What is acceptable Moisture content for Rosewood

Re: What is acceptable Moisture content for Rosewo

Sgian Dubh

Not true. Rosewood, like all wood, will vary in moisture content dependent upon the sustained relative humidity (RH) conditions it experiences. So, lower RH conditions equate to lower wood moisture content (MC), and higher RH results in higher MC. RH, however, in normal conditions such as a habitable building is dynamic and therefore forever changing, even by the hour, by the day and seasonally, so like all wood species the MC of wood gradually changes as RH changes.

Typically, all wood species within climate controlled habitable buildings vary in MC by about 5 or 6 percentage points over the seasons, usually between about 7-8% MC and perhaps 12-13% MC. Alternative conditions result in a different range of MC percentage points, e.g., wood in dry but unheated or intermittently heated sheds, workshops or outbuildings are likely to vary in MC at higher percentage points, e.g., maybe 10-12% MC to perhaps 15-17% MC. It all depends on the circumstances, but certainly rosewood can and does get drier than 13% MC. Slainte.

Reno, NV?

Jim Matthews

Isn't that the high desert?

Something sketchy about a CITES listed species that's still this "wet".

https://reverb.com/news/new-cites-regulations-for-all-rosewood-species

Curapau isn't "Rosewood"

Jim Matthews

I did a quick search on "Patagonia Rosewood" only to find out it's neither.

https://www.novausawood.com/patagonian-rosewood-hardwood-flooring.html

I suspect the slabs are much as you suspect - poorly seasoned and rushed to market.

Re: What is acceptable Moisture content for Rosewo

John in NM

That is BS, except that if they are using an inductive meter without a correction chart dense woods will tend to read higher as I recall (but a caveat, that is a vague recollection from 20 years back). That could be what the wood vendor is saying.

13% isn't that bad though. Wouldn't do yet for a table top, but it should be past warping and checking. For something like table legs it would be ok to use at this point. In Reno it should finish drying quickly too.

Re: Curapau isn't "Rosewood"

David Weaver

guessing that it's partially dried to avoid cracking given the janka hardness figure.

Not much in that hardness range (or cocobolo or other true rosewoods for that matter) that will dry quickly without cracking and checking.

Re: What is acceptable Moisture content for Rosewo

David Weaver

at 13% (if it's actually that through and through), it shouldn't shrink much more, but even if it did, that should be accounted for when building furniture.

The real questions are two:

* is it that dry through and through

* if it's exposed to a dry winter or a dry climate, will it check or crack

There's not a lot of older rosewood that isn't cracked - it doesn't age that well.

Beech comes to mind as a wood that checks easily, but of the rosewood and cocobolo planes I've built, beech doesn't do much cracking if it's sealed with wax. The cocobolo planes (even when I've had the blanks for years before building them) will still eventually crack, and it's fairly common to find cracks and gaps in older infill planes. That stuff can be filled and finished over with shellac, etc, but eventually it will become loose.

I've bought a fair amount of true rosewoods for planes and guitar parts and I'm not sure that I've seen anything as delivered more dry than 13% - most of it looks like it was partially dried and then sealed on the ends. But, again, I'm wondering what furniture actually under 13%.