Relocating mid project - to stain or not to stain, to assemble or not assemble

[N00b-in-training]

I'm mid way through a project of building cabinets for my wife's sewing room. I've learned that we'll be relocating shortly and will not be able to finish the project before moving. On top of that, we'll likely be living in an apartment for some period of time before buying/building our new house. We'll be moving from Ohio to Tennessee...

 

I typically like to get two coats of stain on the individual pieces prior to assembly then a 3rd coat after assembly. Due to the logistics of moving and the change in humidity (dry Ohio winter vs quickly approaching humid TN summer), would it be best for me to focus on getting all pieces cut/sanded/numbered for later staining and assembly? Or would it be better to have everything assembled for later staining?

[..Kev]

assembled.

 

If you cut it all do final and wait a period of time to assemble, the wood will move and not fit as intended.  Unless we're talking about plywood?

[N00b-in-training]

Oak face frames and oak veneer side and back... Will have no time to get the drawers and doors done so i'll leave that lumber uncut.

 

Thanks!

[Eric.]

I'd leave it unfinished and unassembled, and stack the parts neatly in a box and pack it with dunnage.  It'll take up less space and it sounds like you won't have much in the apartment, plus if you sand/assemble/stain whatever before you move them around, they're sure to get dings/nicks/scratches and you'll have to go back and repair them anyway.

[Trip]

I've reload several times... Each time, I moved to temp-housing with our stuff going into storage for between three and six months... Even though we had 'climate controlled' storage, their definition of 'controlled' probably didn't match mine... Anything unassembled will move to the extent that it probably won't go together. If you haven't final milled the stock, I'd stop building and focus on packing your tools... 

[Eric.]

We're talking about face frames...if the parts aren't gonna stay flat unassembled, they ain't gonna stay flat assembled either.  Let's just hope he used straight-grained stock.

[Guest]

quick question - are you talking about stain or your clear top coat?  3 coats of stain sounds like a lot, especially on a porous wood like oak.  I usually do one, two max if I want a really dark finish.  Something like maple might be a different story.... but you can always control the color by leaving it on longer before wiping off the excess.  

 

Either way, like others have said, I'd wait for final assembly.  Moving a stack of wood is easier than moving a bunch of cabinets.  And movers break stuff.  They enjoy it.  It is one of the few benefits of being a mover.