Wood storage question

[Denis]

Sorry if this question seems a little basic...

I have read that you should let lumber sit in the workshop for at least a month before building anything with it in order to let it aclimatize.

I plan to build my projects in an unheated garage (maybe run a heater while I'm working). The projects will end up in the house as furniture.

Should I buy lumber now for Jan/Feb projects and leave it in the garage, or am I better off storing it in the house and bringing the pieces I need to the garage to work on and then back into the house at the end of the day?

Thanks in advance for the advice.

Regards,

Denis

[Harry in Sutton]

Hi Denis,
it is best to store the wood you want to use for furniture in the same invironment as where it will end up. If you can, as you suggest, store it in the house and take it out to work on then bring it back in. For larger projects I I buy the wood several month before, preferably in the spring, store it stickered in the garage for two or three month. Then I plane it partially and store it un-stickered in the heated, air conditioned basement shop for at least another month. Final planing is only done shortly before I use the lumber. I hope this helps.
Greetings, Harry

[Paul in Ottawa]

Harry:
In your response above you said "... store it un-stickered in the heated, air conditioned basement shop"
I always thought that wood should be stickered whenever it is being left to dry and aclimatize so the air could circulate around it. After it has been partially dimensioned, new wood is exposed and any potential stresses are further released. If it isn't stickered, isn't there a possibiity that the wood won't be fully "relaxed" when you finish milling it?

[JG]

I agree, unless space is a real problem wood should be store stickered. There is nothing to lose by doing it and everything to be gained.
The point of storing lumber prior to use is to have everything at the same moisture content when you start to build it. So whither you store it in the house or the shop is irrelevant. Just move it all to the shop at the same time. So if the hardwood has been kiln dried, a couple of weeks stickered is fine. I always keep mine in the shop. Proper design will allow for the normal expansion/contraction when the humidity changes in the house. JG

[Harry in Sutton]

Paul, you are totally correct, it should be stickered. However, space limitations prevent me from storing a large quantity like 300 BF in such a manner. Smaller lots I do sticker. I check the moisture content before taking it down. Sofar I only had a problem ones by having a couple of the boards on top of the stack warp a bit. These I then use for short parts where I can still joined and replane them.

Harry

[Paul in Ottawa]

Thanks Harry. I was worried that there was going to be something else to remember - sometime you sticker the wood, sometines you don't. Glad to knoa that's one less variable I have to worry about :-)

[Dhillon]

What is Stickered and un-stickered. Can somebody please explain.
Thanks

[J.P.Rap in Hamilton]

Hi Dhillon .
When you store wood it should be stored in a stack with small sticks ("stickers")between each layer of the stack. This allows for air movement on all sides of the lumber. If you stack green lumber in a tight pile without stickers, no air gets at the centers boards and the pile has to dry from the outside in. This could take a long time and there is a risk of mold growing in the pile. Even lumber that has been dried should be stickered.If your lumber has been stored outside, you have to bring it in and stack and sticker it for a time to allow the wood to aclimate to the moisture cointent of the room. Again, if the wood is unstickered, the center boards would take a lot longer to aclimate.
I hope that helps.
J.P.