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I know I am an overthinker... :)

 

What things to keep in mind when storing some milled wood (mostly sheets) indoors, room temperature? To avoid rot, insects infection, turning grey, etc? The wood in question is a standard shipmodelling hardwood - pear, castello boxwood, holly, ebony.

Obviously, it is good to keep a semi-constant humidity and temperature, and I found a place matching that criterias.

 

1) What about insects?

2) Maybe it would be good to put some silica gel to absorb extra moisture if the humidity level will go up? Or it will suck moisture from the wood, making it too dry?

3) Better keep it sealed in plastic bags or without plastic?

4) Anything special that I should know about storage of holly? To make sure it will not change its colour and will remain bright white?

 

I know it sounds like paranoia, but really do not want to find that my wood stash is eaten, rotten and holly turned grey. brrr. Nightmare! 

Edited by Mike Y
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No answers here, Mike.

 

I haven't seen any insects in wood stored in house...nor do I worry about humidity as the A/C and the heating system keep it pretty constant.  I have some in plastic and some open in bins.  The only thing about Swiss Pear that I see is light changes the color slowly from pink to a nice warm brown.

 

I hope someone with more knowledge can help as I've wondered the same things myself.

Mark
"The shipwright is slow, but the wood is patient." - me

Current Build:                                                                                             
Past Builds:
 La Belle Poule 1765 - French Frigate from ANCRE plans - ON HOLD           Triton Cross-Section   

 NRG Hallf Hull Planking Kit                                                                            HMS Sphinx 1775 - Vanguard Models - 1:64               

 

Non-Ship Model:                                                                                         On hold, maybe forever:           

CH-53 Sikorsky - 1:48 - Revell - Completed                                                   Licorne - 1755 from Hahn Plans (Scratch) Version 2.0 (Abandoned)         

         

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

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Ahoy Mike and Mark

 

I would also like to know what is the correct way to store strips and sheets. Sheets are 2",3" and 6" wide boxwood,swiss pear,basswood and balsa.

 I have a large investment in these woods that I have at home in the house.

 

I have ended up replacing most of the woods that are in the kits that I am building and one's collected for future builds.

 

The majority of woods that are in kits for the second and finish planking are IMHO only fit for either first planking or as fire starters.  

The exception is most of the basswood. The walnut,mahogany and other woods are of poor quality and for the most part have no wider strips for you to shape the bow and stern planks to fit the shape of the hull.

 

So back to how to store the wood. I know to keep it out of sunlight and temp. changes. But how do you either stack them or what kind of racks should you make?

 

Thanks

Keith

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I keep my workshop heated to roughly the same temperature as our centrally heated house.Theory being,store the wood in the same conditions as not only what the model will be built in,but also displayed in.Don't have AC,not many houses do in the UK,so regulating humidity is a bit hit and miss.

 I have found Swiss Pear to be far the most sensitive timber to moisture,any damp and it soaks it up from the air like a sponge and promptly warps.

 

Kind Regards

 

Nigel

Currently working on Royal Caroline

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Nigel brings up an excellent point.  Let your wood equilibrate to the same conditions in your home as it will 'see' when it's used and ultimately displayed.  If you have climate control in your home, all the better.  I store my wood flat and away from constant direct light.

 

As an aside, as our projects tend to run over several years, flatten your plans and let them also equilibrate to ambient conditions.  You may be surprised at how much they can shrink (or expand) over time.  

 

If you're building a kit, open the box and let the wood 'breathe' and the plans sit for a week or so before you get going.

Augie

 

Current Build: US Frigate Confederacy - MS 1:64

 

Previous Builds :

 

US Brig Syren (MS) - 2013 (see Completed Ship Gallery)

Greek Tug Ulises (OcCre) - 2009 (see Completed Ship Gallery)

Victory Cross Section (Corel) - 1988

Essex (MS) 1/8"- 1976

Cutty Sark (Revell 1:96) - 1956

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I agree with everything that Augie mentioned in his post.

 

1)  Store you wood at a constant temp and humidity.  Ideally at room temp and around 50% humidity.  My shop is environmentally controlled so I'm adding moisture during the heating season and running dehumidifiers in the summer with the A/C.  You can pick up humidity gages pretty cheaply these days so you may want to consider one.

 

2)  Light and oxygen affects nearly all woods.  Most will darken over time with some like cherry being more susceptible to exposure.  Holly yellows, boxwood picks up a golden tone that varies with each piece, swiss pear darkens too, but not as much as cherry, redheart turns orange, yellowheart darkens to a golden yellow, walnut will lighten, bloodwood darkens just a little, and ebony doesn't change much.  So store milled wood away from direct light or wait to mill it until you are ready to use it.  If color stability is important in your model then use a sealer with a UV inhibitor and resin that doesn't yellow.  Acrylics are known for not yellowing where most others yellow over time.

 

3)  Store your wood sheets flat.  Most wood has internal stresses and the wider the sheet and thinner they are there will be a tendency to curl.  Also wide variances in temp and humidity will increase the curling.  If the humidity is controlled then you should be able to stack the sheets and add some weight to minimize curl.  Suggest that you check the sheets periodically, especially if you have high humidity.  Stacking also minimizes exposure to light and oxygen.  Of course this assumes that the wood was milled from properly dried wood to start with.  Milling green or high moisture content wood is another issue altogether.

 

4)  Stripwood storage is less of an issue, but it should be stored flat and away from light with constant conditions.

 

5)  Just use common sense and inspect your wood storage regularly.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Jeff

HobbyMill

Jeff

aka HobbyMill

NRG Member

 

Current Build: Constitution

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Jeff, thanks for stepping in!

All clear, the last question: do you recommend to store sheets in a plastic sleeve (like the one you ship the wood orders in), or it is better to store it without plastic? Gut feeling is that plastic wrap can cause some condensation and bad ventilation, which might lead to rot or grey spots, but just want to confirm

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Mike,

 

That is a hard one to give a single answer.

 

Assuming that where you are storing your wood is at room temp and the humidity isn't at one extreme, then probably not using the plastic sleeves would be a good idea.

 

On the other hand if the environment tends to have high humidity during the year or varies significantly, then leaving it in the sleeves and sealing it when the wood is around 40-50% humidity would protect it from condensation and mold.  Just think of the sleeves as adding a barrier around the wood.  If the wood is at the proper moisture content and the atmosphere where you store it is a constant 40-50% then there is no need for the plastic.  On the other hand if you seal the wood in plastic when the humidity is really high and then put it somewhere really cold there will be condensation.  Storing it wet with elevated temperature will promote mold.

 

I guess the silica bags would work, but then you would want to leave the wood sealed in plastic with the silica.  Don't know how well that would work or if it would be too dry, but it could be expensive.  Over time silica would collect moisture from the air if it isn't sealed and become saturated.

 

It's just common sense and again be sure to check it periodically because your "stable environment" might change over time.

 

With respect to bugs, kiln drying should kill any borer eggs.  Also any bulk woods that are imported go through a fogging treatment too.  So any bugs are most likely to come from you local environment.

 

Cheers,

 

Jeff

Jeff

aka HobbyMill

NRG Member

 

Current Build: Constitution

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Thanks Jeff.  That will help many of us who weren't sure.

Mark
"The shipwright is slow, but the wood is patient." - me

Current Build:                                                                                             
Past Builds:
 La Belle Poule 1765 - French Frigate from ANCRE plans - ON HOLD           Triton Cross-Section   

 NRG Hallf Hull Planking Kit                                                                            HMS Sphinx 1775 - Vanguard Models - 1:64               

 

Non-Ship Model:                                                                                         On hold, maybe forever:           

CH-53 Sikorsky - 1:48 - Revell - Completed                                                   Licorne - 1755 from Hahn Plans (Scratch) Version 2.0 (Abandoned)         

         

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

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  • 3 months later...

The Admiral and I are in the process of moving.

Due to that I have to store my kits in another location for time being.

Yes, sealing them up with plastic wrapping is to be done, but is that good enough?

They have all been stored in my office closet so far.

For a while the kits will be stored in a non-heated garage.

Inputs would be appreciated.

:)

 

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Respectfully

 

Per aka Dr. Per@Therapy for Shipaholics 
593661798_Keepitreal-small.jpg.f8a2526a43b30479d4c1ffcf8b37175a.jpg

Finished: T37, BB Marie Jeanne - located on a shelf in Sweden, 18th Century Longboat, Winchelsea Capstan

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