Storing and Using Lumber

So you have purchased your stash, now what? If you store it some place other than your shop, make sure that you bring it into your workspace a good two before you work it. Remember that wood needs time to acclimate, or adjust to the relative humidity in your shop, so that it will be stable as you work it. I pays to check the moisture content with a moisture meter before you buy it, but definitely check before you store it. Your moisture level should be between 6-10% to be at equilibrium moisture content, or it should be stacked with stickers to separate them. In any case, you should ensure that air can flow freely around your pile and that rain or other moisture cannot drip on it. I always paint the ends with old house paint to guard against checking during storage. Provided the lumber is properly seasoned, there are no other special considerations for storage. I try to keep the racks upon which mine is stored not too far apart to reduce sagging in the middle, but that is not a great problem as long as you don’t stow your boat anchor on the middle of the pile.

The small shop owner probably would not want to hoard great piles of lumber anyway. I generally tend to buy what I need a couple of projects in advance then store it in my shop so that it has time to acclimate before using it but I don’t keep a running inventory. Frequent the lumber yards and sawmills that provide you consistently with a quality product at a reasonable price. Then just go more often.

One last word of caution. When you start that project, don’t dress all your lumber ahead of time. You aren’t doing yourself any favors. Dress only what you need, right before you need it. If you are building a table, for example, break down the lumber you purchased for the top first and work as fast as possible to get the top glued up after prepping the wood. Then set it aside to dry while you dress and square up the legs. Remember to work quickly. Milling lumber that is straight and square on all four sides is a job in itself – you don’t want to leave freshly milled lumber lying about to change shape at the whim of the atmosphere.