You have two considerations: heat and humidity. Not having central heating is no assurance your wooden things (not just mandolins) won't dry out and potentially split. Cool air is drier than warm. So your instruments will dry out even without the heat on. When the heat is on, things may get even drier. A humidifier is probably a good idea.
Too much moisture can indeed cause the wood to swell and cause damage. But it is usually not as drastic a problem as too little moisture. Planet Wave sells humidifiers which are supposed to absorb excess moisture as well as provide moisture when things are too dry. I do not know how effective they are. Abrupt changes in temperature are also a problem, as are temperature extremes. So, if you go from 32 degrees to 70 degrees, please let your instrument adjust slowly to the change, by leaving it in its case for an hour or two before taking it out. The case will insulate the mando and slow the temperature change. High temperatures can soften the glue. Low temps may also be a problem - I suspect at low enough temps the glue might become brittle, but I am not sure. I'd advocate avoiding both extremes. Topher Gayle On Mon, Jan 26, 2009 at 6:15 PM, Linda <[email protected]> wrote: > > I guess there are some benefits to no central heating in winter, as > the mandolins are less likely to dry out. I keep mine out of the case > at home, near the floor and in an unheated room that gets some warming > from the heated room next to it (takes the edge off). Since there is > also no sub-floor in the house, the moist damp air from under the > house seeps in and I think it keeps the moisture content in the wood > pretty good. It rarely goes below 32 degrees F. here so while not > exactly comfortable if one dresses right its bearable. Its when I > take it out in the hot car that I worry. I have some experience > there, another lesson learned the hard way. I wonder what folks do if > there is too much moisture in the air, does that cause problems too?? > > > On Jan 27, 9:57 am, Dasspunk <[email protected]> wrote: >> Maybe it's growing a third F hole? >> >> B >> >> On Jan 26, 12:14 pm, mistertaterbug <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> > Well, now the back seam on my Gil is open nearly halfway from the >> > button to the heel. Starting to dry out at the heel. Reckon I'll have >> > to get one of them green snake humidifiers to put in my case, once I >> > get it fixed, that is. >> >> > I called Gilchrist repeatedly the day before yesterday but got no >> > answer. So, I called Paul Duff trying to find out if there was some >> > kind of national kangaroo day going on that I didn't know about. Paul >> > said he'd call Steve. I got a call back from Paul after a bit saying >> > he'd found Steve and that he was doing what any good Scottish lad >> > should do; he was in a park in Melbourne listening to Robert Burns >> > poetry being read. Got a call later from Steve saying he couldn't take >> > my call on his cell phone because he was in the park listening to >> > "Robbie" Burns poems being read accompanied by musical score and >> > "scenic views". >> >> > Reckon me and the F4 are going to become best buddies. Better look in >> > the case... >> > Tater > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Taterbugmando" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/taterbugmando?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
