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Assuming you have a nice dry plank, can you cut a slice and start working right away, or do you need to let it acclimate longer as a veneer?

Ed,
I re-sawed and used the wood right away once.
Once.
Now I let everything acclimate for a month after that fiasco.

Steve

I've resawn and built right away on a few occasions. I've never had trouble.
Just make sure the piece is full acclimated. If it bends initially after you saw it, that probably means it wasnt completely acclimated and needs time. More time never hurts no matter what though.

It's so tempting to plunge right in, but I agree that it doesn't hurt to wait. Even with a board that has been acclimated to my shop for months or years, I watch the resawed pieces for at least a couple of days to see if they're going to warp or cup. If I were doing this on a production basis, I'd probably resaw several batches (sets) and stock pile them, so I'd always have sell seasoned wood on the shelf. However, I just build on a hobby basis, so I have no need for a big inventory of parts and I don't ever need to be in a hurry (unless my enthusiasm gets the better of me).

I like to let wood sit for as long as possible. Sometimes that is a month but usually for at least a year. I try to do that with wood from all suppliers.

Most of my b&s wood is 5+ years old before I use it. If I read I usually have the wood for at least a year first. Tops 2+ and misc wood like bridges, bindings, head plates, maybe a month but hopefully several years.

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

All the material we use has less than 7% moisture content and most of those billets have been in our shop a long while. I frequently resaw back and sides off a billet and use it the next day -- plus every side set gets wet during bending process anyway. Joined plates shrink across the width not the length. Thick boards can take days (but hardwood floor installers only wait 48 hours) to acclimate but the moisture exchange in veneer is pretty quick. We have had zero problems -- not even sure what issues could arise if using properly dried material at the offset.

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Ken Cierp

http://www.kennethmichaelguitars.com/

What happened?!

Seems to me, assuming it is good and dry, that if it was going to do something funky that it would do it right away.

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Pat

My thinking is that since you're going to torture the side anyway by cooking it in hot water anyway, the sides should be a go pretty much right away. The back can get stickered for a few days while the frame is built...

I normally don't acclimate sides, no point because it's going to get cooked and bent anyways.

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