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Home stretch for my Cedar sign. I will be going through the mountains where the temps "could" be colder- and if not, what about the wind chill factor? My question is..what is the risk of my Cedar sign behaving like throwing an ice cube in HOT WATER? Is there any risk of it deciding to SPLIT on me? I plan to tarp it but if it's 32f where I am and through the mountains, it's 23f but with the wind chill of going 70 mph...what's the risk? I know these signs expand and contract, just concerned.
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HERE'S MY SOLUTION: SINCE DELIVERING AND INSTALLING DOESN'T PAY ENOUGH....I DON'T DO IT. SAFEWAY WON'T DELIVER MY GROCERIES...I DON'T DELIVER THEIR SIGNS. SURE, I LOSE ONE HERE AND THERE, BUT NOT ENOUGH TO OUTWEIGH THE PLUSSES!
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That's all well and good Bob but, it's getting delivered none the less.
Don't think there's anything to worry about as far as splitting due to cold temps. I guess I am more worried about the friggin' sign sliding off the back of my truck. (knock on cedar)
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That temperature variation is not enough to worry about. ... I've seen temperatures change more than 30° in one day here. Package it well, coroplast and waste foam makes nice packaging.
-------------------- Mike O'Neill
It has yet to be proven that intelligence has any survival value. - Arthur C. Clarke
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Wood moves because of absorption or expulson of water....temperature over the short haul will have little or no effect! Have a safe trip! Joe, Makin Chips and Havin Fun!
-------------------- Joe Cieslowski Connecticut Woodcarvers Gallery P.O.Box 368 East Canaan CT 06024 jcieslowski@snet.net 860-824-0883 Posts: 2345 | From: East Canaan CT 06024 | Registered: Nov 2001
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Sure thing Del, I've already been keeping everyone informed with the sign fabrication process...why stop there. I will have pics in a couple of weeks with sign in ground and a hearty THANKS to all who gave me pointers. I have been living in Canada for 4 years now and today was the 1st time I wound up in the ditch(center of highway) . The roads are snowy STILL and very slick this morning...I'm shaken but, this little experience will help make my drive with this sign a SAFE one.
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Corey, A SUDDEN drop in temperature WILL make a sign crack. I speak from first hand experience. It gets up to 105F(40.5C) here in summer I have brought a couple of redwood signs into the air conditioned shop, which I keep between 70 and 75F (21C-24C), and actually heard the "pop" when they split. The wood is evidently trying to contract too fast because of the sudden drop in temp. What we do now when we have to move one from one temp extreme to the next(say, a warm shop in winter into the cold outside) is to wrap the sign in blankets and old comforters, let it sit for a couple of hours or so and then unwrap it. I think if you wrap it up with blankets it will allow it to gradually adjust to the temperature drop.
-------------------- Wayne Webb Webb Signworks Chipley, FL 850.638.9329 wayne@webbsignworks.com Posts: 7404 | From: Chipley,Florida,United States | Registered: Oct 1999
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Wayne, Could you give me a few more details about your experience with those cracking signs. I'm trying to make sense of that situation...Did you make the signs and put them outside? For how long? Were the signs out side because they were coming in for repair? Did you construct the WR Cedar blank from stock that you purchased locally or did you buy a blank made somewhere else? How many times has this happened to you? Using wood as a sign substraight has always been a problem because sometimes we come to conclusions too quickly. If you can help me with this information, it would help. Thanks for sharing... Joe, Makin Chips and Havin Fun!
-------------------- Joe Cieslowski Connecticut Woodcarvers Gallery P.O.Box 368 East Canaan CT 06024 jcieslowski@snet.net 860-824-0883 Posts: 2345 | From: East Canaan CT 06024 | Registered: Nov 2001
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I brought the signs in from the outside, in Summer, into the airconditioned shop. I now have a separate woodworking shop, but then only had a showroom/office/vinyl room. I built. sprayed painted, sanded, cut everything ouside in the heat. When I wheeled the tablesaw, edgesander, bandsaw etc. outside, they would immediately begin to "sweat" with condensation. It didn't take but a couple of experiences with bringing a hot sign into the A/C and then having to repair a split to know something was wrong. Yes. I have actually heard the pop when they split and that just a couple of minutes after bringing them in too. I agree with you that moving one from the outside where the humidity is say 50% or more into a room where the humidity is maybe 35% or less is going to cause the moisture content of the wood to decrease. This will make wood shrink, split and check. But what happened in this case would have to be way too fast for that procees to be the culprit. Like I said, it gets up to 105 sometimes here in summer and I keep the shop thermostat set between 70 and 75. I don't take chances anymore. I wrap up my signs before moving them from one temp extreme to another. Have any others had this experience?
-------------------- Wayne Webb Webb Signworks Chipley, FL 850.638.9329 wayne@webbsignworks.com Posts: 7404 | From: Chipley,Florida,United States | Registered: Oct 1999
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FYI, my 5' x 9' sign has a frame bolted to the back that consists basically of 1 1/2" welded square tubing (overkill but, it give me peace of mind that cracking, splitting etc. will KNOT happen (knock on cedar). The temps will be close to 40-50f where I am leaving and similar to where I am going but through the mountains, may be closer to 32f. I don't think there's anything to worry about but, had to pose the question anyway....peace of mind ya' know.
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