Moisture content

[vinnie_chip]

Hi everyone, my make shift workshop is in my garage which is joined to the house with a bedroom above and kitchen to the rear. The garage has no heating. I am in the process of making a coffee table from bookmatched burr chestnut which is 1500mm long 1200mm wide and 450mm high, the top and legs are 45mm thick. I have just purchased a moisture meter to check the timber and the reading is 12 - 13%... I have a feeling this is too high and dont want to carry on with the build untill I have figured out what to do. I have a dehumidifier I could set up... would this work? what heaters could I use to warm it up in there? the only access to the garage is through the main up and over door so i'd imagine if i did put heaters in there any heat would be lost as soon as i open the door?? :? Any thoughts or advise would be great, thanks

 

[marcros]

Can't you bring it in the house for a bit- under the bed is my favoured place, on (clean pse) stickers.

 

[Sgian Dubh]

I have just purchased a moisture meter to check the timber and the reading is 12 - 13%... I have a feeling this is too high and dont want to carry on with the build untill I have figured out what to do.

The MC is not too high if it is as you state-- it's perhaps borderline high at 13% MC, but it wouldn't stop me making whatever I felt like making. You just need to build the table and allow for the inevitable seasonal wood shrinkage and expansion. Assuming this coffee table is for indoor use which seems most logical, the wood is likely to vary between about 11-13% (maximum) MC in the summer to possibly as low as 6-8% MC in the winter. These are typical figures for most UK residences.

That means incorporating means primarily for the table top to expand and contract across the width. There are several ways to accomplish this all depending on the table design. If it's a traditional four legs and four rails arrangement you can use things like table buttons, pocket screws and expansion plates. There are other methods you could use too. And if the design isn't basically as I've suggested, but is of a different configuration you might need to use other strategies to ensure structural integrity, to maintain flatness of the top, and to allow for wood movement in general. Slainte.