Humidity Tip!

Are you are making a guitar at home or in a workshop?

Have you a hand crafted guitar?

Do you realize that the most important thing to remember is your relative HUMIDITY level!

Fluctuations of up to 20 will cause splits, twisting and imbalances of moisture levels in your timber.

You can buy a lab quality thermometer. Choose one with an accuracy of +/- 5% or better.

You can also buy guitar case humidifiers.

Please keep an eye on your humidity levels when:

Travelling with you guitar, (plane, car, bus storage area, interstate transport of any sort) at home when crafting your guitar, always note the temperature from point A to point B.

NEVER Leave your guitar in a car - Get to your destination and get your hand crafted guitar out of the car. (you should always have your guitar in a solid body case to help stabilize the temperature and protect your guitar anyway)

A car can heat up in minutes with out air conditioning.

To prevent such damage: provide a stable environment for your guitar.

If in a workshop have a heater or cooler in your workshop, leave water in the workshop (if relevant) leave doors open or closed to keep your relative humidity at 50!

Keep in mind that the above are only guidelines; some guitars are more sensitive than others. (Manufactured vs Hand Crafted)...Older instruments may already have compromised necks and glue joints from past exposures and time, thus making them more vulnerable to damage.

Acceptable relative humidity levels for your guitar are around 40% - 60%. Relative humidity is the amount of moisture the air can hold at a given temperature.

Rapid temperature changes (20ºF or more per hour) should be avoided.

Before introducing your guitar to any drastic environmental change, leave it in its case and allow time for temperatures to equalize. Even then, open the case only a crack and let the air come into contact with the instrument gradually before taking it out for play.

Low humidity is more damaging than high humidity. Especially at low humidity then, keep your guitar in its case when you aren't playing. It is much easier to maintain humidity in your case than the whole house. There are various humidifiers available, and I encourage you to do your research before picking any one.

Hope this helps!