Dealing with live edge slabs in Florida

[Michael Giordano]

Hey all,

This is more a curiosity/long distance goal type question. I'd love at one point to do some live edge slab work for coffee/dining room tables. I live in Florida, and my "shop" is my garage. Obviously, we have quite the humidity situation down here, and I was wondering how that affects these larger kiln dried slabs. Is it a case of "it doesn't affect the wood as much as you think", "work it as quickly as possible" or "Time to buy a dehumidification system for your garage" type situation?

TIA!!

[Jamie Buxton]

You have a lot to learn about the physics of wood and water. Get and read Bruce Hoadley's book Understanding Wood.

[William Hodge]

Get a Lignomat moisture meter and check the moisture content of wood in the work space. That's what your slabs will end up being.

If I were starting out, I would look for the next big wave instead of one that is already crashing on the beach. Live edge stuff is tipping into leisure suit territory.

[Jim Becker]

Florida doesn't have a monopoly on humidity for sure! No matter where you are, moisture content is going to vary over time. That said, I agree with the premise that it's important to know and understand what the moisture content of your material happens to be. That's especially true with thicker slabs that may or may not be well seasoned. Dealing with 11-12-13% is doable. Dealing with 20% is an invite for trouble. You also want to be very careful when removing material to surface such things that you take relatively equal amounts off both sides to account for the fact that it's common for there to be an imbalance in moisture content through these thicker workpieces. All the rest is proper building technique that accounts for seasonal wood movement.

[Alan Lightstone]

Jim nailed it. Where you are in Florida matters some (4 season climate in Jacksonville vs intolerable heat and humidity in Miami.) That being said, taking wood movement / moisture issues into consideration, there is no reason why you can't build anything down here. It hasn't stopped me, and others.

I would get a good moisture meter, and read up on wood movement / drying. Time extremely well spent.

[Stan Calow]

And some woods are more stable than others.