Best Locale for Wood Storage

[Mark Crenshaw]

I'm sure this gets asked alot and I tried the search function but it kept returning errors.

I have spent a month or so sawing, planing, joining and gluing parts for future guitar projects. I have 16 body blanks, 20 tops, 40 neck blanks and 50 fretboard blanks cut and glued to rough dimensions. The species are mahogany, rosewood, ash, basswood, walnut and maple. All of the wood is dry and stable and currently being kept, on stickers, in my climate controlled studio. I have more room in my shop than I do in the studio but my shop isn't climate controlled. It's temps are often 90+ F in the summer and down to 30 F in the winter. The RH is normally around 40% but can swing from 40% to 70% for brief periods.

I know that as I build I will need to acclimate each project to the shop temps and RH but would it be okay to just move everything out to the shop or should I keep it fully climate controlled until I need it?

Peace,
Mark

[Lee Ludden]

I'd be worried more about humidity than heat. Maybe wrapping them in plastic shrinkwrap would keep the pieces from going too wild.

[Frank Drew]

I think Lee's suggestion to shrink wrap the bundles is a good one if the wood is indeed dry and you need to store it in an area with fluctuating humidity, and wood that's dry and stable doesn't need to be stickered, so you can save some space there.

[Mark Crenshaw]

I'd be worried more about humidity than heat. Maybe wrapping them in plastic shrinkwrap would keep the pieces from going too wild.

I think Lee's suggestion to shrink wrap the bundles is a good one if the wood is indeed dry and you need to store it in an area with fluctuating humidity, and wood that's dry and stable doesn't need to be stickered, so you can save some space there.

Thanks for the input guys. That's great to know about wrapping them. I never would have considered that.

I came up with a solution that let's me keep the wood indoors. I moved the shelf I was going to use in the garage, into my studio closet... it just does fit with enough room to close the door. And, I have easy access to whatever I want to pull for a particular build.



Thanks again for the input.

Peace,
Mark

[Tony Bilello]

I would think that if you wrapped anything in plastic that has any potential for releasing moisture, you could have a mold or rot problem.

Anyway, If the wood is dry and stable, it would be safe to store in your shop. I would stack, but not sticker. I have teak, mahogany and padouk stacked for over a year and there is no problem. The moisture content will never rise all that much under normal conditions.

[Jeff Duncan]

I'm not sure about the plastic wrapping either....mostly b/c I haven't heard of anyone doing it, and I wouldn't want test the theory with a nice stack of wood.
Looks like your wood is pretty well off where you have it currently. If you want to save some room you really don't need to keep it stickered for long term storage.
So are all these future guitars for you?

good luck,
JeffD

[Mark Crenshaw]

I'm not sure about the plastic wrapping either....mostly b/c I haven't heard of anyone doing it, and I wouldn't want test the theory with a nice stack of wood.
Looks like your wood is pretty well off where you have it currently. If you want to save some room you really don't need to keep it stickered for long term storage.

good luck,
JeffD

It's always interesting to see the varying opinions on this subject. I guess it comes down to what works for each person.


I made some good progress here for certain...this is how it was stored before the shelves.





Thanks again for the input.

Peace,
Mark

[Mark Crenshaw]

So are all these future guitars for you?
JeffD

Yeah, if I live that long.

I've been slowly aquiring materials while it's hot...it's not pleasant out in the garage these days. When it cools down, I plan to do a small production run of an original design. I'll start the prototype in the next few days and just work on it as the weather allows. I'll be sure to start a build thread in Woodworking Projects for you guys to follow along.

Peace,
Mark