How are Dimensioned/Milled Boards Affected by a Change in Climate?

[Bob Coleman]

I hope someone here can corroborate/give me some peace of mind!

I am in the middle of making a bed at my Dad's outside Atlanta. Unfortunately I didn't budget my vacation time well and will need to head home before its done. He's driving out my way (Denver) in September and I thought to have him bring all the pieces with him so I could wrap it up.

Will moving the boards from Atlanta at the end of the summer (really high humidity) to Denver (much lower humidity) cause me any problems? Nothing is too wide except the headboard at ~15": rails are 6" and posts 3.5" square.

Thanks in advance!

[Jason Beam]

They'll almost certainly shrink - at best. Whether they do so uniformly is doubtful -- i would not mill them to finish dimension until you're about to make use of them in fairly short order and after they've had time to acclimate to whatever location they're in so they stabilize.

[Chris Padilla]

Yep to what Jason said. You are going from really high humidity to really low humidity (I know...I'm from Denver) and the boards will MOVE and SHRINK and likely in ways that will frustrate you in trying to work with the now not-so-square lumber.

What kind of wood are we talking about here? Are they mostly flat-sawn or are they quarter or perhaps rift-sawn? Quarter-sawn will move the least...next is rift...and then flat-sawn.

You must (should) let the wood acclimate in Denver for a couple of days...then re-mill it square if necessary. If the bed is going to reside in Atlanta, you must consider wood movement (you should anyway) in your joinery and in the project in general. Since it is a bed frame, your dealings with wood movement once completed will probably not be a big deal. Wood movement usually catches us with draws that are too loose or too tight but captive wood that wants to move but can't will split on you no matter where it is located or what the project is. How much it moves on you before you begin will be a huge clue for you. If it gets real squirrelly on you, you might have issues when it goes back to Atlanta from Denver.

[Bill Orbine]

You're kinda moving lumber from a summer climate to fall/winter climate. Yes, let the lumber acclimate a few days before making dust. Same as bringing wood from dry storage outside into the climate controlled shop.