# Best Moisture meter



## Quickstep (Apr 10, 2012)

After having some pepper mills start out beautiful only to crack and now having some wood from a cut down tree drying, I've decided to bite the bullet and get a moisture meter. I can see how the pin meters could be more accurate because they're in direct contact with the wood, but they're only accurate to the depth that you can drive the pins, right. The Lignomat SDM measures pinlessly to either 1/4" or 3/4" depth. 

So, please give me some advice..... Pin or pin less? Lignomat or something else?


This will be a gift from my wife, so money is no object!!!


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## sawdustfactory (Jan 30, 2011)

I have the lignomat mini. Works well enough for my needs.


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## Bill Boehme (Feb 9, 2014)

Something else -- a small digital scale that can measure grams or fractions of an ounce.

A moisture meter tells you the percentage moisture content, but what you really want to know is whether the wood is as dry as it is going to get. A moisture meter will only give you part of the answer because the final moisture content depends on your local climate. And, as you correctly noted, the moisture meter can't tell you how wet the wood is down deep -- only close to the surface. By weighing the wood periodically you will know when it is dry because the weight has finally stabilized. When it stops losing weight, it is as dry as it is going to get regardless of what the EMC happens to read. Besides that, a scale is cheaper than a moisture meter.

A moisture meter is more useful on a rough turned bowl, but not very good for a thick block of wood.


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## guglipm63 (Feb 27, 2013)

I too have a lignomat mini. I like it and works great


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## del schisler (Nov 5, 2009)

*moister meter*

the one's with pin's you can only drive with the meter and not very far, take the meter and just make the dimples than drive small brad as deep as you figure 1/2 of the depth and then toutch the pin's to the brad's , that will give you more depth , i have the general insterment, got it when they were $9.95 now look at them, i also have a delmhurst meter also, i take and go a couple degree's eather way and see if i am in the ball park, the only good way is to weigh the wood , i been doing wood working for 60 yrs or so, retired now so have lot's of time and wood on hand , also i stand my wood on end's and as streight, never had a problum , wood is fibers so moister run's down to the end's?? i stand them on a flat board also my 2 cents


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

I have a General Instruments moisture meter.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_78059-56005-MMD4E_0__

Perhaps not the most accurate, but as other mentioned, the only way to accurately know if the wood has reached equilibrium with the shop is to weigh the wood over an extended period and note the weight each time.

Once you get whatever moisture meter you decide on and begin to use it, you will be surprised at the variation of moisture in a piece of wood.

Sap wood will be different to heart wood. End grain will be different to face gain. Soft areas will be different to dense areas. 

I use my moisture meter to determine for an approximate determination of the moisture. I am glad I purchased a moisture meter, but I think spending more money on the best may not have been useful.

If I have a rough turned piece and I really want to know it has reached equilibrium, I will weigh it over time and not use the moisture meter.


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## Quickstep (Apr 10, 2012)

Can you guys recommend a scale?


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

Quickstep said:


> Can you guys recommend a scale?


It might depend on the size of the wood you want to weigh. A digital with pounds, ounces, or grams for the smaller sizes, a cooking scale might suffice, or a good fish or luggage scale. Of course if you get into larger lumber, it could be futile to check weight, especially if your lumber can't be picked up by one person. 

It's pretty humid where I am, and the lumber I buy is kiln dried, but, the MC can change in an afternoon, when the lumber starts to get acclimated. 








 








.


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## Quickstep (Apr 10, 2012)

At this point, I'm not making anything bigger than a pepper mill where I need to determine moisture content (or lack thereof). Right now I have a cocobolo blank that I'd guess weighs between 5 and 10 lbs. What I've seen from a very cursory scale shopping spree is that scales that have a total capacity of say 10 or 20 pounds have less overall resolution. Smaller scales that can only handle up to a pound or so have a resolution in fractions of a gram whereas scales that can handle 20+ pounds have resolution in fractions of an ounce.


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## del schisler (Nov 5, 2009)

Quickstep said:


> At this point, I'm not making anything bigger than a pepper mill where I need to determine moisture content (or lack thereof). Right now I have a cocobolo blank that I'd guess weighs between 5 and 10 lbs. What I've seen from a very cursory scale shopping spree is that scales that have a total capacity of say 10 or 20 pounds have less overall resolution. Smaller scales that can only handle up to a pound or so have a resolution in fractions of a gram whereas scales that can handle 20+ pounds have resolution in fractions of an ounce.


if you have a post office close by, and friends with the people have them werght it , one of the office close by has a scale that you can just walk in and use, that should be accurate ? i have heard of the use of a micro over used on low and weight wood and see what is going on ? that would take some practice, use some wood that is for testing ?


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## duncsuss (Aug 21, 2009)

Quickstep said:


> Can you guys recommend a scale?


I got mine at Harbor Freight. It's like THIS ONE. I'm sure that it was less than $15 when I bought it, look for it to show up in their monthly coupons.


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## duncsuss (Aug 21, 2009)

del schisler said:


> i have heard of the use of a micro over used on low and weight wood and see what is going on ?


I've done it several times. You just have to let it cool down between zaps (which also allows it to off-gas the water vapor).

As an experiment I nuked a piece of walnut that I'd cut to "pen blank" size till it started smoking -- just so I'd know the warning signs.

*Do not *use your kitchen microwave for this ... unless you plan on buying a new one before anyone sees/smells what you just did :laughing:


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## Bill Boehme (Feb 9, 2014)

I have a small scale from HF that weighs up to a kilogram (2.2 pounds). Its cost was about $10. I have a larger kitchen scale that weighs up to 12 pounds and can display metric or imperial. The metric resolution is in gram increments and imperial resolution is in eighths of an ounce. I think that I paid around $25 for it.


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## NCPaladin (Aug 7, 2010)

I have the Delmhorst J-LITE and it works great but a little pricey (even at about $68 on the bay). It is the pin type and I just stick the blank through the paper bag. For me, anything less than 14% is good to go as that is equilibrium for my area, the same % for my brother in El Paso would result in major cracking as it dried to his area.
Here is a link with local equilibriums per city starting on about page four.
http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fplrn/fplrn268.pdf


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