humidity and your guitars
Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2018 12:01 pm
this is the time of year when Humidity , or lack of it can cause damage and other issues.
The key is here it to be able to control RH and also know what that RH is. SO to do this
#1 be sure you have a gauge that is reasonably accurate. The range that you have to be concerned about is how low , once you see 35% you better get some moisture in the air. It is true some guitars can withstand swings better than others but this is the crux of the discussion . If you don't have a good gauge you have no true idea what the RH is when you build so lets start here
There are a number of RH gauges out there. I am not a fan of the digitals but in all fairness I had not bought one in 10 yrs. All the ones I had were terribly out of calibration and few can be calibrated so that is where you start.
I have an Abeon that is a laboratory rated gauge and cost well over $200. I tried a number of brands but found this little guy.
https://www.amazon.com/Analog-Hygromete ... ter+analog
the ones I have ( I have 6 of them ) were out of the box within 5% when compared to the abeon gauge. But to make sure I did use this method to check them
You take a tablespoon of table salt and a few drops of water. I used a soda bottle cap. I then placed the gauge and wet salt in a plastic sealed bag and let set a few hours. The reading should be 75%. You can adjust these gauges. You may have to pry a magnet off the back and access a small adjustment screw. Set it for the 75% and double check. That should be it and your good to go.
#2
Now that you have a way to measure your RH it is now time to control it. If you don't have a sealed shop you may just want to set up a room and control the rh there. If you can get 40% in this dry winter your ok, As long as you can stay about that 35% you should be ok but pay attention to you instruments. Look for sharp fret ends cupped wood , or sunken tops are all signs that your dry .
I use 3 humidifiers in my 1800 sq ft shop 2 lasko recirculating one in the lower floor and 1 honey well up stairs. In my studio I use a Lasko on the main area and a the smaller honeywell in the guitar room. I have about 4 gauges there , yes it is over kill but each area has one so I can see if I am controlling the RH and if I need to be aware of anything. Common sense will rule , so I hope this helps as it is very heart breaking to spend all that time and then see a guitar crack.
The key is here it to be able to control RH and also know what that RH is. SO to do this
#1 be sure you have a gauge that is reasonably accurate. The range that you have to be concerned about is how low , once you see 35% you better get some moisture in the air. It is true some guitars can withstand swings better than others but this is the crux of the discussion . If you don't have a good gauge you have no true idea what the RH is when you build so lets start here
There are a number of RH gauges out there. I am not a fan of the digitals but in all fairness I had not bought one in 10 yrs. All the ones I had were terribly out of calibration and few can be calibrated so that is where you start.
I have an Abeon that is a laboratory rated gauge and cost well over $200. I tried a number of brands but found this little guy.
https://www.amazon.com/Analog-Hygromete ... ter+analog
the ones I have ( I have 6 of them ) were out of the box within 5% when compared to the abeon gauge. But to make sure I did use this method to check them
You take a tablespoon of table salt and a few drops of water. I used a soda bottle cap. I then placed the gauge and wet salt in a plastic sealed bag and let set a few hours. The reading should be 75%. You can adjust these gauges. You may have to pry a magnet off the back and access a small adjustment screw. Set it for the 75% and double check. That should be it and your good to go.
#2
Now that you have a way to measure your RH it is now time to control it. If you don't have a sealed shop you may just want to set up a room and control the rh there. If you can get 40% in this dry winter your ok, As long as you can stay about that 35% you should be ok but pay attention to you instruments. Look for sharp fret ends cupped wood , or sunken tops are all signs that your dry .
I use 3 humidifiers in my 1800 sq ft shop 2 lasko recirculating one in the lower floor and 1 honey well up stairs. In my studio I use a Lasko on the main area and a the smaller honeywell in the guitar room. I have about 4 gauges there , yes it is over kill but each area has one so I can see if I am controlling the RH and if I need to be aware of anything. Common sense will rule , so I hope this helps as it is very heart breaking to spend all that time and then see a guitar crack.