-10% moisture content. I'm in a very humid area in the summer, it is not uncommon for a sawyer to pull pieces out of a kiln at around 7% and have it drift back up to 10 or 11% Ideally you can buy from a mill that has a kiln on site

In order to find out the moisture content , you'll need to buy a moisture meter. I like the Wagner series of pinless meters. The Orions
there are three in the series you might want to take a look at:

The 910 is a deep depth meter, that the one I have as I never work with anything thinner that 1.5 inches usually 2 to 2.5
The 920 is shallow depth for 4/4 wood
the 930 is a meter that can do both
https://www.amazon.com/Wagner-Meter...c4c-b5a8-9f462b2d3225&pd_rd_i=B07JQHR6TJ&th=1

Ron

 

[ChuckM]

In most cases, new wood stays in my shop or basement for a couple months to a few years before it's used. If the wood is stored in the basement, it'll be moved to the shop and stay there for a week or two to allow for any cups, twists, etc. to be dealt with before the project begins.

 

[SoonerFan]

I purchase all my rough-sawn lumber from a local sawmill that has a couple of large kilns onsite.  After I pick up a new batch, I place it in my shop for at least 4 weeks before I use it. It often sits for 8+ weeks since I typically “buy ahead”. When I purchased 8/4 white oak or walnut, I will let it set for 3+ months before using it to make sure I don't have issues with lumber this expensive. I have not had any issues yet and am hoping that trend continues. A meter is needed to know the moisture level when you plan to start a project.

My shop is conditioned by a mini split, which I run constantly in the heart of summer and in the winter. During the spring and fall, I run it as needed. In the winter, the humidity in the shop will drop to 20% or so. In the summer, it’s much higher. 

 

[Muttley000]

My space is heated but not air conditioned, same as my hardwood dealer’s places. I still let it sit a minimum of 4 weeks stickered in my shop before I start.  I rough mill and let it sit a few more days minimum before i final square and mill.

 

[luvmytoolz]

[member=3192]rvieceli[/member] +1 for the Wagner meters!

I went through 3-4 cheapies that were absolute rubbish, before I got a Wagner which I now use all the time for nice consistent results.

 

[rvieceli]

[member=3192]rvieceli[/member] +1 for the Wagner meters!

I went through 3-4 cheapies that were absolute rubbish, before I got a Wagner which I now use all the time for nice consistent results.

[member=75933]luvmytoolz[/member] “trust but verify”

Ron