Proper Wood Storage

[axio]

I worry about the wood I buy getting warped while it's in my garage. Sometimes I'll go months before I even use the wood, and I'm afraid the wood will warp, twist, etc.

I know not to leave it laying flat on the concrete. Is there any other method that should be used, or things to avoid?

[Wood_workur]

equal air to all surfaces; ie not on a shelf, or tight against a wall. and if it is going to sit around for aa while, painting the endgrain with a a latex based paint will help prevent end checks.

[monte]

I use wood storage racks.

[LarryG]

If it's green wood, you need to stack it using stickers and make sure it is FLAT. As wood dries, it takes a "set" and if you stack it warped, it'll dry warped.

If it's seasoned wood, whether air- or kiln-dried, the main thing that's going to happen is cupping across the grain. This occurs because of changes in moisture content and there's not much you can do about this short of always trying to maintain your storage area with the same moisture content as wherever the wood was stored before you bought it. Since this is impractical for most of us, use a common-sense approach to store it as best you can (either horizontally or vertically will work) and delay machining it into final form until you actually need it on a project.

[jhart]

Store mine on a wood rack