Winter woodworking

[Jesus Aleman]

I am just setting up a small shop in my garage (hobbyist). I'm going to take some time off after Christmas to finish some projects around the house. One of them involve a walnut top for a corner fire place. I plan to purchase the lumber on the weekend and let it acclimatize in my basement for a month. The basement is heater/humidified as is the rest of the house. However, the garage is not heated or ventilated. I live in Toronto. Weather is relatively cold in the winter. Thus, humidity is low. Spring/summers are humid. Here are my questions:

I am concerned about exposing the wood to large variations in humidity by storing it in the basement, but working in the garage. I plan to mill, cut and router in the garage, but finish in the basement. Is this workable, or should I just simply store, work and finish in the garage and pray that I won't have issues once inside the house?

Thanks in advance for your responses.

JGA.

[Bob Genovesi]

Bottom line is the humidity is low in both places this time of year so you'll be fine. Let the wood acclimate to its new environment for a week or so then start cutting.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

In his book "Understanding Wood" Hoadley talks about his experience finishing and moving wood from one location to another. He ran into finishing problems. He figured the wood was "off-gassing" as a result of the temperature changes.

I dont' know or have an opinion as to whether it would effect machining the wood.

[John Michaels]

My experience with walnut is that it's pretty stable. Every piece of wood is different so I would proceed with caution. I've worked a fair amount with western maple and it can really have a mind of it's own, especially the figured stuff.

[Charles Davis]

Are you exchanging the air in your basement? If not, are you concerned about fumes during finishing?

I ask because I'd like to finish inside my home during the winter and have yet to solve this issue. I'm thinking about doing my best to seal off a small bedroom and finish in there, opening a window to vent fumes. Don't mean to hijack the thread but thought others opinions will help you out too! :)

Ohh and I keep my lumber indoors (in my dining room.... seriously) and use a humidifer to keep the relative humidity around 40%. I run a de-humidifier in the garage where I mill to help my iron tables in the fight against rust (yes, I also T-9 and wax). I never leave lumber in the garage... I just mill it and bring it back in before the lumber has a chance to acclimate to the very-low humidity environment.

-Charles