Humidity in the enclosed heated environments, when the outside temperatures are very low, do reach as low as 10-15%, and even lower. Cars, trains will easily create such a conditions. When you put a humidifier into the case, or even inside the instrument, this is not going to create a humidified space, but rather have some very small areas with higher humidity, and others with very low. I had a great success using large plastic bags, which wrap the instrument completely (for the bass gamba, the bag is about 55 US gallons or 100 liters! However, such a bag if the instrument is put into one in the normal humidity situation, will retain the conditions. Without such a bag, i usually find most pegs loosened, and often the sound post fallen. The bag has to cover not only the body, but the peg-head as well. If the beginning humidity is low, putting an improvised humidifier (a small moist towel - use distilled water - in a smaller plastic bag with punctured holes) will certainly help. Spaying some distilled water into the bag and putting an old clean towel over the area. If the water with minerals is used, it will, most likely spot the instrument, watch for this. It's either this, the bag that covers an entire instrument, or a specially designed full environment cases, which are required by the insurance companies for instruments like old Italian violins. alexander r.
On Sun, 11 Jan 2015 15:52:01 +0100 Susanne Herre <[email protected]> wrote: > > Dear lute friends, > > It's winter time, so e.g. in Central Europe here it can be quite dry > outside. As a result of a train trip on one of those dry days the > table of my baroque mandolin loosened from the body although I > avoided to put my instrument next to heatings and put some water > inside the case. > > What might be the reasons of those things happening? Is it about the > changing from the train to the outside e.g.? Is it the dryness inside > the (often too strongly) heated train? Can it happen in a few > seconds/minutes having laid the instrument next to a hidden heating? > > What are you doing to avoid those miseries? > Is it better to loosen the strings? > How much water and in which way do you put it into the case? > > Many thanks for helpful hints! > > Susanne > To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
