Storing neck blanks

Hi all,

I found a very nice flamey piece of maple at HOME DEPOT the other day for $15. It is 3/4" thick and more than three times the length of a tele neck, so I'll resaw one third and make two good necks maple necks.

...but I digress... It will be a few weeks or so until I get to building necks, so my question is, how should I store it? Vertically? horizontally? cut it into blanks? put some weight on it? (there is some slight movement at one end.)

Many thanks,

I'd lay it down on a flat concrete surface out of the sun. Let any movement happen ... best to have it happen before you make the neck(s).

I'd stick it in a closet in the house horizontally on a shelf and let it acclimate. You may find it moves around some and it's a good thing to let it alone for a while,especially curly maple.

I typically stack my wood with stringers under each board and add weight to the top. This doesn't stop movement but delays it until the MC equalizes.
When I go to use it, I'll cut it oversize, put it on the top of the stack w/o any weight and let it move however it wants. If I have the time I'll wait 2-3 days before cutting it to final shape.
It's still a battle. I've had kiln dried maple sitting in my workshop for months, followed the above procedure and still had the neck twist 3 weeks after I cut it. Sometimes no matter what the wood wins. :grins:

Thanks to all for the input.

I typically stack my wood with stringers under each board and add weight to the top. This doesn't stop movement but delays it until the MC equalizes.
When I go to use it, I'll cut it oversize, put it on the top of the stack w/o any weight and let it move however it wants. If I have the time I'll wait 2-3 days before cutting it to final shape.
It's still a battle. I've had kiln dried maple sitting in my workshop for months, followed the above procedure and still had the neck twist 3 weeks after I cut it. Sometimes no matter what the wood wins. :grins:

Cool. I'll do that. thanks!

I'd lay it down on a flat concrete surface out of the sun. Let any movement happen ... best to have it happen before you make the neck(s).


Nick, wouldn't you be concerned that normal water vapor evaporation ou the concrete would cause issues with the wood ?

I'm not sure, maybe. My concrete is pretty dry! Does concrete moisture change a lot?

A few weeks would be okay though - I often store dry wood flat on concrete with no worries.

I'm not sure, maybe. My concrete is pretty dry! Does concrete moisture change a lot?

A few weeks would be okay though - I often store dry wood flat on concrete with no worries.


Yes, Concrete moisture can change a lot. Does not mean it does, the moisture source would need to be present. So I would say in the middle of a basement floor in a Central AC controlled house, no problem. Out on the floor of my shop that swings with the weather in relative humidity.. no so much. I would ad that of said concrete is showing and signs of effervescence [light mineral power/residual], keep you wood away from it. ;)

What about a stewmac neck blank and fingerboard?
How would you store them?
I have just purchased them but probably wont be using them for a while!

The concrete in the basement of my house is the biggest sponge I ever saw. One these days I've got to seal it.
The humidity in the shop fluctuates enough that I always sticker my wood. In the last two weeks the outside humidity has gone from 95% to 40% back to 75%. Makes it tough dealing with wet or freshly sawn wood of any kind.

The concrete in the basement of my house is the biggest sponge I ever saw.

Everything is a sponge really. And if it is not it is a convetion medium for condensation. So either way... ;)

I figure my basement with the Central A/C about this time of year is 'relatively' stable 'humidity' wise [ahem ;)] The A/C has hd the house at 40% humidity for a few month now, and I'd say the concrete is pretty dry. But look at the color of the concrete by an exterior door compared to the middle of the floor on the the side of the floor away from the door.
dark concrete=damp concrete. So I probably would never put wood on a concrete floor myself. If it is dry, it is just waiting to get wet again.
I should mention I have done a lot of water related solutions for residential sub structures etc.

But bottom lining it: Concrete generally will be shedding water vapor at any given time. And the wood sitting on will make a great alternate sponge the way I see it. ;)

Hahaha... yup! I agree, Hack.

Of course, I didn't do my basement any favors when I was turning wet wood on the lathe down there for 3 years! You know its bad when you have to run a dehumidifier even in the winter.

if you are going to lay it on concrete, couldnt you just lay some of this down inbetween the wood and the concrete?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/100mm-DPC-Damp-Course-For-Bricks-or-Roofing_W0QQitemZ320356505986QQcmdZViewItem

the easiest thing is to just cut some 1" stickers out of pine and use those. You want the best air circulation around the wood that you can get.

the easiest thing is to just cut some 1" stickers out of pine and use those. You want the best air circulation around the wood that you can get.


+1 and lay down some poly on the concrete 1 foot wide for a 2-1/2 wide piece of wood. The spiders need homes too you know. ;)

I'm getting at least a gallon a day at 50% out of my basement right now. I don't keep the wood i'm using soon stored in there either.

That lovely maple you bought is most likely NOT hard rock maple, but soft maple. You should be sure about this before you use it in a neck.

Heh heh! I'm not used to your northern hemisphere guys concrete!

My garage concrete is as dry as a bone. It hasn't rained here in six weeks and is almost constantly 50% humidity and 23 degrees C. It's kind of polished and shiney too, so that might help water getting in and out.

For "a couple of weeks" it's my dry, flat, wood storage solution! :grin:

Heh heh! I'm not used to your northern hemisphere guys concrete!

My garage concrete is as dry as a bone. It hasn't rained here in six weeks and is almost constantly 50% humidity and 23 degrees C. It's kind of polished and shiney too, so that might help water getting in and out.

For "a couple of weeks" it's my dry, flat, wood storage solution! :grin:

I'll trade ya, Nick! I live in the northeast US and in June we only had 3 days where it did NOT rain. On the other hand, 6 weeks seems like a long dry spell.

I'll trade ya, Nick! I live in the northeast US and in June we only had 3 days where it did NOT rain. On the other hand, 6 weeks seems like a long dry spell.

It's the dry season here. In summer you've got to swim to get around.

Just had to add this . Even if you have no immediate plans for a finished guitar wouldn't it make sense to finish a neck ahead of time for storage ? Once sealed , no worries . Use it ten years later .

That lovely maple you bought is most likely NOT hard rock maple, but soft maple. You should be sure about this before you use it in a neck.

I knew that it was a possibility that this was not rock maple, but I was only aware of western big leaf. How might I make the determination?

Thanks!

I store my lumber in a separate building, it's hot, really hot in the summer, and stays pretty darn warm in winter. That way if the wood's going to do anything, it does so long before I start shaping.

If you have a warped hunk of lumber, and you force it to dry straight... it's going to return to it's crooked ways sooner or later, but usually it's shortly after you polish the finish... it makes ya say, "Well just dammmmm!"

Point is, you want to give the lumber every possible opportunity to show ya, what it wants to do, 'cause, like a teenager, it's gonna do it despite what you do to keep it from doing so. Wood can be a sneaky Bas*ard... just let it do its thing.

Ron Kirn

Point is, you want to give the lumber every possible opportunity to show ya, what it wants to do, 'cause, like a teenager, it's gonna do it despite what you do to keep it from doing so. Wood can be a sneaky Bas*ard... just let it do its thing.

Ron Kirn

Ron,
That had me giggling for a bit. Having survived 4 kids and untold amounts of wood, you are right. Both of them do exactly what you don't want at exactly the worse time. :lol:

I'd lay it down on a flat concrete surface out of the sun. Let any movement happen ... best to have it happen before you make the neck(s).

I would avoid placing any piece of wood in direct contact with concrete. Concrete absorbs and gives off moisture depending on the humidity and it also leaches out salts some of which can stain wood.
Store your wood horizontal, as flat as possible, on spacers of similar wood so that air can circulate. It should be out of the sun, indoors and away from water.

Any tips on identifying the species of Maple that I have?

I would avoid placing any piece of wood in direct contact with concrete. Concrete absorbs and gives off moisture depending on the humidity and it also leaches out salts some of which can stain wood.
Store your wood horizontal, as flat as possible, on spacers of similar wood so that air can circulate. It should be out of the sun, indoors and away from water.

The OP is talking a few weeks. I have never had any problems storing wood on concrete for short periods of time. YMMV, as may the northern hemisphere weather.

Any tips on identifying the species of Maple that I have?

A. macrophyllum (big leaf) on average will weigh about two thirds of A. saccharum. But a heavier piece of big leaf would be fine.

You want your wood to have a density of something like 0.6 (water is 1.0). That's 600kg/m3. Just about any wood works for a guitar neck as long as it's dense enough.

What's its weight in kg? What's the volume of your piece in cubic meters?

For storing all hardwood I use some cheap latex paint to seal the end grain. The moisture content of the wood will exit the end grain much quicker than from side or front grain, often leaving shrinkage and splits.

Yeah, up here in the great white north things are very different. In my garage this morning for example, there was moisture on the concrete floor. I expect it to be gone in a few hours but it will return overnight. It is very humid right now up to 80%. I never store any valuable wood in direct contact with concrete instead I have a series of shelves starting about 5 feet off the ground that I use.