What to use for controlling humidity?!?!

[GouletPens]

I live in central VA, which is notorious this time of year for having wild swings of wet and dry weather. Just last week we had 3 straight days of rain and the relative humidity in my shop was 65%, it's been unusually cold and dry since, and the RH was down to 31% last night! I sold a pen I'd made 2 weeks ago online, and when I pulled it out, the darned thing was cracked b/c of the wild humidity swings. The wood wasn't wet when I turned it...though admittedly, I had never worked with the wood before this pen (Red Palm, not stabilized).

I use a large, automated humidifyer in the room where I store my finished pens, as well as in my shop where I store all my wood. I try to keep the RH around 45% (good for VA here), but I'm wondering if there is some kind of humidor or something I can build to maintain the humidity of a medium sized container where I store finished pens, rather that trying to maintain the humidity in large areas like my house or shop....any suggestions?!

 

[maxwell_smart007]

Have a look at a cigar shop!

 

[DCBluesman]

I'm not sure you have identified the problem correctly. Wood cracking is not often cause by temporary swings in relative humidity, particularly if there is a good, protective finish on the wood.

In terms of using a humidor arrangement to keep your pens in, would you rather keep them uncracked and then have a customer experience the crack? I think you would be better served spending more time in diagnosing and uncovering the problem, then correcting it. I would investigate moisture content of the wood, any heat generated in turning, sanding and finishing, etc.

 

[wdcav1952]

Bingo, Lou! I find the heat generated by a heavy touch with turning tools and particularly during finishing to be a major cause of cracking.

 

[GouletPens]

I'm really perplexed at my pen cracking. I've had a couple other pens crack in the last week as well (bloodwood and elm)....some I made just last week, and some that I made months ago. I track the relative humidity in my shop and my house, and I know that last week when it rained like crazy it was in the 60% range, and just this morning it was 30%. The humidity seems like the only common factor since the pens I just had crack were 3 completely different woods made at different times all with the same finish on them....and they still all cracked within a few days of each other. I'm perplexed if it's not the weather. The wood was all dry and seasoned when turned, I use very sharp tools, sanding screens with very low heat, and I have made probably 400 other wood pens in the last year with no cracks (since last January). What else could it be?

 

[GouletPens]

nope for humidors

I contacted a humidor sales rep. online and they said that it probably would not work for pens. He said cigar humidors are meant to hold 65-75% humidity. Unless I want all my pens to start spalting and swell up like balloons, that's going to be too humid. Off to more research....

 

[jkeithrussell]

Two things: First, my guess is that humidity is not the cause of the problems you are having. Take a hard look at your finishing process and see if there are other possibilities. Second, cigar humidors can be used to keep cigars (or whatever) at whatever humidity level you desire. I'm a cigar smoker (very rarely) and I have a humidor that I keep at about 60% humidity. It would be simple to knock that down to 50-55% or so. Still, I wouldn't keep my pens in a humidor at any level of humidity.

 

[titan2]

I live in central VA, which is notorious this time of year for having wild swings of wet and dry weather. Just last week we had 3 straight days of rain and the relative humidity in my shop was 65%, it's been unusually cold and dry since, and the RH was down to 31% last night! I sold a pen I'd made 2 weeks ago online, and when I pulled it out, the darned thing was cracked b/c of the wild humidity swings. The wood wasn't wet when I turned it...though admittedly, I had never worked with the wood before this pen (Red Palm, not stabilized).

I use a large, automated humidifyer in the room where I store my finished pens, as well as in my shop where I store all my wood. I try to keep the RH around 45% (good for VA here), but I'm wondering if there is some kind of humidor or something I can build to maintain the humidity of a medium sized container where I store finished pens, rather that trying to maintain the humidity in large areas like my house or shop....any suggestions?!

How about.......inside your house? Surely you would have a little room for them!

 

[DCBluesman]

Brian - I'm normally not inclined to add more than one comment per thread, but I am making an exception here.

You have three pens which cracked - bloodwood, elm and red palm. The trees come come from three different parts of the world, three different climates and really have almost no similar characteristics. I assume you have pens which did not crack. (I know it can be dangerous to assume.) What empirical evidence do you have to indicate that the short term (a few days, by your account) changes in relative humidity is the cause? And even if the cause is the change in relative humidity, if the only place you can control that is by establishing a humidor for storage until your pens are sold, are you not setting yourself up for a lot of returned product? I really think it's time to apply some critical thinking skills to the problem. Just my two cents worth...twice.

 

[GouletPens]

There are several factors that lead me to believe that the weather is causing my cracking problem. First of all, I've been using the same finishing process for over a year with 400+ pens not having cracked at all. Both last year and this year at the same time (around Thanksgiving, with drastic weather swings), I experienced cracks in a couple of pens. The weather has been unusually dry the last week, with record lows here in Richmond. It's so dry the epoxy is peeling off my garage floor and I have spaces the thickness of a quarter in between the slats in my hardwood floor that were tight just a few weeks ago. The finish I use is no PPP wax...it's probably one of the best non-CA finishes you can do. I use sharp tools and turn dry wood. Really the only thing that has changed with anything that I've been doing is the weather. That's why I'm thinking its the weather. Since you don't have a problem with the weather, I'm trying to think of what else could be the problem.

I agree with you that I don't want to sell my customers a pen that's going to be a problem for them. That's why I'm posting this thread, because I'm trying to find some answers. I'm finding it hard to believe that anything that I'm doing is going to cause cracks more than anyone else when I would like to think I'm being pretty careful. BTW...if anyone knows a good way to measure the moisture level within a single pen blank, that would be helpful to many I'm sure. I've looked into expensive moisture meters, but I've been told they need a 2" thickness of wood to be even remotely accurate.

 

[BRobbins629]

Perhaps there is another solution, but this may require a few simple experiments. If at all possible, make another pen that you think will crack. Then make a few more but change a few things, such as 1) drill the hole on the blank larger to allow for some expansion contraction while using gorilla glue to secure the blank (it is softer and will expand/contract) 2) Do not press the pen parts in. Either ream the tubes or sand down the parts you are inserting and glue them in with a slip fit. This will not expand the brass tube and put pressure on the wood.

Another trick to see if the wood is contracting is to drill a blank and turn it proud of final diameter prior to gluing in the tube. You can turn this with the tube loosely in. Let it sit. Every day or so, take the drill bit you used and see if it still fits. If it is tight, ream it out until it fits again. When it is stable for a few days, glue it in the tube and finish.

I have a friend that traded me some ivory because every time he made a pen from it, it cracked. I've had mine for several years with no cracks (here in Richmond) following the above steps.

BTW - nice meeting you at the club last week.