Moving From Desert to Very Humid City – Need Advice
woodworkingintensely
| Posted in General Discussion on
Hello,
I’m moving from the Nevada desert (super super dry) to North Carolina (extra humid) and I’m very worried about my hardwood. I have all sorts of pieces including maple, walnut, cherry, oak, cedar and lots of misc. exotics. Does anyone have any advice as to how I can acclimate my pieces to my new home?
Thanks in advance!
Replies
Not much you can do, maybe paint the boards' ends but I've never really thought that did much. Just move it into the shop, stack it on the floor well-stickered, and let it sit for a while. Really can't delay the inevitable. It's going to move as it wants. When you get ready to put it into a furniture project, do basic parts break down and move the parts into the house for at least a week before you finish processing them into components for the project. Then move parts in and out of the house as the project progresses. I live in a humid city too and barring full climate control in the shop this is all you can do. Do panel glue-ups over thickness and give yourself plenty of room to flatten them. Get all panel glue-ups into the house early in the project.
Thanks for the quick response. Lots to think about and to plan for in regards to moving the parts in and out of the house. Living in a humid city, do you keep your tools in the garage or take them into the house when not in use?
If your shop is going to be in an unconditioned garage I would bring hand tools inside. Here in NH we don’t have NC levels of humidity. However it’s bad enough that for a good part of the year rust will form in a few days on unprotected steel. The real answer is you should try to condition the shop. Working in a cold or hot shop is not fun, especially if the humidity is high. Adding proper insulation and a correctly sized mini split would be the first thing I move into the new garage shop.
Tools stay in the shop. Hauling them in and out of the house is a bridge too far for me. Hauling furniture components is hassle enough.
Two things will happen: you won't want to have duplicate tools and you'll appreciate WD-40. I don't really have two of anything at this point. I have the list of hand tools you'll find in pretty much any Charles Hayward book, but no extras. Extras are a hassle on lots of fronts, keeping them tuned and rust free being but a couple.
If you have to slather them up with so much of some lubricant to keep the rust off, then what the hell is the point? Your shop time just deteriorates into mostly tool maintenance and cleaning. If you have a reasonable kit that gets used frequently then wiping them down with WD is all you need. A little goes a long way and you aren't putting them down for long-term storage of rarely used duplicates.
I appreciate and am fond of the kit of tools that I have, but it's not about accumulating a lot of tools for me.
I also live in a humid environment state on the east coast. I use a simple, handy way to apply oil to hand tools before storing. Adopted from Paul Sellers https://paulsellers.com/knowledge-base/oil-can/.
Russ
Your wood pieces can be left in your new shop stickered up for a few weeks. You can expect to need to resurface your wood as there defiantly will be movement as the wood adjusts to your new environment. As for your tools and machines and yourself the very best thing to do is add something like a mini split to your work space to condition the air and humidity. Mini splits are not expensive and easy to install yourself. They are extremely inexpensive to run and will keep your tools in good shape and yourself comfortable in a hot and humid place. Trying to keep your tools from rusting without some sort of heating and cooling is a real challenge.
If your new shop is not a heated/air conditioned space, consider a mini-split. My shop in Florida (10 minutes from the Gulf) is kept at a house level of humidity with a mini-split.
Thanks for the great ideas/advice everyone.
I don't know the volume of wood you are referring to, but I would question whether it's worth moving at all? You could sell it locally and restock once your new shop is set up.
I would want the wood to acclimate probably for a couple of months before trusting it, which means you will need to purchase local wood anyway so why not just start fresh?
I use CRC 3-36 and Bowshield T-9.
I believe FWW just published an article with comparison chart on rust inhibitors and lubricants but was unable to find it in a quick search.
Check out this article from FWW in 2012.
https://www.finewoodworking.com/membership/pdf/10038/011227030.pdf
Thanks for the link. Will definitely read today. Here is a link from Ron Hock's newsletter that talks about corrosion (formerly of Hock Tools, he sold his company to Lee Valley Tools recently)...
https://files.constantcontact.com/bc49f4a0101/5fb56a2f-fb4e-41b5-9e1c-92698ce261ee.pdf
Hope it's ok to share a non-FWW link, if not, let me know to remove. Regarding your post Esch5995, it took a lot of time and driving to get my variety of wood and it would be too painful to part with. I hear you about the acclimatizing length of time and yes, I will probably buy local when I get there.
I started woodworking in a basement in Atlanta. Tool rusting was constant. Waxed everything I used before I left the shop. This got VERY tiring. I am in Virginia now. I have an industrial dehumidifier and keep the humidity a touch below 40. Now nothing rusts.
If your moving in the winter, I wouldn’t worry about your wood. Any heated space will have relatively low humidity during the winter months. Get ready for summer though. 😂