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Hey guys! When I posted about tools a few days ago, the issue of humidity/temp control came up when I mentioned I wanted to turn my detached garage into the place where I'd build my first kit. I was watching a woodworking show today and the guy made a comment about how he heard guitar builders will have a small room or enclosed space in which the environment is ideally set, and that at the end of every day of building, they would put all the parts of the guitar in there. It makes sense in my "not-yet-a-guitar-builders" mind. What are your thoughts on the subject? Would it be easier to control the environment in a small enclosed space.. or even just bring the guitar pieces inside my house (assuming the conditions are good) at the end of every day? Or, would the time spent building in the garage cause damage or less than ideal effects to the wood in a single sitting? I hope you understand what I'm trying to say ..
If not.. I'll try and clarify

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I think the main risk that humidity & temperature fluctuations expose you to is that of having your top sink (and potentially crack in an extreme case). I don't build in a humidity controlled area but I do wait for low humidity days to brace up tops and to glue tops to the rims. The idea behind this is that if you glue everything up during a period of high humidity, when the humidity drops the top shrinks and may become slightly concave around the neck joint (the string tension keeps the lower bout area "bubbled" in the right direction).

The rest of the guitar should be fine and shouldn't be that sensitive to humidity & temperature. This is my perception of all this anyhow...I hope it helps!

Best,
Trev

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Hi Jason,

I faced the same issues when I finally decided to start building. What got me over the hump to start was I carved a small room out in the house - only 9x6 - and made that my primary area to build. By doing so, I was able to control the RH pretty well (I live in NJ) by using humidifiers in the winter, and summer the Air conditioning actually does a great job keeping the humidity in the 45-50% range (overall, I am d 40-45% in winter, 45-50% in summer). I keep my power tools in the garage, and when i need to do something I bring the piece I am working on to the garage, do whatever needs to be done, then back to the "Guitar room". So far, since the time in the garage is very limited to the particular action, I have found no RH issues at all. While I wouldn't say my set-up is optimal - far from it - but it does allow me to build. In a few year, I will be able to take over a bedroom and should be able to expand.

Glenn

By far better to control humidity where you build. A guitar top (especially) can respond to a humidity change in well under an hour.

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Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

Hi Jason, I live not to far from you, so we share the same humidity swings from winter to summer.I do all my assembly work in a spare room in my house because it's easier to keep the humidity between 40%-50% range.My wood processing building is outside.That is where my big machines are housed to process the wood to build with.Once the wood is cut and thinned to size, i bring it to my assembly room in the house to adjust for a few weeks before i build with it.I do most of my box building in the winter when the humidity is low. I build the necks in the spring and paint in the summer.I process the wood in the fall.So this way i can get the most help from mother nature as she gives it.This seems to work real well here in michigan for me.

Thanks for the input guys, I'll most likely in the end do something similar to what Mark does. I know the swings in humidity here would be an issue.. and hooking up an air-conditioner in the garage to de-humidify in the summer would never fly with my wife. She hates hot weather, and if i choose to keep my guitars nice and comfortable and not her.. well, you guys get the picture.. which isn't a pretty one.
I might can get away with putting in an AC in my office, but then the whole family would pile up in there and nothing would be safe. Looks like I'll have to rely on mother nature more than i wanted to, maybe down the road.. once my wife sees a finished project, she will let me set up the garage with a heating/cooling system in the garage (which is insulated). Anyways, thanks again for the input!

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BTW Is anyone else from around the S.E. Michigan area? I like Daniel Minards suggestion from my "tools" post to come and see a working shop and fire off as many questions as I can about it.

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I saw this the other day, I cut out a guitar top out of Bear claw Sitka and left the off cut material laying on the concrete floor behind the band saw and in only a few hours that piece of wood curled up like a potato chip across the grain, curling up away from the floor. The actual top was sitting on the bench and is totally flat. I now have an even better respect for humidity control around tonewoods.

Fred

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Fred Tellier
http://www.fetellierguitars.com
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I have an 8X10 room in my shop that is temperature and humidity controlled. As stated before, tops and backs are extremely sensitive to fluctuations during the build process. I have literally sat and watched a top in the non humidity controlled part of my shop curl. It happens that fast. I have also seen a braced back go from domed to dished like a soup bowl! Humidity control is important during the build!!

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Brad Tucker

Ahh... So you have a room built inside your shop that is controlled? I like that idea.. I think my garage is big enough for it. Is it heated and cooled by the house heating/cooling system? Or does it have its own system? I would greatly appreciate it if you could tell me how you went about making a room like that.. I mean I can manage building one, but I'm unsure of how to set up a small heating/cooling/humidity control system separate from my home system. I don't really want to have to control the environment of the whole garage space, would be huge added expense to my monthly bill, not including the cost to insulate the whole thing well. So if a separate room.. a space just big enough for the delicate tasks.. inside the garage can be more efficiently and cheaply controlled, I think that will be my plan of action.. Anyone want to chime in and poke holes in my plan? Please do, its the only way I'll get it right. Thanks again folks!

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What I did was section off part of my shop. After thinking about it, it is actually more like 12x14'. I initially humidified the whole shop (30x30') and it was just too much to try to control. I do exactly what you are considering. My saws and dustmakers all sit in the main part of the shop, and I do most of my work in the room, and store my wood in there.

I simply built a stud wall, insulated it, and covered it with OSB. As far as heat/humidity control, I have one of those electric radiators that has oil in it and it works wonderfully. Humidity is supplied by a Holmes humidifier. It is an older one that doesn't have all the digital junk on it, and it uses a slider type humidistat. I try to keep the humidity around 45% because it is about average here in Georgia. We go from anywhere to single digits in the winter to near 100% in the muggy summers. I also use a de-humidifier in the summer that I bought from Lowes. The most difficult times as far as humidity control around here is the change of seasons and I have to run both sometimes and adjust them so they aren't fighting each other. The investment in climate and humidity control is well worth it, and in my opinion an absolute necessity if you are going to build.

Make your room as big as you can would be my advice. It will look big until you start putting shelves, workbenches, etc in it, and plan for things like electrical outlets, good lighting, etc.

Hope this helps!

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Brad Tucker

Is there any way to use an air conditioner as a reliable dehumidifier? I believe you can set a "thermostat" on the humidifier to kick on when the humidity drops.. right? Is there a way to set the AC to kick on when the humidity rises? Is that something I'll constantly have to adjust on the go or do i have to get an actual dehumidifier so I can set that to come on when the humidity rises? A room in my garage in the height of summer will probably be a might hot place. I'm wondering if setting the AC to...say 65 degrees will keep a room at a constant RH.. anyone shed some light? Thanks.

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An air conditioner will naturally pull moisture out of the air. That's why you see them dripping water all the time. As far as its reliability, I'm unsure of that one. It all probably depends on how much the compressor on it runs, and that depends on how well your room is insulated. Generally speaking, you will need to humidify in the winter and dehumidify in the summer; reason being that warm air is capable of holding more moisture than cold air (of course this can be elaborated on GREATLY as has been done in the past on here). If you can maintain your temperature at a fairly constant number, moisture control is somewhat easier, in my experience. There are others here that have taken it to a science and are much more versed in the details than I am.

I would imagine that you need an AC anyway, so you could always give it a shot before you invest in a dehumidifier; they both work on the same principle. The AC, though, is primarily a cooling device and dehumidification is a "side effect". Some AC's actually come with a "dehumidification" option, but I am unsure of their accuracy or efficacy.

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Brad Tucker

Thank you Brad for the tips! One more question and I'll be convinced I can start building my room.. Since the floor of my garage is obviously concrete, should I build a floor in my controlled room and insulate that as well?

Jason

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