Wood shrinkage issue

[Kevin Jenness]

Are the drawer sides and/or cabinet dividers flatsawn? The issue may be those parts cupping rather than (unlikely imo) the overall opening size shrinking. In any case the primary cause is the difference between shop and in-service conditions. You could conceivably air-condition your shop in summer to minimize that but the truth is in climates like mine there is going to be a significant seasonal swing in relative humidity in use and it has to be designed for. That may mean easing off on the desired piston fit of drawers, using different species or cuts of wood for drawers and related parts or designing your drawers differently. As Mel said you can make NK style drawers with slips for the groove that are wider than the body of the drawer sides (or drawer sides milled thicker at the base) so that a relatively tight fit can be made only at the slips. https://www.finewoodworking.com/forum/nk-drawers

[Lee Schierer]

Thanks for all the comments. The wood was kiln dried and sold to me by Paxton Hardwood in Kansas City about 40 years ago. It’s been in my various shops since then. I rough cut and mill my material and then sticker it for a couple of weeks. I do the same as I move along if it makes sense. I love the color of aged cherry. All’s well that ends well
Bill in Oregon, formerly from Kansas.

Kiln dried wood begins to acclimate to the surrounding environment the minute it leaves the kiln. Unless the moisture level of the environment matches the kiln, the moisture in the wood will change. After 40 years of storage only a moisture check will give you any idea where the wood is.

[Kevin Jenness]

After 40 years of storage only a moisture check will give you any idea where the wood is.

I don't quite agree with that if by "moisture check" you mean using an electronic meter or an oven test. Bill knows that his storage conditions are such as to predict that the wood's mc is somewhere around 10% and the in use conditions will be more like 7% based on average relative humidity. I have a meter but don't pull it out that often because I know from experience what the mc will be based on where my lumber has been stored and for how long. It certainly is true that "kiln dried" in the past doesn't mean lumber is suited for use now.

[Richard Coers]

I don't quite agree with that if by "moisture check" you mean using an electronic meter or an oven test. Bill knows that his storage conditions are such as to predict that the wood's mc is somewhere around 10% and the in use conditions will be more like 7% based on average relative humidity. I have a meter but don't pull it out that often because I know from experience what the mc will be based on where my lumber has been stored and for how long. It certainly is true that "kiln dried" in the past doesn't mean lumber is suited for use now.

Tell me how he knows the wood will be 10% because of his storage conditions. He has a running humidity and temperature recorder in his shop?

[Kevin Jenness]

Tell me how he knows the wood will be 10% because of his storage conditions. He has a running humidity and temperature recorder in his shop?

Bill said in his initial post, "My shop is in the garage where the humidity averages 50 to 60 percent." If that is accurate one would expect mc ranging 9-11%. I have similar conditions in my insulated shop attic storage space. I don't know if or how he monitors conditions, but I do it by occasionally metering lumber when I bring it down into the shop and it is pretty consistent. I'm not against using a moisture meter, I just don't find I need one that often.

[Lee Schierer]

Bill said in his initial post, "My shop is in the garage where the humidity averages 50 to 60 percent." If that is accurate one would expect mc ranging 9-11%. I have similar conditions in my insulated shop attic storage space. I don't know if or how he monitors conditions, but I do it by occasionally metering lumber when I bring it down into the shop and it is pretty consistent. I'm not against using a moisture meter, I just don't find I need one that often.

Obviously something has changed as he is experiencing shrinkage problems. The wood is moving in some direction. Maybe it is just relieving stress due to machining that has been done to make the piece.

[Kevin Jenness]

Obviously something has changed as he is experiencing shrinkage problems. The wood is moving in some direction. Maybe it is just relieving stress due to machining that has been done to make the piece.

Absolutely. If you make closely fitted drawers of lumber acclimated to 50-60% rh and put them in a consistent 40% rh atmosphere you're likely to have problems. You need to get the mc lower before building or fit the drawers more loosely. Simply stress relieving the lumber and acclimating it in a shop with high rh is not going to forestall movement in service.

[Andrew Seemann]

Around here, if a drawer doesn't rattle in the winter, it doesn't open in the summer. We can get desert-like indoor RH in the winter and Florida-like humidity in the summer. You just have to accommodate for it in the design. "Piston fit" drawers are a pipe dream in my climate.