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:

http://www.opticsplanet.net/sonin-4-...-detector.html

Does 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

On Nov 24, 3:21*pm, jtpr wrote:
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:

http://www.opticsplanet.net/sonin-4-...-detector.html

Does 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

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.

On Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:25:15 -0800 (PST), RonB
wrote:

On Nov 24, 3:21*pm, jtpr wrote:
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:

http://www.opticsplanet.net/sonin-4-...-detector.html

Does 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

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.


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

On Nov 24, 1:21*pm, jtpr wrote:
I have a bunch of cherry from a tree felled on my property that I want
to periodically check for moisture.

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.

On Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:25:16 -0800 (PST), whit3rd
wrote:

On Nov 24, 1:21*pm, jtpr wrote:
I have a bunch of cherry from a tree felled on my property that I want
to periodically check for moisture.

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.

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

On Nov 27, 4:36*pm, krw wrote:
On Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:25:16 -0800 (PST), whit3rd
wrote:

On Nov 24, 1:21*pm, jtpr wrote:
I have a bunch of cherry...

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.

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

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.

On Sat, 28 Nov 2009 12:13:10 -0800 (PST), whit3rd
wrote:

On Nov 27, 4:36*pm, krw wrote:
On Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:25:16 -0800 (PST), whit3rd
wrote:

On Nov 24, 1:21*pm, jtpr wrote:
I have a bunch of cherry...

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.

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

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.

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

The drying, of course, takes place in open air circulation over
many months.

Or years.