Moisture meter

[TC209X50]

What moisture meter is the best for checking moisture content? I see there is a passive (non-invasive) and a type that has pins.
Thank you

[Crooked Stic]

The pin type will check as deep as the pins go. There is a meter you lay on the wood that is better maybe Big Jim will chime in he has one.

[LookMomNoSights]

Is that the Wagner?  Price point around 360 give or take?

[Crooked Stic]

Yes the Wagner I think.

[Stagmitis]

I have the Wagner Orion- been a game changer for me-

[Kirkll]

This is the one i've used for years quite successfully. The key to checking 8/4 stock is to check the center after cutting it off. just measuring the outside or the end before it's opened up is deceptive.

https://www.amazon.com/Lignomat-USA-LTD-mini-Ligno-Mini-Ligno/dp/B000VIMGIA/ref=sr_1_53?adgrpid=1333708440528579&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Aowne-_KVUtq_HAwBYrjYXSOG15dF-X5C5z59YWziArLpU6HxueOoABmY98z8l-K4kfknCmJqAr39y1q1zb7-q7DwxGlpe59wQ41b2zDAjy8sOPNO3KXbFdMQD-BoqgvyC6Tskthdy-6M9pO21rCAVNCqPcK1iQOHa41sus5BwrsfeIim0ax__DW4NuGKtVvpAo3l8AawfvfQWTTg6yI_3GnfFB1ll8f8e4hMmn2S38P2tBiWNmuzX8zIrYN31-BAlt1CujscK7M1YwxYu7hBr4ckKqxAVweLnrSzKBy_qNofakClHCTK0gKGKEgevW216LoRkCR3qJ8hfhKOVeazbjTiPavM87vwusfTFolmKyZkl8oA5mLCzx5oow3RJP10-KpVVgVrsBW3vDsIVOq5KKJVmAQK0v0-h22LjOAojhVCkSUdMG98yyiA9mlJQ64.R3YsgVSh5NFOEy0_jp3bJMI-6n5M4rUluzn8G5NDhXY&dib_tag=se&hvadid=83356975294412&hvbmt=bp&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=109295&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=p&hvtargid=kwd-83357317908838%3Aloc-190&hydadcr=8787_13501992&keywords=the+moisture+meter&msclkid=769ff27e2db9144bf2c99527c35a46cc&qid=1733947156&sr=8-53

[Buemaker]

If you with a pin meter want to measure inside a thick board drill to small holes with the same distance apart as the pins have. Hammer in two thin steel nails and place the pins on the nail heads and take your reading.

[LookMomNoSights]

Thanks everyone,  looks like Wagner and the Ligno are the directions I should be looking in.

[Crooked Stic]

Also remember you need to let your wood climatise to your area after you get it. 

[Stagmitis]

Stic I just checked a piece of Koa I’ve had for ten years 3x4” block- 11% mc- 20 year old yew / Osage about the same- doesn’t matter how much climate adjustment- the meter tells tells all.  The other thing is sometimes the MC is not uniform the length of the board- Jim uses the same meter. Sometimes I’ll cut a handle out that might be 111-12 % Mc and leave it in the oven a couple days and verify with the Meter that it drops to 8-9% which is ready for glueup

[Crooked Stic]

 Climatize means letting the moisture in you shop be equal to your wood. 12 sounds high. 6 is a good number.  Although 12 may be ok if thats what everything else is. Umless its stabilized its gonna move some anyhow.

[BigJim]

I'm not sure what model my meter is, but it is the Wagner that they suggest for exotic woods. It will measure 3/4" deep and an area of about 2x3... without pins so you can slide it around on the board to check different spots.

I had the lignomats but prefer the wagner as it has many more adjustment levels, reads deeper and more consistent.
6% is going to be unobtainable for most people due to their climate. Also any reading of under 6% is unreliable since a meter can't read accurately that low.
8-10% will be ideal for most.
BigJim

[Kirkll]

Listen to what Jim just posted here… If you can get your MC level below 10% you are golden.  In Oregon here all my lumber stays about 12% due to the climate. Sometimes in summer month it will drop lower. But…. I can buy bone dry wood from a kiln at 8-9% MC level, and let it set in the shop for two weeks, and the MC level will come up on the surface right back to 12%.

I can build bows just fine with 12% MC levels and they won’t move at all if they stay in this climate… now ship one to Nevada, Utah, New Mexico… etc..etc… and you are going to have issues with the wood shrinking. If you are using composites for accent lines, or G-10. That can be a nightmare.   

Bottom line is getting your finished product MC levels .low enough before you finish it or it will come back to haunt you. Pretty tough to do that without a moisture meter.

[garyschuler]

Yep Kirk, Jim. Totally agree. Oregon coast low elevation, high Humidity can be a bane to my existence. Thank God for Beer !!!🍺

[Kirkll]

Yep Kirk, Jim. Totally agree. Oregon coast low elevation, high Humidity can be a bane to my existence. Thank God for Beer !!!🍺

Now THAT was funny Gary....

[Crooked Stic]

Wobbly pops make you think funny 

[garyschuler]

I moderate them to 4-5 per hour. That coincides with my break times where I head to the house???!???

[Kirkll]

4-5 per hour?   Two hours of that and i'd be boots up for about 8 hours...

With that being said...I slowed my beer drinking way down. I used to drink like a culvert and I quit drinking completely for about 12 years. After going down that rocky road in life, i'm real conservative any more. Special occasions i'll still tip a few, but none of that daily consumption routine any more.