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We live in Central Texas and throughout most of the year we get massive swings in the humidity in our shop. As woodworkers, this can be tough on certain projects so we built an Arduino-powered ‘Shop Sensor’ to give us a visually appealing way to see how the humidity is changing! It’s made from Walnut and has dovetail joinery and as the humidity changes the color of the lighting shifts across the color spectrum. It also has an LCD screen in one of the eyes that displays the temperature in the room.
One of our favorite things is combining fine woodworking with technology and this was a really fun project where we did just that.
This project has some woodworking, some electronics and some 3D printing.
Why does humidity matter in woodworking?
The simple answer is that wood reacts to changes in the moisture content in the air by expanding and contracting. Even after it’s completely dry and even with finish on it, almost all wood continues to “move”. This can pull apart joints, cause drawers not to fit, and other nasty things. To learn more about this phenomenon, we recommend a google search!

COMPONENTS USED:

Arduino Uno
Adafruit Neopixel Ring
Adafruit 1.44” LCD Screen
DHT22 Humidity Sensor
4x AA Battery Pack
Mini-SD Card
TOOLS USED:

3D Printer
Router
Utility Knife
File
Clamps
Soldering Iron
Solder
Hot Glue Gun
Tape Measure
Pencil
Chisel
Marking Gauge
Planer (Not Required)
Jointer (Not Required)
Bandsaw (Not Required)
Tablesaw (Not Required)
Rotary Tool / Dremel (Not Required)
Drill Press (Not Required)
MATERIALS:

Walnut (Wooden Case)
Frostic Acrylic (Light Diffuser)
PLA (3D Printed Skull Logo)
Wood Glue
Super Glue
Hot Glue
Blue Painters Tape
Double-sided Scotch Tape
Shellac”

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