Wood Blank Storage

[Doug W Swanson]

Hey all,

I've been acquiring a fair amount of wood lately and need some advice on storing it. My shop is fairly small and in my basement. Currently I have a few shelves where I keep my turning stock.

I recently have picked up some Silver Maple, Elm, Boxelder, etc and now I'm running out of space. I would like to keep it in a climate controlled space (at least heated in the winter) but I'm not sure if I have room.

Here are some possible options:

- Build a small shed just for turning wood
- Make some space in either one of my garages (one heated, one not)
- Put some shelves in my garage attic (not heated or insulated)

Any recommendations? Keep in mind that I live in Minnesota so it gets below zero in the winter and can top 90 degrees in the summer (with humidity).

Thanks!

[John Hart]

I have about the same weather conditions, and I've had good experience with keeping them stored in the loft, although, I've always been uncomfortable with the heat and cold up there...but it hasn't seemed to hurt anything. I also have a shaded bin down below that seems to be ok. But my best space is in my finishing room that is closed off from everything else. It gets below freezing and up to about 80 when I'm not using it. I think the humidity is stable....or at least more stable than anywhere else.

[Dick Wilson]

Doug,

Probably the easiest way (and it won't be taking up space in your shop) is to anchor seal the wood and put each piece in a twist tied plastic bag (label it). Wood drys and checks because of air movement. I leave my wood in my unheated garage. So far no problems. You will get mold but that turns off. There comes a time when no matter what you do you get so darn much wood that you loose some no matter what you do. Price of all that free wood.

[Bob Bergstrom]

I rough out as quick as I can, then store them on shelves in the garage. If they freeze, it won't hurt them( some turners have stored bowls in chest freezers). They won't lose water when frozen, but the environment is fine for drying bowls. This last summer my garage was like a kiln. I had 60 maple bowls in there and most dried in five to six months(small one much quicker).

[Jack Mincey]

I rarely cut blanks out until the day or two before they are to rouged out. I like to leave them in log form sitting up on a pallet with the ends sealed and covered with a tarp and in the shade. When I do cut out blanks I simply place the blanks in a plastic garbage bag with some fresh shavings until I can turn them in the next few days. As far as being cold John Jordan puts his spacial blanks in a freezer to keep them from changing in color. I have a nice chunk of my red oak burl in my freezer waiting for him to come by this summer and pick it up when he is in the area. I think putting any wood that isn't already dry in an attack is asking for problems. This being said I did get several nice blanks from Mike Smith in the fall contest that he had cut and sealed in wax, I think it was melted wax. I kept them on the floor in the back of my boat storage area in my shop so that they would stay cool. They did great. I cool area is preferable to a hot area. I'm currently building a combo chicken coup with an 8' x 10' roof off the back side to store some of my log rounds in the dry and in the shade. I hope that it will give me a bit more time to turn some of the wood I come across. There just isn't enough time to get to every thing I have to do.
Jack

[Roger Wilson]

Have you thought about storing it in the ceiling of the basement. If the ceiling isn't finished there is room between the joists. If the floor to ceiling height is big enough you could also put some shallow shelves of some kind on the ceiling.

[Jim Burr]

A while back some really wet wood was sent to wrapped in "saran" type wrap with no checking. I unwrapped it and I swear with in 10 minutes it started to get small checks. I picked up mesquite and BE (really wet) yesterday and wrapped it in food wrap...so far so good, but a day is hardly enough to tell.

[Richard Jones]

Have you thought about storing it in the ceiling of the basement. If the ceiling isn't finished there is room between the joists. If the floor to ceiling height is big enough you could also put some shallow shelves of some kind on the ceiling.

Further to what Roger says, I just installed something similar in the ceiling of my basement. I bought a roll of 24" wide rat wire, about $12 for 50', screwed it to the bottom of the ceiling joists with washers, nothing permanent. The mesh wire allows even air flow over the entire surface, for whatever that's worth.......... sounds good, anyway........Pretty cheap and easy for 200 square feet of space that doesn't take up any space......:)

Rich

[Bernie Weishapl]

I have a 12 X 14 metal storage shed that is full of wood. I anchorseal with two coats and haven't had any problems at all. They stay out there year round with no climate control.

[David E Keller]

I bought some commercial grade kitchen shelving for my shop... The units I got are four feet wide, two feet deep, and 86" high with four shelves per unit. Each shelf is rated for 800 pounds, and additional shelves can be purchased. It works for me, and it was faster(and probably cheaper) than building my own shelving.

[Ken Hill]

I keep everything in log form as much as I can....I wouldnt store wood in a shed here due to Rattlers! I would build some shelves in every location you could, they will fill up fast!

[Greg Just]

I have a wood storage rack in the woods and I store the wood in log form, sealed and covered. As I cut it up I will bring it into my garage and shop. Certainly nothing fancy.

[Bob Rotche]

I think there are many good options as pointed out here and mostly depends on what you have available. I've been keeping mine stacked up along the edge of stairway to basement (separate exterior access that is not used much). Generally cool with little air movement. I think the biggest issue is how the wood is prepared more than the specific location. If you leave the pith in, it will crack pretty much regardless of the location and sealant and if you have removed the pith and sealed the ends, you have a pretty good shot at keeping most of it. Best idea (which I am not good about) is rough turning ASAP after cutting the wood.

[Doug W Swanson]

Thanks for all of the replies. I was worried that storing the wood outside or in an unheated space would render it useless but I guess that's not the case. I'll probably keep it outside until I get a chance to rough it out...

Thanks!

[Jeff Nicol]

Doug, Come down to EC some day and I will give you a tour of the Woodennicol shop and storage fiasco! I have wood everywhere I can put it! I turned a tall vase out of the silver maple you gave me, and it has beautiful grain and color ! I can't wait to get it dry and some oil on it to get it to "POP"

Take care,

Jeff