Sending WOOD overseas - how to package it?

[Eric F.]

Hi, I need to send some spruce overseas. The wood it seasoned and ready to use, so I want to minimize the absorbsion of humidity during the travel.
Is it good idea to wrap it in some nylon material or not?
I once heard someone ordered boxwood and since it came in nylon the wood became grey, probably due to condensation!?
Any advice appreciated. Thanks!

[an seanduine]

I´m assuming this is Engelmann Spruce for reeds. I really don´t know what you mean by totally dry.Here´s an article about seasoning acoustic tone woods for violins http://www.rocheviolins.com/html/season ... _wood.html it discusses ´dryness´ in a little more specific detail than ´totally´ The important measurements are called E.M.C. (Equilibrium Moisture Content) and V.G. (Vapour Gradient).
Spruce is notorious for deforming under some conditions. This seems to have more to do with the growth pattern of the particular tree than the actual state of seasoning. If the tree grew with little inherent stress, it´s less likely to show twist, wrack and side deformation when it is subject to a steep V.G. Good spruce proves itself by not deforming. (Yeah, I know, Q.E.D. )
When I was young (a long time ago ) I was told by a swiss violin maker who was emigrating to the US after WWII that he walked the forests with his grandfather in the winter marking out trees for intstrument making. They would go back in the spring with horses and drag out the chosen wood. This was before he had ever seen a chainsaw, so experience and a practiced critical eye were crucial. When he came stateside, he shipped several tons of wood as deck cargo along with his household goods. Some of the wood was a century old in seasoning.
As the sender, you can only do so much. I would wrap it in tinfoil, well sealed, to lessen its exposure to a high V.G. when in transit. Then it will be up to the recipient to keep it in a stable environment not subject to highly variable humidity changes. Treat your spruce, and any reeds made of it like you would a fine violin.
Bob

[Eric F.]

I really don´t know what you mean by totally dry.

Thanks for your detailed reply! I wanted to say seasoned and ready to use (I changed it now in my original text).

Yes it is spruce for reeds. BTW, by tinfoil you mean the silver foil we use in the kitchen? Thanks again

[an seanduine]

I really don´t know what you mean by totally dry.

Thanks for your detailed reply! I wanted to say seasoned and ready to use (I changed it now in my original text).

Yes it is spruce for reeds. BTW, by tinfoil you mean the silver foil we use in the kitchen? Thanks again

Yes Not sure which side of the Pond you´re on So that would be Aluminum/Aluminium Foil.

It´s very hard to make something impermeable to water vapour. . .danged stuff gets into nearly everything. But we can slow it down, which is my thought. In the dark ages of my youth, mail travelled in unheated, unpressurized cargo holds of airplanes. Now, most-times it´s inside the pressurized part, but we still can´t control it from being left out for periods of time on various loading docks.
The few times I flew to play for family weddings, the reeds were inside a tin next to my heart .

Bob

[pudinka]

Try shipping it in a bag with loose, dry rice or buy those little desiccant bags and toss some in?

Before air conditioning was common here (south coastal USA/Gulf of Mexico) it was common to see table salt shakers on tables with rice grains added to absorb moisture...my grandparents lived out in the country without air conditioning (or a telephone until 1982 or so) and it worked to keep their salt dry - otherwise, the salt absorbs the water vapor and clumps up, does not pour when you want to season your food, etc. I don't think it would change the moisture content of the wood.