I am getting ready to shape a blank and have it glassed by a local glassing wizard kid. Since he does lots of boards, I’m assuming mine will get into the lineup and be shaped from 1-2 weeks after he receives it. I live in the Pacific Northwest with lots of humidity and I’m wondering how long a shpaed blank can sit in high humidity before being glassed.
Will a shaped blank take up a significant amount of moisture from high humidity, or am I being too anal? If it does take up moisture rapidly, what is the best way to deal with it?
I live in Costa Rica in a very humid area…I’ve left a shaped Superblue Clark Foam blank for up to 3 weeks before glass job…never had a problem with it…
Howzit billy, Just how high is the humidity in your area? If you don’t have a hygrometer in your shop, get 1. In Hanalei mine usually reads 80% or higher and that doesn’t seem to affect the blanks. What’s scary is when the hygrometer reads 110 %, I still can’t figure out how that can be but then again Kauai is 1 of the wettest places on earth. I’d say the boys in Florida could add to this since I’ve heard their humidity can be down right miserable. I think what saves us is the trade winds. Aloha, Kokua
I’d say its about time for a new hygrometer Kokua… but if you figure out how to get more than 100% relative humidity let me know - sounds like free energy just waiting to be released.
I knew I never shoulda trusted that sneaky 1st law of thermodynamics… maybe we need to check in on our friend entropy.
I’d be especially careful if you happen to have much wood in/on your board (stringers, nose,tailblocks). I’m in a very humid area also and keep a dehumidifier (available from the big lumber/hardware depots) in my finishing room. Normally ready to use dry wood is kept in there for at least a week prior to final application/installation for furniture and surfboards. It was especially humid for a two week period during and after the shaping of my last balsa / redwood board so I delayed taking it to the glasser until it sat in a non humid inside room for a week prior to getting glassed.
The main problem to consider with humidity is not so much whether you are in a humid or a dry area. Adverse affects occur with shifts in humidity levels causing wood to either shrink when things turn dramatically more dry or expand as moisture creeps in.
Bottom line: Don’t take a new unglassed surfboard with much wood in it or a piece of new furniture from a shop in Tucson immediately to Seattle and expect it not to “adjust”. Going the other direction is an equal problem. Glassing a board seals it, but direct sun and intense heat can further dry a moist stringer or tailblock and cause delam and cracks.
Probably more info than you needed, but suffice to say that wood must be “seasoned” before crafting something with it, and it doesn’t like changes in humidity levels.