Rushing on with the daily challenge of bringing in new work, and then trying to deliver that work to the deadlines promised, it is easy to miss important lessons and patterns that are right under your nose. This was the case a few days ago, when making adjustment to some doors I had fitted some months back, It hit me just how many of my projects this year have been plagued by timber movement and shrinkage. It is in the very nature of wood to be unpredictable and prone to structural change over the years. It's this part of its charictor that make wood both a challenge and a joy to work with. However the level of movement I was seeing was beyond what I would normally expect, and allow for.
Just taking glancing out of the workshop window gave me one pice of the puzzle. This year has been the wettest on record, with near constant heavy rainfall. My second problem is the moden house with its double glazed and draft sealed doors and windows, thermostats cranked up to a constant 21degrees and no natural air flow.
Generaly the timber I work with has been felled, machined into planks and then stacked in a kiln for a few days, where its original 200% moisture content is reduced to a more acceptable 12%. At this point it is delivered to my unheated, well ventilated timber store, ready to be transformed into furniture. And this is where the problems start. Kiln dryed timber will start to absorb moisture within a few weeks, so if not placed in its new centrally heated inviroment soon, the moisture content will start to rise, causing potential problems at a later date.
So my solution will be, create a timber store with an inviroment more inline with the clients home, leave the purchasing of timber until the last possible moment and finally ask my supplier to reduce my timbers moisture content to a more realistic 8%. Also some better weather would help, but I'm afraid that's a little out of my control.
