Moisture content is important, and 8% is a good starting point. It's also important to use wood that has been properly "tortured". Tonewood needs to be stored in a place with good ventilation, but where it can season with the climate. For example, here in the Northeast, wood that is seasoned outdoors will undergo everything from zero to a hundred degrees (Fahrenheit) and 15% to 100% relative humidity. After several years of this, the wood will have stabilized, and then it needs to be brought into the shop for acclimatizing. This takes anywhere from a year to 3 or 4 years. Ideally, the wood ends up drier than it will become in its life as an instrument, because wood that has been over-dried will not expand and contract as much in its future as wood that has not.
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10-07-2010, 09:50 AM
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