Sonin Moisture meter

I have a bunch of cherry from a tree felled on my property that I want to periodically check for moisture. I generally buy kiln dryed wood from a lumber yard or online so I don't generally need a moisture meter. Anyway, I saw this advertised:

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anybody have any experience with it? Will it do what I need it to do, tell me when I can use the wood?

I live on the seacoast of NH.

-Jim

Reply to
jtpr
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I have been looking at meters too but not familiar with this one. They run from this price range up to above $200. In addition to quality, you seem to get lower percentage readings as price increases. The lower 8% tolerance for this Sonin seems to be close to the bottom of the desired range for furniture hardwood. I buy from a mill that kiln dries to the 5-6% range before putting lumber into storage. Most mill owners in this area say they dry to the 5-8% range.

Reply to
RonB

I have a Lignomat. It has worked well for me in air drying wood to under 10%.

Reply to
Phisherman

Easiest is to tag a few boards (I assume it's all sawn to uniform thickness?), and weigh 'em. When months pass with no weight change, they're fully dry.

Kiln drying has advantages (like the heat kills insects), so it's worth thinking of ways (silver-painted plywood panels and black plastic bags) to make a solar kiln, if you want the wood to be really prime cabinet material.

Reply to
whit3rd

I'd think that black plastic bags would keep the humidity high.

Reply to
krw

A couple of hours at 160 F is all it takes to kill molds and insects; a solar kiln or steam box can do this without much work or money invested. The drying, of course, takes place in open air circulation over many months.

Reply to
whit3rd

Ah! I missed that part. I thought it was your intention to use the heat to dry the wood.

Or years.

Reply to
krw

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