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How long does cherry,maple have to "air dry" till it seasons for use in guitar necks, in your average (humid) midwest area (Michigan)?

Anyone know some basic yearly averages to shoot for? Will one year do it (on average?)

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Here is what a Parlor Guitar is for!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEa8PkjO6_I

Well, you'll need to provide more details. How thick is the wood, and how wet was it when you put it up?

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Mark Swanson
Swanson Guitars
http://www.MarkSwansonMusic.com

General rule of thumb = 1 year per inch. Keep it inside in lower humidity and it will dry sooner. I have tons of cherry drying for another year...I love that wood!

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

Me too!

I'm looking forward to the batch I have waiting to dry, too. All from local trees.

I would use a moisture meter to check on it. Having it go through some seasonal cycling is a good thing. After it has air dried for a couple years (or more, depending), I'd move it to a room in my house or shop where the humidity is not controlled, store it in a way that it's free to move, and watch it for a couple seasons. Any pieces that don't stay quite straight and flat at that point, I would not use for necks. Even with a wood that's generally considered to be relatively stable, like cherry, individual pieces may not be, depending on the log they came from. Finally, before using it, I'd have it in my humidity controlled room for a good long while - again, using a moisture meter to check it.

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Todd Rose
Ithaca, NY

https://www.dreamingrosesecobnb.com/todds-art-music

https://www.facebook.com/ToddRoseGuitars/

Speaking of moisture meters. I saw that Harbor Freight has one now, in the $25 range. Wonder if it works?

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Oh it works the real question is the calibrationl and accuracy range

Some of the cheapo ones I've seen don't even measure in the range we need.

Pat

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formerly known around here as burbank
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http://www.patfosterguitars.com

I have had real problems with black cherry recently.

i sourced some stunning really high curl stock from a local wood supplier which had been kiln dried to 12% in the states.
what i would normaly do in this case is cut the neck blanks at 12% seal he ends and further air dry for at least 8-12 weeks to get them down to about 8% and nice and stable.

It was two and half inch stock so when i came to rip the neck blanks down to 1" both peices just bowed beyond exceptable levels even after surface planing.

I have been told by supplier this happens becouse they kiln the wood at a really high temprature to kill any bugs or other nasties and to dry a bit faster.
This cuases problems with stability and when resawing etc.

becouse of this when i get kiln dried 2" black cherry i face and edge it cut in double neck blanks and season for as long as poss with the end sealed before ripping into 1" billets.
If i get 1" stock i can get away with face and edging and the cutting into neck sized billets and seasoning for 8-12 weeks before sale.

I have not had this problem with english cherry and black cherry from another source.
also once its settled down its generaly very stable

I still have two wonderfull highly figured black cherry necks for colin that i been seasoning for as long poss before i rip them down.
i want them to be as stable as poss by the time colin gets them and they are to nice ruin by riping them to early.
they have been at 8% for a month now so they will some first things to be cut on my new laguna bandsaw.

If you are drying stock yourself cherry is pretty nice to dry.
it does not have to high a natuaral moisture content and is not overly prone to end checks etc.
It can be a little unpredictable with regards to warping during the drying process and this the point when you will see any unpredictable movement.
just sticker and stack in the usual method and check the moisture regulary.
the 1 year per inch is a good general rule of thumb but every wood will be different and every year will be different so you have to keep a close eye on the wood and check it every few weeks.
make sure you seal the ends well dont use paint, use something like chestnut end seal its the best end sealer i have come accross.
if you can't get that then a cheap yot varnish will do the trick.

The general rule though when air drying you own wood is to leave it as long as you possable can and make sure the air can circulate freely on all sides of the stack,

Joel.

I have found that air drying properly stickered cherry for two years (at 1.5 " thick) will bring the moisture content down to around 12 percent.

Recently, I took a few 12 percent billets and put them in my attic for a month. (Pittsburgh Pa. this July). This reduced the moisture content to 7 percent without any noticeable cupping, twisting or warping.

Chuck

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i would just like to point out that if i continued to get movement at 8% on any peice of wood i would discard it for necks.

some peices of wood are just not suitable for guitars however much we want them to be.
i find that curly cherry can be a little more unstable as i have not had the above problems with streight grained plain stuff,

Joel.

Bingo. That's what I was getting at. After getting it down to 7 or 8%, then I want to know if the wood is really stable if I'm going to use it for necks. That's why I move it to a room that is not humidity controlled, store it in a way that it's free to move, and let it go through some more seasonal cycling, checking to see if it remains stable. If it's good, then I'll put it back in my humidity controlled room and let it stay there for several more months (or until it's back to 7 or 8%) before making necks out of it.

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Todd Rose
Ithaca, NY

https://www.dreamingrosesecobnb.com/todds-art-music

https://www.facebook.com/ToddRoseGuitars/