Hi all.
Just a question on wood storage.
I will (possibly) be storing my project wood in an unheated shed which is dry, and has good ventilation. I keep tools in there and they don't go rusty, so moisture levels seem OK. Obviously it's cold in winter, and hot in summer, but will this cause me major issues with warping etc? Anybody got any experience in such matters?
Many thanks people.
Storing wood
Moderators: John Dean, Moderator
Re: Storing wood
Hi Stewart,
you should condition wood to the atmoshere it is going to be living in before fully machining it. That's true for furniture or aircraft. If its furniture then you need to get it to a similar moisture content to the room it is going to live in which these days is usually quite dry. For an aircraft it means something similar to the hanger environment so not so dry.
The shed storage you describe should be ideal. If you are working from bigger baulks, then first get the wood into sensible sections, then stack it on a flat surface with sticks between each piece so that the air can get to all faces so that it will settle to the ambient conditions fairly quickly and will (hopefully) stay reasonably flat. Inevitably, wood cut from larger sections does reshape itself The general rule is to expect the growth rings to shrink and effectively straighten out. Saw it, stack it and let it settle down if you can.
BS2V37 says 10-17% moisture content. 10% is dry and more the furniture end of the scale, I'd say aim for about 12-14%
If you are building a Minimax then if I remember correctly, it specifies white pine. That is not something you can get off the shelf from aircraft sources. Spruce is heavier but stronger. You probably wouldn't want to use douglas fir as that is much heavier.
Just a few thought, but I hope it helps.
regards,
Colin
you should condition wood to the atmoshere it is going to be living in before fully machining it. That's true for furniture or aircraft. If its furniture then you need to get it to a similar moisture content to the room it is going to live in which these days is usually quite dry. For an aircraft it means something similar to the hanger environment so not so dry.
The shed storage you describe should be ideal. If you are working from bigger baulks, then first get the wood into sensible sections, then stack it on a flat surface with sticks between each piece so that the air can get to all faces so that it will settle to the ambient conditions fairly quickly and will (hopefully) stay reasonably flat. Inevitably, wood cut from larger sections does reshape itself The general rule is to expect the growth rings to shrink and effectively straighten out. Saw it, stack it and let it settle down if you can.
BS2V37 says 10-17% moisture content. 10% is dry and more the furniture end of the scale, I'd say aim for about 12-14%
If you are building a Minimax then if I remember correctly, it specifies white pine. That is not something you can get off the shelf from aircraft sources. Spruce is heavier but stronger. You probably wouldn't want to use douglas fir as that is much heavier.
Just a few thought, but I hope it helps.
regards,
Colin
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Colin Cheese
Colin Cheese
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traumahawk1973
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Re: Storing wood
Hi Colin.
Thank you very much for your reply. As you can imagine I have 1001 questions, as I'm sure all first-time builders have. Just trying to avoid some of the potential pratfalls.
I'm doing my homework and trying to gen up as much as possible, have ordered some books on the subject of aircraft woodworking too, which should help, but there's no substitute for someone who has been there, done it, and got the T-shirt!
If the MiniMax specifies white pine and it's not available 'off the shelf' is this even harder to get hold of than Spruce? I realise that in a light airframe such as the MiniMax weight is an ever present issue. I will try meet some MiniMax builders and trawl for info. Must get myself to Sywell next year!
Thank you very much for your reply. As you can imagine I have 1001 questions, as I'm sure all first-time builders have. Just trying to avoid some of the potential pratfalls.
I'm doing my homework and trying to gen up as much as possible, have ordered some books on the subject of aircraft woodworking too, which should help, but there's no substitute for someone who has been there, done it, and got the T-shirt!
If the MiniMax specifies white pine and it's not available 'off the shelf' is this even harder to get hold of than Spruce? I realise that in a light airframe such as the MiniMax weight is an ever present issue. I will try meet some MiniMax builders and trawl for info. Must get myself to Sywell next year!
Stewart Mason