Shop Humidity

[DavidC]

Hello all,

Back in late January I asked about which lathe I should consider. After all the great responses I decided to get some hands on time by taking a weekly course at the local Woodworkers Club. Unfortunately, I have been the only one interested and it has been cancelled on me two different times. Hofefully I'll get it this time when its offered again in ten days.

In the meanwhile I have a question about where to set up my shop for turning. I recently acquired an 18" bandsaw. It's in the 2nd bay of my attached garage which is 11 by 23. I thought that with the large bay door this location would make a good option for bringing in large logs. (I have two 36" dia x 14 black walnut cutoffs out there all winter.) This winter reminded me though that New England winters are a long 3 or 4 months of harsh cold. Also, unfortunately my wife actually thinks that she should be keeping her car in the other stall and there are her kayaks hanging from the ceiling. On top of putting some kind of dust divider up I also need to install 240 service. This is a little complicated because the line has to run outside, so I thought maybe a subpanel.

All winter long I was very comfortable in my unfinshed basement, where my table saw, drill press, router table, benches, carving station, etc reside. The workable space is 14 x 27 with the rest of the basement having the HVAC and storage. No natural light other than a 6 ft slider at the far end.

My concern, which effects which woods I carve/store, is the humidity level. Does it make a difference for turning? In the winter I monitored the open room as having an average of 36% and I am sure in the summer it must by upwards of about 65%. (However overall, its comfy for humans in both the summer and winter.) The basement is dry overall with a french drain around its perimeter. If I put the heavy lathe I decide on in the basement it will be a lot easier to install 240 service, and I can probably contain the dust/shavings a little easier. Noise?..I guess I'll not complicate my question with that.

What are the drawbacks of this kind of humidity variation in the basement. I know I could spend a lot more hours down there than in the garage without heating or AC. (Oh, for an out building all my own...)

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

DavidC

 

[john lucas]

David I have had to install my shop in really humid environments for the last 6 years. It hasn't affected any of my woodturning other than segmented work. I quit doing segmented work because the moisture in the wood was just too great and the wood would move too much when I put it in Galleries.

 

[DavidC]

Shope Humidity

Hi John,

I guess then that 36% would not be too low or 65% too high. I take it that your segmented pieces accclimated to your shop then just dried out too much in the gallery. How did your other work fare? How high is your humidity? I've heard that even putting some carvings on exhibit in a sunlite window area has caused splits because the environment was so different than the place where it was created.

DavidC

 

[Woodbutcher]

I reside in Concord, N.H. and have been here for 18 yrs. ,originally from the land of snow storms Buffalo, N.Y. ,and have been doing historicail restoration all over N.E.. Humidity to me is like dealing with the weather here it can cause some problems, in fact that is how I found this forum I was turning some poplar that was giving grief because of a lack of moisture thanks to the people here I got through my problem.Locatation of your shop weither in the garage or the basment will probibly have the same effect . Your basement is most likely concrete and actually probably prone to higher humidity than your garage. One bad thing about a basement workshop is the reduction in efficency it can cause your H.V.A.C. system . My furnace man and I had very lenghtly discussions on this. I generally stay away from non filming finnishs to help with this matter and finnish everything on all surfaces.
I sure you could use a dehumidiffier , but I sure they have drawbacks. Timber-frame bldg. are green when erected the pull themselves together as the dry. and living in N.E. you know we have alot of them left. Wood moves it is the nature of the beast ,that beast is the soul of the world it has to give.
I would deffinatly throw a sub-panel in cause it doese not sound like you are going to stop getting new toys (tools) and if you do a sub-panel then your not constsantly calling the electrician for new circuts. If the class gets canceled again and I am close enough to you ,Come learn on my lathe what you can. It All Has To Go ( want add has phone # )

Good Luck: Knowledge is power
Matt

 

[MichaelMouse]

Good Luck: Knowledge is power
Matt

Some great empowering available on humidity and wood at http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/ In addition to the Wood Handbook, chapter three, there are articles specifically on storage and care of lumber and humidity.

You can make things work well for you by purchasing a humidity gage and checking the areas of your basement. Will make it possible to gently dry roughs where it's 75%, finish at 55, and hold your workshop at 45% RH. Forty to forty-five equates to 8% moisture content, that standard for dry kilns. You can always let things climb even inside a dehumidified space by boxing or bagging, if you need to.

I use a dehumidifier to keep the shop at no more than 55% in the summer, though it does cost me an extra half hour at the end of the day to Santa the sack of shavings outdoors rather than waste electricity drying them. Use a separate gage rather than rely on some uncalibrated humidistat to help you even things out.