Hygrometer, old style.

[Michael.N.]

Works on a principle similar to the bi metallic strip, except this works on the different rates of moisture absorption/release of different woods, both long grain and end grain. I used epoxy to glue the indicator together, largely because water based glues have a strong effect on how straight the indicator is when it comes out from the clamps. I glue up at 50% RH, so the 6 'O' clock position is therefore 50% RH. 

I've had this in the workshop for around 5 years and it still tracks my digital hygrometer pretty well, just at a slower pace. I sent one to Minnesota and he sent me a picture of it in action. They must be experiencing fairly high humidity because the indicator had swung a marker and a half to the right.

 

 

[Dwight Brown]

that is really nifty, I was going to use a bow hair to make a hygrometer for my classroom.

 

dlb

[saintjohnbarleycorn]

that is nice

[Michael.N.]

A rough and ready approach would be to make the indicator only. Attach it to a wall and pencil the divisions straight on to that wall. I've seen that done before.

[captainhook]

I have one somebody else made from plywood, thinned down to one layer of long grain and one of cross grain. It hangs in my shop and is slow responding, but so am I.

[Michael_Molnar]

Beautiful. Wonderful.

[Michael.N.]

I have one somebody else made from plywood, thinned down to one layer of long grain and one of cross grain. It hangs in my shop and is slow responding, but so am I.

 

Yes, so is your Violin. That's made of wood, so also slow to respond. Hopefully not to the bow though!

[Davide Sora]

Very interesting, may you give some insight into the size of the indicator and the type of wood used?

[Michael.N.]

The indicator is around 16" long, 1" wide, maybe a bit less. I can't remember what wood I used but any medium density hardwood will do. Maple, Cherry, Walnut, Mahogany.  One side is long grain, perhaps 1 mm thick, the other side is end grain, just a little thicker.

[Davide Sora]

Thank you, I think I'll try with  plywood as indicated by Captainhook, looks like it's a good idea that saves time, the glue will not be epoxy but probably vynil or similar (synthetic).

[Conor Russell]

Great!

[Davide Sora]

I tried with the poplar plywood I had on hand but the resulting strip is too soft and plastic, I do not think it works.

I'll try to do things properly using spruce from violin top blanks.

I found this interesting video on youtube on the making, although aesthetically speaking your hygrometer is decidedly more refined and inspiring .....

 

[not telling]

Neat.  I want one.  Would it react faster to moisture if the indicator were thinner? 

[Michael.N.]

You don't really need it to react fast. I use mine in the workshop as a traffic light. Under or over a certain mark and I won't glue anything that is cross grain. If you made the indicator narrower it might have a greater overall swing. It may even react quicker but I'm guessing. I suppose you could spend a long time varying the wood types, cut type and the various dimensions. A lifetimes work for sure but not quite the ten lifetimes of messing with a bit of tree sap and oil. All for what? Just to daub it on a bit of wood! What do the ants and the bees think of us?

[Stephen Churchill]

Very cool stuff.

 

A quick search indicates the best wood to use would be Oak, Hickory, Dogwood, or Beech.  Birch and Sugar Maple are close 2nd choices.  On the other end of the spectrum (smaller reaction to changes in humidity) are Teak, Redwood, Cedar, mahogany, Pine, Ash, Butternut.  Spruce is only a little better.  This is based on readily available shrinkage rates from green to kiln dry.

 

Also interesting is that tangential (slab cut) rates of change are typically double that of radial (quarter cut).

 

So i'm going to find some slab cut Oak and see what I can make!

 

Cheers

Stephen

 

[Stephen Churchill]

An update. 

I made a hygrometer based on Oak glued cross-wise to Maple.  This means the tangential shrinkage is being compared to the axial movement.  I used thin pieces for each and laminated them together with epoxy to keep the 50% point near the center (it was about 50% humidity when i did the epoxying).  The oak is 1.3mm and the maple about 2.0mm.

In late summer the humidity in my workshop was about 45-55%.  Now it's drier - with a cold front moving this week in it dropped to about 20% today.  So I've seen a fairly wide range of humidities on on the hygrometer.

The hygrometer is 76cm long (~30 inches), and moves about 21cm from 46% (its center) to 21% (today's measurement).  I used aniline dye to color the hygrometer but not seal the wood.

 

The hygrometer represents the % of humidity in the workshops better than a digital hygrometer which reacts more or less instantaneously to changes in ambient humidity.  

 

Next: The sensitivity to humidity to the thickness is very high.  By reducing the thickness by10 (10mm to 1 mm) the movement of the hygrometer should increase by about 3x.  A good result should be obtainable with two Maple veneers, I'll try this when I get some time.

 

Cheers,

Stephen