Wood lives & breathes revisited

[Jeff]

Made this guestboard table late last winter.

Not surprised, but thought it'd be useful to share the observation. The table is 42" wide and made from 9" wide reclaimed heartwood pine (i.e., longleaf). In the door last winter it was 6% MC. We've had the AC off for about 2 weeks so plenty of time to acclimate to higher humidity levels.

The top has expanded in width by 3/16" total beyond the breadboard ends (3/32" on each side).

The "Shrinkulator" calculated about the same tangential change from 6% MC to 7.5% MC. :thumbs_up

I'm curious to see what happens when we crank up the woodstove and the home humidity drops to about 40-45%. :icon_scra It's gotta shrink I think.

 

[pviser]

Twenty years ago, when I was very new to woodworking, I learned the hard way that wood moves. I still use the cracked up walnut table which I see as a daily testament to this very basic reality of wood movement.

 

[CrealBilly]

personally I think 6% is too dry I like to work wood that's around 8~10% range, it seems like I have less movement. I too have a 4' x 8' red oak bookcase I built many years ago. To join the top I created a M&T and screwed the top down to the sides dry, no glue. You know when the humidity changes because you'll hear POP... POP POP as the sides expand and rub against the top. The wife really likes that book case, so I never bothered to fix it.

Your dang straight wood is alive and breathes.... It ain't some man made material.

 

[Jeff]

I misspoke in my original statements. The lumber coming into the shop was 6% MC; that's the minimum that my moisture meter will record. It took several weeks to construct the table last winter, but I didn't recheck the %MC before bringing it into the house. My attached garage shop is largely uninsulated, but I do use the heat during they day when needed. So it's sure not heated 24/7!