Moisture Meters

I don’t believe you will get any wood ( air dried) that reads 6-8% water content.
You should probably be looking at 10-12% when you mill it and a further reduction when you store it indoors.
Try Lee Valley for a decent meter..
Cheers
Bob

-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner

I have a Ligomat pin meter and a Wagner pinless meter. The Wagner has gone missing about 3 years ago and I haven’t found it. That’s why I bought the Ligomat.

They are both good meters.

-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com

The sawmill owner says it is at 10%. I would like to verify that. What do you guys think is a good number?

-- bbqKing, Lawrenceville

I use the Lignomat mini-Ligno DX it has worked well for three years now….you might find a used one on ebay or craigslist.org

http://www.lignomat.com/MoistureMeter/moisture_pin_meters.wood+nonwood.mini.DX.htm

Bob is right most air-dried lumber will be close to the EMC (equilibrium moisture content) for for wood outdoors and what region you are in. Around here it is between 12-13 %...even after you take 6-8% wood out of a kiln it will gain moisture to the EMC. So before and after you plane it, sticker it, put some weight on it and let it rest for a few days and equalize to the shop’s environment… For Atlanta, GA it is around 13.9% on average in September. It will vary from day to day and with the weather.. A good book to use as a reference is:

http://www.harvestingurbantimber.com/HUTbook.html

-- Frank, Little River/Academy, Texas , http://www.allthingsrustix.com

sawdustnsplinters is right

-- rob