Help with acclimating stock

[Jason Zahn]

I'm hoping someone can give me a hand here. I'm getting ready to build a coffe table out of walnut and curly maple for a family member. I'll be buying the lumber skip planed on a face and jointed on an edge, 4/4 mainly, but 12/4 walnut for the legs.


My shop is an attached garage that's heated only when I'm working via a wall mounted shop heater.


Now I know the lumber should acclimate for a couple weeks, but if the final resting place of the piece is in a house (obviously), should I rough mill, then acclimate the lumber inside my house for a couple weeks, and then just store the parts in the house during the build process instead of storing in the garage, or does this really not matter?


I guess what I'm concerned with is the stock going from the sawmill yard to my shop, then sitting in my shop for a month as I pick through the project, and then all of a sudden the finished piece goes from 40 deg garage directly into 71 degree house with differential humidity levels.


Hopefully I am over thinking all of this, and I can just bring it from the mill yard to my garage shop, rest it, mill it oversize again closer to true dimensions, let it rest again (especially the 12/4) and then do a final milling and go about building the table.


Sorry for rambling, I'm just trying to make sense of this and do it the right way.




Thanks!

[Justin Ludwig]

First questions to be answered: Is the lumber kiln dried, air dried, or still green? Do you own a wood moisture meter?

[Jason Zahn]

First questions to be answered: Is the lumber kiln dried, air dried, or still green? Do you own a wood moisture meter?

Sorry...kiln dried lumber. I'm in Maryland, and the table's destination is Savannah, GA.

I do not have a meter, but may buy one. Reccomendations?

[Andrew Hughes]

I wouldn't worry about the Walnut,But the maple may give you grief keep your eye on it check with moisture meter.

[Lee Schierer]

As you remove material from a board, remove equal amounts of material from each face. Sticker the pieces after surface preparation and let it set for a few days. Don't rush it. Temperature is less concern than relative humidity. I recommend finishing all surfaces with equal layers of finish to keep moisture changes equal on each side of boards. This time of the year humidity in Maryland is probably close to Georgia.

[Jason Zahn]

I wouldn't worry about the Walnut,But the maple may give you grief keep your eye on it check with moisture meter.

Happen to reccommend a certain moisture meter?

[Justin Ludwig]

I don't have a recommendation on moisture meters. Lee is right. This time of year is pretty tame with even RH across the US. Just watch the wood when removing material.

[Jason Zahn]

As you remove material from a board, remove equal amounts of material from each face. Sticker the pieces after surface preparation and let it set for a few days. Don't rush it. Temperature is less concern than relative humidity. I recommend finishing all surfaces with equal layers of finish to keep moisture changes equal on each side of boards. This time of the year humidity in Maryland is probably close to Georgia.

Thanks Lee, I was def planning on doing just that. So once it's built and finished equally all surfaces, it shouldn't be an issue?

[Jason Zahn]

Thanks, well I guess at least I'm building it at the right time of year to send it south!

[David Eisenhauer]

I bet you a dollar that the house in Georgia is air conditioned, so the indoors RH should not swing too wildly. You should be OK with your plan of working in your shop, but I would warm things up on gluing and finishing days. I carry my glue back into the house (unheated shop) at the end of the workday plus keep my finishes inside the house this time of the year. Rough cut/plane everything down close to final thickness and widths, sticker, let acclimate a few days, then go to final thickness and widths.

[Jason Zahn]

I bet you a dollar that the house in Georgia is air conditioned, so the indoors RH should not swing too wildly. You should be OK with your plan of working in your shop, but I would warm things up on gluing and finishing days. I carry my glue back into the house (unheated shop) at the end of the workday plus keep my finishes inside the house this time of the year. Rough cut/plane everything down close to final thickness and widths, sticker, let acclimate a few days, then go to final thickness and widths.

Safe bet there on the A/C!! Thanks for the input, David. Sounds good to me...

[Bob Michaels]

Jason, as far as recommendations on which moisture meter to buy, just do a search on "moisture meter" at the top of this page. Lots of good info. fwiw, I use a pinless Lignomat. The pin type never really caught my interest but, that's just me. I really don't know which is more accurate.

[Jason Zahn]

Thanks all for the advice and recommendations.