Tom Moran
Oud Maniac
Posts: 69
Registered: 11-16-2008
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
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Not the heat, its the humidity?
I haven't checked in for a while (busy practicing!) and hope all's well.
The humidity in Pittsburgh has been extremely high in recent weeks, as it always is in June. My oud is six months old and this is its first Pittsburgh
summer.
Problem: The edge of the face has pulled up (a bit less than a mm) away from the ribs right where your wrist rests. The effected area is about an inch
long.
This warp then has pulled the face inwards away from the binding along the back curve of the top also slightly less than a mm. (see photo).
I'm thinking this is humidity related as I haven't had the problem until just now. The bridge hasn't moved and otherwise the face is OK, so I don't
think the string tension is too much. A couple tuning pegs have also locked up.
There's no place in our house that can be made humidity free. We do have AC in one room and I'm going put it in there. I'm also thinking of taking it
down to the local guitar store where they have a humidity controlled room and ask if I can keep it there for a couple days to see what happens. I'm
hoping that it might settle back somewhat after the weather changes.
Any thoughts, suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 (actually separations are too small to photograph)
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adamgood
Oud Junkie
Posts: 499
Registered: 6-27-2005
Location: Brooklyn, NY
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Mood: 2.7 koma flat
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Tom,
That's very frustrating when stuff like that happens! I can imagine Pittsburgh really gets its share of extremely humid days, I grew up in Philly and
that was at times unbearable during humid days. Yes, I really mean to say that growing up in Philly was unbearable...when the humidity was high 
Other people here are going to have better advice than me about fixing or how to create a good environment for your ud but one thing I highly
recommend for you now (if you don't already have one) is to buy a small device that will give you a reading of the humidity in the room where your ud
is. Sorry what's it called?? A hygrometer?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humidity_meter
Please get one before you stick it in the room with the AC. That could be such an extreme change in humidity that you end up doing more damage. You
can probably get a cheap humidity meter at Home Depot, it's something that you can keep an eye on and you'll start to get a good feel for when days
are humid, hot or cold days.
Now hopefully someone here has some ideas for regulating the humidity in your room for days like these.
And now it sounds like your ud probably needs repairing (sounds like the face came unglued or not?) so i recommend taking it to Dincer Dalkilic who
lives near Philadelphia.
good luck and let us know what you learn
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Tom Moran
Oud Maniac
Posts: 69
Registered: 11-16-2008
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
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Thanks Adam.
Nothing has come unglued. I used hide glue when building it and that has stretched with the wood. Again, the separations are about a half of a mm.
There doesn't seem to be any structural damage with the braces and it sounds fine. I just need to nip this in the bud before it does need a repair.
No, it hasn't gone into the AC room yet and a trip to Home Depot is in order to look at de-humidifiers.
I was thinking about making up a bag of silicone, salt or rice to place in the case.
I've been putting off work on a new one, while being consumed with learning to play this one. Now I may have to switch priorities. My main fear is
becoming oud-less.
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patheslip
Oud Junkie
Posts: 160
Registered: 5-24-2008
Location: Welsh Marches
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If you've got an old travel trunk or something similar (a firearms cabinet?) you could pop the oud in with a tray of dry salt. Overnight is when the
humidity gets highest. The salt can be dried out in a very low oven and reused as often as you like. If there's room for your hygrometer you could
ensure it doesn't get too dry. Gently does it.
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Tom Moran
Oud Maniac
Posts: 69
Registered: 11-16-2008
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
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Hygrometer ordered. 
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Tom Moran
Oud Maniac
Posts: 69
Registered: 11-16-2008
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
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Mood: No Mood
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Per Patheslip's suggestion, I went looking for a trunk like container. At Walmart and saw plastic storage bins that would fit an oud. Any reason why
not to use one of those?
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adamgood
Oud Junkie
Posts: 499
Registered: 6-27-2005
Location: Brooklyn, NY
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Mood: 2.7 koma flat
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sounds good, just use your trusty hygrometer to measure the humidity of whatever you will put your instrument into.
from a page of a FAQ about humidity and guitars, should apply to ud:
http://www.maurysmusic.com/humidity___acoustic_guitars
"What is the desired level of humidity?
45%-55% relative humidity is optimum. If this is obtained, you minimize the risk of damage. This is the relative humidity the Martin Guitar factory
maintains."
I would have thought slightly higher would be better, like in +60%
I'm happy with how my ud plays up to maybe 70%. Any higher and my strings go toward the fingerboard and I have to fight for sound.
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patheslip
Oud Junkie
Posts: 160
Registered: 5-24-2008
Location: Welsh Marches
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It's odd. In hot humid weather most string instruments go flat, my my oud goes sharp. This fits with adamgood's comment about lower action.
I wonder why ouds are different, or is it just adam's and mine?
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jdowning
Oud Junkie
Posts: 3485
Registered: 8-2-2006
Location: Ontario, Canada
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The relative humidity range of 45% to 55% seems to be the optimum for professional luthiers building for the American climate - although guitar
builders are likely not using hide glue these days.
I have never had a problem with separation of the sound board to bowl joints on my lutes over the years and I have always use hide glue for that
application. I have no climate control in the house or workshop either and environmental conditions throughout the year must be pretty much the same
as in Pittsburgh. I only undertake assembly work on instruments when the relative humidity is in the 45 - 55 % range (but sometimes a little higher if
pushed for time).
Hide glue should be more forgiving over the range of humidity conditions likely to be experienced in North America. On very hot, humid days the
interior of my lutes sometimes smell of warm hide glue but the joints do not fail - the instruments do sound a bit dull under those conditions,
however. My theory is that hide glue will soften slightly under these conditions sufficient to relieve any stresses and then reharden again. This
repeated cycle occurring over the years may be one reason that instruments sound better with age?
It seems to me that there may be some problem with the glue in the affected areas - too thin perhaps or the joint not fully coated? Once conditions
have returned to 'normal' and the gaps have closed up again then it might be worth trying to re-glue them with hide glue. Feed some hot glue into the
joint with a thin artists spatula, warm the joint area with a hot iron until the glue is seen to remelt, tape the joint closed and allow to dry for a
day or two. It might also be a good idea to remove the string tension until repair work is complete.
Good luck.
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Tom Moran
Oud Maniac
Posts: 69
Registered: 11-16-2008
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
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Mood: No Mood
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Thanks for the input! We're in for another week of rain, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
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jdowning
Oud Junkie
Posts: 3485
Registered: 8-2-2006
Location: Ontario, Canada
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Sweating it out here today - animals and humans trying to keep cool with a blue haze of high humidity on the horizon (beautiful in itself). Showers
in the forecast - but we now do need the rain! A good excuse to avoid the danger of heavy physical work, to sit down with a cool glass of wine on the
front porch and watch nature go by!!
No instrument assembly work - or playing - is worth the effort. But - it will all change with the seasons!
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Tom Moran
Oud Maniac
Posts: 69
Registered: 11-16-2008
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
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Mood: No Mood
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Agreed. Time to chill (if possible!). They're calling for storms here all week.
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