Moisture Meter ...
 

Who uses them .. any suggestions ... don't want to spend over 50 ..

Lots available on Amazon for under $50. No recommendations.

I'm looking at those ,,, jeeeez a bunch of them .. Lots of wood burners use them it seems..

I don't think one is necessary since most lumber is already kiln dried and has sat long enough to equilibrate with outside humidity. Yes, lumber will dry a few percent further when brought indoors in the winter, but it will also re-expand a few percent higher when sitting around in the summer (or after being swum). This is the reason Mirror Coat cracks (no stretch). No amount of sealing will stop this....it only can slow it a touch.

If you want to know if your plug blank is at equilibrium, just weigh it, wait a week, and weigh it again. When the weight is stable, the plug is as dry as it is going to get for the humidity it is stored in.

Just to bother you more, a plug becomes oval when the humidity changes either way from when it was turned. Wood expands/shrinks more parallel to the grain lines (when viewed end on) than perpendicularly. I think you can reduce splitting in maple plugs by drilling your hook holes parallel to the grain lines (rather than across them) for the same reason.

Whats the point? You drop yours in the water to hydro-orientate?:confused: Guys...it ain't brain surgery!

Tagger, it's those pesky little free radicals that will get ya. You don't need no damn moisture meter.

I've been shopping for a moisture meter myself. I cut some limbs from a cedar in my front yard that will be plugs someday. I figure a meter will tell me when that day will be.

I just leave them in the cellar with a dehumidifier for a year and they are dry as a bone. The Mac apple tree i cut down a year or so ago is turning very nicely.

That Larry doesn't miss a trick.

How does that smell when you turn it Paul? Maybe post a pic later?

no real distinct smell but a beautiful wood. You could make a good hammer out of it. Here is what I got left to take to work and band saw up and a few plugs I turned last week that are not done yet. I intend to leave them au natural.

Larry its totally sealed when they go in the drink .. don't knock it if you never tried it . I was thinking moisture meter mostly for AYC .. maybe me ,,but stuff seams fresher .. I've never tested wood for moisture ... would like to know ..

exactly. i've been cutting some of my own wood as some of you guys have offered me advice here know.after ripping, sealing ends, i enter the weight on each piece. it sets in a dehumidified basement. as time goes on i continually weigh and record weight. once it stops losing weight, voila, its done. for me this works. if you want to spend on the wood-ometer, i guess thats another choice. the theory of it ain't rocket science is my look into it, but i understand needs for accuracy some have.

In havn't used mirror coat in years .. I buy different clear coats every year .. from 85 a gallon to 187 dollars for 2 gallon kit .. will try another this year .. unless Larry or Don will just tell me what there using ..

How can you seal it if you haven't drilled it yet? Eyes, belly holes, etc.?:confused:

yes ... turned round ,oven dry,, sealed,,, find top ,, dry again then drill belly holes,,lip slot,,eyes .. slope .. then after all that re-seal ... labor intensive .. told you all my secrets ,, now ,, whats your clear coat ???

Eddie.. i just, well guess i can't say hydro, I guess, meybe sealer-orienting..:huh: anyways, just throw it in the sealer bath pot... let it sit, mark the top... wipe her down, and have at it...
some old guy in the next town over gave me the idea..
what you say, oh doctor of hydro-orientin?

took me a long time, but i came around...being part swedish, i is stubborn :smash:

Tell me about it ... the ball and chain is swedish,,,:smash:... no sealer bath ,,, i'm too cheap ... 2 part cpes .. brush and syringe .

This thread reminded me to check on the cedar that I cut from the fromt yard. I spun it on the lathe freshly cut to remove the bark and laid it over the furnace to dry. After 3 weeks it's no longer as cylindrical as it once was and one piece is now a banana rather than a fat dowel. I'll post pics for our breakfast meet in the AM.

I've got one, it's get's used about as much as my wifes treadmill....

Oh the clothes hanger... thanks .. I'll save the 50 then ..

Problem with the wood meter is it only measures surface moisture. I use one for firewood, and you have to split the wood to get a reliable reading. That would not be possible w/blanks. I've spun plugs from my woodpile, with no splitting after 2-3 years. So I don't think moisture w/in 5% or so matters that much. I also epoxy seal and have NEVER had maple split on me, even woodpile plugs.

Free Radicals ? I know that means something smart but over my head .. Lock up the free radicals ..

Doing the hydro thing, the blank is hardly in the water. Not like you are soaking it for a while. Not in more than a few seconds. Turn the blank, cut the ends off, dunk it, mark it, wipe it off, let it dry for a day, drill holes, move on to sealing. Never had an issue, even with wood what absorbs water pretty well.

Jigman

yeah i don't seal them before they swim. I just wipe and let them sit for a few days and no issues.

They ain't for forever.....unless you are hangin' em!:hang:

http://www.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/for/for55/for55.pdf
If you are bored and want to read something about drying wood, determining moisture content, and how dry is dry.