Humidity concerns

[David L]

This is my first post. I am about start my first build, HD28 kit from John at Blues Creek. I need to get a grip on the relative humidity, I live in south Louisiana and the humidity almost always very high, most of the time it's in the high 90s%. I have been reading a lot about the inaccuracies (spell check) of digital hygrometers. I don't care much for the Ben Franklin homemade jobs. Has anyone had any experience with analog (dial type). Any suggestions on an accurate one and where to get it from would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
David L

[Tony_in_NYC]

Welcome to the forum David L!

You are going to need a dehumidifier or five. And....you should read this thread:
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=755

Its always better to build in low humidity and move to high when the guitar is done than it is to do it the other way.
Good luck!

Tony

[David L]

Welcome to the forum David L!

You are going to need a dehumidifier or five. And....you should read this thread:
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=755

Its always better to build in low humidity and move to high when the guitar is done than it is to do it the other way.
Good luck!

Tony

Thank you for welcoming me Tony, I was disappointed to see that I got 31 hits but only 1 response. I was beginning to think that there was some kind of secret luthier initiation that I am unaware of, a hazing of some sort like hop up and down on one foot a hundred times while balancing a triple o on my forehead, or one of those "go out and find" a left handed bridge plate installation tool, or a fret board stretcher or something like that. Maybe humidity is just a boring topic. Anyway, after Tony's suggestion I started looking up dehumidifiers on the internet and I'm bummed out to learn that it's going to cost about $200 bucks to start with and that may or may not be enough dehumidification for my shop, had other plans for that cash in my adventure into lutherie-ism-ness (huh?). That's ok, I'm going to bite the bullet and do it right. I can see my first build start date slowly getting farther into the future. You guys (and gals) out west with low humidity are lucky, I've got a couple of hot plates and old pots laying around the house just looking for a job. The dehumidifiers that I am looking at have built-in hygrometers that are probably just as inaccurate as the rest of them so I'll get the unit first and figure out what to do from there.
Thanks, David L

[Darryl Young]

The homemade sling psychrometers work fine. Here is one off E-bay but it ships from the United Kingdom. You can search and find other sling psycrometers on e-bay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/WHIRLING-HYGROMETER ... 3cafd21288

[Ken Hundley]

Hi David, and welcome to the forum! I wouldn't worry about the hits vs responses, many of us read posts on our phones, where it is not always convenient to reply. That, or we are waiting for the pros to respond, who are more than likely working billable hours at the moment. From a non-pro perspective, are you building for you? Do you plan to keep the guitar in the environment it is built in? Then I would do the best you can to build it in an air conditioned environment, and do the best you can to dehumidify at a reasonable expense. Some have come up with intriguing ways like storing wood and partially assembled components in air tight boxes with a dessicant dryer in them. May not be practical during a clamp up, but keeping the parts in there at all other times might be a far less expensive way than getting a questionable dehumdifyer. Good luck, post photos, and keep the questions coming!

[Tarhead]

David,
Remember, an air conditioner is also a de-humidifier when it's in use. Just make sure it's sized correctly for your space. My daughter is outside of Layfayette and she need humidification in the cooler months for her guitars in an old house with a heat pump so you may not be in as much trouble as you think you are. The RH outside is much higher than inside in most heated spaces.

Storing your wooden parts in a large plastic bin and using a PlanetWaves Humid Pack which can regulate RH up and down is a good idea if you're worried you can't manage it. http://www.planetwaves.com/PWHumidity.Page

Make a wetbulb thermometer http://www.flinnsci.com/documents/demop ... s10301.pdf and find out your RH . Nothing for less than $500 is more accurate. I have a 5th grade neighbor I'll loan you if you need help figuring it out ;')

[David L]

David,
Remember, an air conditioner is also a de-humidifier when it's in use. Just make sure it's sized correctly for your space. My daughter is outside of Layfayette and she need humidification in the cooler months for her guitars in an old house with a heat pump so you may not be in as much trouble as you think you are. The RH outside is much higher than inside in most heated spaces.

Storing your wooden parts in a large plastic bin and using a PlanetWaves Humid Pack which can regulate RH up and down is a good idea if you're worried you can't manage it. http://www.planetwaves.com/PWHumidity.Page

Make a wetbulb thermometer http://www.flinnsci.com/documents/demop ... s10301.pdf and find out your RH . Nothing for less than $500 is more accurate. I have a 5th grade neighbor I'll loan you if you need help figuring it out ;')

[David L]

Thanks Tarhead and Ken, I was just thinking (a character defect of mine) earlier today that since my workshop is air-conditioned that the R.H. may not be as high as I think it is. After reading you guys replies I think I will make one of those psyco-meter thingies and see where I'm at before dumping a bunch of money into something I may not need. I'm out to shop for thermometers tomorrow and will post results. Thanks again guys!

[David L]

Ordered two high quality (I hope) thermometers from a lab supply co. this morning. I looked all around town yesterday and everything I could find is junk (for my purposes anyway). Total cost including shipping: $24.15. More to be revealed on my humidity woes.

[dandenson]

Hi David L, welcome!
I feel your pain. Originally from Houma, I built two in my garage in Houston. Believe me - the humidity is not much better here. My humidity gauge is a clock/temperature/humidity combo sold by W**dcraft.

I store all my wood parts indoors in the AC and just bring them out to the garage to work. Then I bring them back indoors. For overnight glue-ups like bracing, I will wait on the weather.

This has worked fine for me.

Regards,
Dan