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| Climate, temperature, humidity, etc. to build in http://w-ww.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=28146 |
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| Author: | Moobox [ Sat Jul 10, 2010 6:49 am ] |
| Post subject: | Climate, temperature, humidity, etc. to build in |
Sorry if this has been addressed before but what are the ideal conditions to build an acoustic guitar in? What do you do when a summer is particularly humid? What on earth do the builders in Europe do arent all the summers wet? |
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| Author: | Tom West [ Sat Jul 10, 2010 7:30 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Climate, temperature, humidity, etc. to build in |
Raymond: Summer here[Nova Scotia] is the time for dreaming,planning and aquiring supplies. The last few days RH has been in the 90% to 95% region and no air conditioning.Will not do much until around Sept.or Oct. when the air starts to dry out a bit. Tom |
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| Author: | Laurent Brondel [ Sat Jul 10, 2010 12:12 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Climate, temperature, humidity, etc. to build in |
Northern New-England where I live (and build) could perhaps be the worst place on Earth to build delicate wooden instruments. Temps and RH wildly fluctuate, sometimes in the same day. It could be 90% RH in the morning, and 20% in the evening if the weather changes suddenly (which it does, all the time). If I can work with the shop door open 2 months out of the year I will be lucky. And every year is different. Just wait for conditions to be good in order to glue braces on the plates and close the sound box (around 45% RH and 70ºF, give or take 10%), the rest of the operations is not so crucial (although it is better to do everything around 45%). If building seriously, you'll need to insulate your work space as much as you can, install a vapour barrier, and purchase a dehumidifer and an AC. An AC is very efficient at pulling moisture out of the air when it is hot. For the winter a humidifer would be good, although I do not know winter conditions in South Africa. It is always easier to add moisture to the air than pull it from the air. |
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| Author: | Wayne Clark [ Sat Jul 10, 2010 1:27 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Climate, temperature, humidity, etc. to build in |
I do things similar to Laurent. My shop is in the garage (no humidity control), and central Texas gets some extremes in weather. For the last two years, I plan ahead for good weather by prepping a few tops and backs for joining along with some brace wood. When we get some good weather, I join the tops, thin, install rosettes, cut soundholes and glue on braces. This year I also had to wait a while before I could glue the top and back onto two boxes. I just got everything ready, then glued everything up over the course of a couple really nice spring days. Most of the rest can be done when the weather isn't so ideal - bending and gluing sides, carving necks, making bridges, inlay, fretting... I wouldn't do it this way if I was trying to make a living at it, but I can make it work as a hobby. |
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| Author: | Jeff Highland [ Sat Jul 10, 2010 5:21 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Climate, temperature, humidity, etc. to build in |
Jointing tops in non ideal conditions is a non issue because there is no restrained movement across the joint. |
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| Author: | Ed Haney [ Sun Jul 11, 2010 12:20 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Climate, temperature, humidity, etc. to build in |
The Houston Texas area is very hot and humid. I insulated my partitioned garage shop including a poly vapor barrier with epoxy on the concrete floor. I installed an air conditioner, without which I would not be able to bear working in the heat. It lowers the RH to 60% so I also run a dehumidifier set to 45%. So my shop stays a consistent 73 to 76F and 43 to 46%RH. If I am in my garage I will be literally soaking in sweat within 5 to 10 minutes for the entire summer (4 months +). Walking into the shop feels wonderful. This winter I will use a humidifier to add moisture to maintain the 45%RH year around. The humidifier is MUCH more trouble than the dehumidifier. The dehumidifier is connected to a drain so there is ZERO maintenance. The humidifier, however, needs to be filled with water on a regular basis and also internally cleaned on a regular basis. So, to me, it is much easier on me (no work Vs regular work) to take moisture out than it is to put moisture in the air. Ed |
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| Author: | Alan Carruth [ Sun Jul 11, 2010 5:36 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Climate, temperature, humidity, etc. to build in |
I talked with one Spanish maker years ago who said that basically he made parts and did finishing for nine months of the year, and the other three it was 'round the clock gluing. As another New Englander I've found that the key is humidity control, and the key to that is sealing up the space. When I built my new shop I wrapped the whole thing in plastic. I still have two very porus doors, but I can still pretty well keep up with a 6000 BTU A/C and a room dehumidifier in a 900 sq. ft. shop. The temp gets pretty high sometimes, though, and better doors will help that by reducing the dehumidifier load. What you're trying to control is the equilibrium moisture content of the wood, and that depends almost totally on the relative humidity. For me, a R.H. in the low 40% range ensures against cracks from dryness and the temperature can float within the range of glue usability. In the winter it will go to 55F (13C) for a low overnight, when the wood stove dies down, and during this latest heat wave when it's been above 90F (32C) during the day I've been keeping it to about 80F (27C) in the afternoon. During the winter HHG is a problem sometimes, whereas now the Titebond tends to set up a little too fast. But what really matters is that the R.H. has been between 40-45% all the time, with very short spikes to 50% or dips to 35%. The wod does not shrink or swell enough to make trouble: braced tops off the guitars, for example, retain the proper dome year 'round. |
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| Author: | Joe Beaver [ Mon Jul 12, 2010 1:47 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Climate, temperature, humidity, etc. to build in |
I worry about humidity most when it comes to carving and applying braces, gluing the braces to the plates and then gluing the plates to the box. I try to do that when the RH is low. The lower the better in my opinion. (Love those 25 - 35% days) Most other operations like bending the sides, joining the plates, making the neck, doing rosettes and inlays, etc. can be done at times of higher humidity but avoid doing any work with very high humidity (over 70%) I do finish with a water based product and I do get better results when I do that on low RH days also. |
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