Woodworking - Understanding Moisture and Wood Movement

[@knecht105]

Thanks for taking the time to comment Great to have you with us Colin

[@dynasty1910]

Thank you. Finally, someone who explains wood movement concisely and in an easy to understand manner. Much appreciated!

[@knecht105]

@craftsmank Thanks for your note, yes different parts of the world work with different moisture contents. A friend of mine lives in the desert where 8% is high moisture content. His problem is sending wood pieces to other parts of the country where the moisture level is much higher. You are right about wood being more brittle with less moisture and yes, it is harder on the tools and the woodworker. Great to have you with us ... thanks again for your comments Colin

[@donalfredisaac]

I sure learnt something today, that is that no matter how long the tree was fell, if it remains outside it will still have a high moisture content as opposed if it had been kept inside. I knew all the rest of the video, but not this and it sure is very important Very well done video and very informative, no hurry in the explanation and no distracting music. Thank you very much for sharing.

[@knecht105]

Hi Alfredo, thanks for commenting and for your thoughts, always valuable to us :)

[@craftsmank]

good to see, the straw idea is excellent. - in the uk the standard outdoor drying was down to 16-18% kilning however was allways aimed at 12/13% with movement allowed for in the structure. Using wood at 8% is not pleasant on the hand tools though , a bit brittle i found. Couple of years ago made a cabinet in wet oak, that was interesting as it worked very well - the clients were very pleased 2 years on, so i got something right.

[@francographicdesigns5311]

Very helpful video, where can one buy this?

[@Jacklynofalltrades]

What would you recommend for the inside of a van that people live in?

[@ksojoel]

if the furniture i'm making is going for a client who lives on a completely different relative humidity zone, do i have to be extra careful with the tolerance of the construction?

[@terrapin52]

Excellent explanation! This clears up the mystery. Thanks!!!

[@chipiochipio]

I like your moisture meter. Does it use vacuum tubes? :)

[@hansdegroot8549]

How nice are these long winter evenings to watch older KZbin videos! This moisture problem always stays actual. Could you be more specific on the moisture content: How long does it take for wood, for example cut in spring (March) and having then about 30% to fall down to between 16 and 12% when it is stored outside? Is half a year sufficient? When move 13% wood from outside to "inside", how long will it take before it reaches 8 or 9% And what are the requirements for storing the wood inside, to get that 8 or 9%? Does the wood need to be in a room with "room temperature", 20+ degrees Celsius. Or is 10 to 15 degrees Ceisius enough? Or even less? What about an unheated garage, where temperature in winter can get to or just below the freezing point?

[@josemo1]

I will show this to my workers, thanks!!

[@knecht105]

@emutiny No, I did not teach technology and I don't even know where East Wake Middle School is located, but it sounds like you knew someone with some similar attributes ??? :) Colin

[@twagner6155]

You can avoid the pin marks by checking the end grain @ the store. Most people cut off a small part of the end to square the board up.

[@jphelps408]

What moisture content would you be aiming for if you were planning on building nice outdoor furniture? Keep up the good work, I love your videos!

[@knecht105]

James Phelps Thanks for the not James, and for the encouraging word :) Outdoor furniture can be a bit higher in moisture content, but I still try to stay at 14 or lower. I also depends a bit where you live ... i.e. Arizona compared to Washington state, the drier the area, the lower you would want to go for moisture content.

[@emutiny]

so did you teach technology at east wake middle school about 15 years ago?

[@twagner6155]

I find that the straws and balloons are not as scientific as I like because wood has a crystalline structure. I see what you mean though since the cells are long and contain water. Also it doesn't just expand but shrinks over time, 1.7% for walnut, for instance after reaching a moisture content of 6-12%. It does shrink and expand in length some too. You say it has to come indoors. It depends on if it's heated or unheated.

[@EdiblePlants]

Great job

[@korrupt4]

Hey there, so good to find you here on youtube. Your videos are so informative and helpful! Here is a question that comes to mind after watching this particular video: Our shop is located in the Bahamas and we do a lot of joinery with Maple and Poplar then usually finish it with conversion varnish. What would you suggest is a good moisture content for the wood to be before we start spraying? Also, is the moisture content as important before gluing up or is it more important to have it at a good m/c before finishing starts? Thanks and keep up the good videos!

[@knecht105]

Hey Korrup, thanks for the email. Hmm, I'm thinking I could sure use a nice trip to the Bahamas to check out your shop :) .. but seriously ... In terms of spraying conversion varnish, to be honest I am not positive on that for your area because I don't the relative humidity there, not what the moisture content of the wood you are using. My best guess would be that the wood should be no more than about 14%. I would think the wood you are using must be somewhat dry before it is sent to you, but probably gains a wee bit of moisture over time, which would be normal, so your glue-ups should be fine. What we are mainly looking for is that the wood is stable in what ever environment it will exist in. If you told me you were making wooden projects and sending them to Arizona (which has a very low relative humidity) I would suggest your moisture content would need to be 9% or less. Hope this helps .. if you want to converse on this, email me at woodworkweb Thanks Buddy ... great to have you with us

[@hippieslacker6466]

To steam bend wood they recommend using green wood. So if I use green wood to bend, should the bent pieces be kiln dried before using them? Or would the week to a month in the mold be sufficient before using? The intention is to build furniture that looks good for years to come. Any advice will be appreciated.

[@knecht105]

Yes, green wood is easiest to bend and void using kiln dried wood if you can. Steam bending is tricky, and I am not an expert in it but have done it. Once piece is heated and bent and put in a mold, once it is dry and hard, usually overnight, it should stay in that shape. You might also want to investigate using thin strips of wood that are easier to bend, then glued together. Really hard to give too much advice here in these short reply areas, but email me if you need more ... happy to help if I can

[@hippieslacker6466]

Thank you kindly for your response. I think my next step is to try and see. If I have success I will pass along my findings. Keep up the good work, looking forward to your future videos.

[@orbepa]

Hey Colin - big fan of your videos, you seem to have a video pretty much everything wood-based now ! Thank you for doing so much. Just a question if you don't mind - do you recommend taking wood into an environment similar to where it will spend its days as furniture for x number of days / months ? For example I have an outdoors unheated/uninsulated shop (basically a car garage) - I'm guessing there is more moisture in the shop than the house - or are they simiar moisture environments if there are walls and a roof protecting the wood ?

[@avecforte8851]

I'm curious about this aswell

[@rickreed123]

I had always heard that wood expands and contracts along (parallel with) the annular rings about twice what it does perpendicularly to the growth rings. This is what accounts for deformations such as cupping in flat sawn lumber, as opposed to more stable behavior in quarter sawn lumber. I was just wondering why this is the case. Do the annular rings form moisture barriers of some kind, that the expanding cells expand/contract along?

[@knecht105]

I can't say for sure Rick, but I suspect it has to do with the way cells are formed during growth. You raise a very interesting question that I have not really thought about and, and I am not tree growth expert, but I know someone who is ... I will see if I can track him down and get an answer on this, I would like to know too.

[@peterhaughton568]

Colin where would you buy such a wood meter reading tool peter fae Scotland.

[@knecht105]

Peter Haughton Many stores that sell wood tools would stock an item like this, or if not locally, you could pick one up through the Internet, Amazon for example.

[@josephciaravino4115]

😃 Thank you!

[@DanielvdPoel]

So can you make an epoxy table with new wood

[@rickreed123]

How does wood move relative to the grain? Summer rings vs winter rings?

[@knecht105]

Hi Rick, from what I have been told from the experts, the movement would still be the same as I described in the video, which is as it was described to me. If you have any other info, I am always open to learning new and updated information :) Colin

[@linasbakutis479]

Hi, thanks for the understandable explanation :) I wanned to ask.. I live in about 'half-year-summer-half-ear-winter' area, so if i stored wood outside, would it still dry and keep about the same level of moisture through the year? I know that it would be perfect to store it inside, but i do not have such place, so what would be the perfect way for me to always have some lumber to work with? Should i store most of it outside and 'safe amount' of it under my bed? lol At least wouldnt it rotter outside through the winter if stored properly? Thank You very much.. :)

[@knecht105]

linas bakutis An excellent question. I store most of my wood outside and by the end of summer it is the driest it will get outside, which is around 14% ... that is still a bit wet for many things. I like to get it down to around 10% so what I do is just before winter, I bring inside what I think I will need for the winter to let it dry out a bit more, then use it. One other thing you can do is to seal the ends of the wood late in the summer when it is driest. This will help to prevent the wood from absorbing moisture through the end grain, which is where most of moisture is absorbed from. Hope this helps ... Colin

[@linasbakutis479]

Amazing!Thank You so much! Looks like i know what i am going to do now. Thanks for keeping me motivated!

[@duringthejourneyi]

Very, very good video. Thanks!

[@knecht105]

Glad you enjoyed ... thanks for taking the time to comment :) Colin

[@bluntblaz3r]

great! thx!

[@Umpire20NM]

Colin -- I noticed you "stabbed" the wood on the face for each of your moisture measurements. Couldn't you do it on the end grain (where the puncture marks would be less noticeable) and also less offensive to the lumber yard?

[@ROLOGamingOfficial]

Don't know why am I watching this, I don't work in anything related with wood XD. Great info anyway!

[@knecht105]

LOL ... Hope it helps! Thanks for watching, anyways!

[@knecht105]

ha ha ha ... you're dating yourself there ;) ... it's actually steam powered

[@darenoverbeck7838]

hi Colin i am building an outdoor planter bench and my wood is at between 10-12% am i able to use the wood now or will i have to get it down lower