Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi when storing backs, sides and top pieces is using 3/16 dow sticks good enough for the stickering? That's what i'm using is this enough room for air flow through the wood? I have the two sides on the bottom layer side by side then the back's one on top of the other on top. Should I weight the top piece. How long should I let the wood acumulate to the humidity in the room. The humidity vary's fron 45 to 50 percent. That's the best I can keep it to here in humid Philadelphia. The room is air condition in the summer and i use a humidifier in the winter to maintain these percentage. I don't want to damage this wood. So tell me if i'm doing something wrong.

Michael and Hesh, check at your local BORG for squared sticks, they are usually beside the long wooden dowells or you can always do them yourself on your table saw.

I got sick of buying and cutting up 13 x 25mm batten so went to using
strips of 4mm masonite for stickering tops, backs and sides. Works out
alot cheaper. All wood is stored in the workshop where humidity is kept
at 40 -50% year round.

Dave Freeman had a short article in one of the GAL Red Books covering
stickering using masonite.kiwigeo38895.3485763889

I use 1/4 by 5/8 battens for stickering wet tops and back and side sets while I dry them. I have done this with spruce, cedar, EIR and Aussie Balckwood. Once the wood is dry I nolonger sticker it, I just stack it up. When I am getting ready to build, I will pull the set I want, glue it up and leave it on it's own for 2 or 3 weeks. Then I will thickness sand and begin work. My thought is that if the wood is cut well and is dry it will stay flat, if it doesn't stay flat there are issues inside the wood that I would rather know about before I build with it. I would still use some back and side woods that a bit twist to them but would just consider my bracing patterns for taht wood.

Shane

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Canada

Thanks guy's.
Serge by BORG do you mean the local homecenter? As in We will assimilate you small hardware and lumber dealers?

    If the wood is allready dry anyrhing will work. If the wood is wet you need 3/4 openings to allow convection currents to slow. If you use something smaller you will have to use forced air to get air to flow.
      I use 4 bar clamps and plywood. This way you keep it pressed flat
john hall
blues creek guitars

Yes Michael, that was home depot, Thanks Hesh for answering in my absence!

Another one you can use the BORG title for is IKEA.Since they came to town I have seen 3 furniture Store that have been in the area for well over 50 years go under. And the sad thing is IKEA sell you furniture you have to put together and they charge more for the privilege. My mother love's this stuff. I hate it because i'm the one who has to put it together for her.

Michael, i know what ya mean, i've got plenty of old ladies as tennants asking me to put together the furniture they bought there! Seems like they got no children to ask that to!

IKEA .. Swedish for "out of stock" . They never seem to have what I went there for, hence, I no longer go there !!!

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

Hesh I personally think the quality is low for the price's charged.Lots of particle board used in the construction. Though their higher priced items and I do mean higher, very high are built withsome solid woods.

Hesh, i'm with Michael here,very expensive if you look for quality/price ratio!

Hesh, pine is also what i've been using for the last 6 months and i think you're gonna do just fine with what you bought, most of the time, these wood sticks have been sitting on store shelves for quite a while and are stabilized IMHO.

Back Off of Subject. Hesh, I know you didn't ask me specifically but I think IKEA furniture is good quality compared to like-priced items from other big-box stores. Mind you, it is NOT heirloom furniture. But, for a kid's bed that you know is going away in 5 years, their stuff is perfect.

For a some of their items they have adopted the hollow core door techonology for larger panels, placing solid wood struts where connections are to be made. Instructions are well-thought out and the stuff fits together well.

That being said, I won't get on the soapbox about the social ramifications of the new-era super retail business model. Suffice it to say I don't step foot in WalMart.

They just had or are having a sale here, and they had a solid pine 5 shelf lacquered book case for about 65 bucks - you could not buy the panels at the HD for that, let alone the effort and finish - It all depends what you are after - they have some stuff that is a great, others that is way overpriced for what it is. We bought a solid fingerjoint pine kitchen table, 1.25 thick top, with extension, and 3 inch square solid legs almost 20 years ago for 80 bucks - you couldnt find anything for 3 times the price at that size made as well.

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

Actually back to stickering, I think I heard Mario say once he uses melamine shelves cut up into half inch wide strips - it leaves no stain.

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"