Moisture Meters

[smithie55]

Polling the Pros & Cons between the inductive method versus the dual pin insertion into the wood to determine moisture content of lumber.
Also Brand's and cost.
Thanks

 

[woodshop]

Wagner inductive pin less moisture meter, been using it for years, easy as pie. A little pricey, but then you get what you pay for.

 

[oldsaw]

I'd actually like both. I've got the "pin" type, which allows me to place a couple of nails in boards deep in the stack, and monitor moisture without tearing into my nice stickered pile. However, a pinless would be great when initial drying was done.

Mark

 

[aggiewoodbutchr]

Fyi

I needed to replace my cheapo moisture meter since it crapped out on me. I went with a Wagner MMC220 pinless I found on Amazon.com for $256.85. Turns out they had free shipping, a $25 promotional discount until the 30th and for some reason I got an additional $25.66 promotional discount when I checked out. My total to the doorstep was $205.92. Compared to what else I've found this is a pretty good deal. Just thought I'd pass it along.

 

[smithie55]

Found an Extech model 407777 dual pin on ebay, got it for $150.00, sales new for $300.00.
Seems to work fine, in excellent shape.

 

[woodshop]

If you're a woodworker, you can't ignore wood movement due to taking on and releasing moisture as the weather changes... it's the nature of the beast kinda thing, just can't get away from it. Thus, it's tough to get by without a moisture meter unless you buy your wood right from temp and humidity controlled warehouse and use it right away. (who does that????)
I find I'm using my moisture meter almost as much as my fav chisel. What I'd also like is a good meter to measure the humidity in my shop... I'll need to check out ebay on that one.

 

[00juice]

Any one have any suggestions for a cheapie moisture meter that works well. I don't want to buy anything that won't last, or ithat is just throwing my $$$ away. I don't have the money for a $200 meter, but i would like to check the moisture content of some lumber I just picked up. And i'd like to be able to monitor the mc of stuff that I mill. Alot of what I mill tends to be thick slabs. Any suggestions?????

 

[woodshop]

Most of the pinless types (that you and I can afford) only go down to an inch or so, so if you're wanting to know how dry the innermost of your 16/4 slab is, only way is to pound deep pins into the center. There are some out there that have a slide hammer type deal that you can do that, but they are expensive. Google wood moisture meters and you'll get a ton of places that sell them.

 

[urbanlumberinc]

I've got both a pinless and a pin type with a hammer probe. The pinless is great for checking moisture on dryed, surfaced boards, prior to joinery, thats about all I use it for. For drying and checking thick stock I use only the hammer probe. It has insulated pins that take the reading at the tips, so you can check moisture right in the center of a board. The Hammer probe is especially helpful for drying large flitches. The pins on the meter itself go 5/16 deep and are good for checking stock up to 5/4. I just bought a Delmhorst rdm3 and so far have been impressed. It was a bit pricey though (around $600 with shipping), but worth every penny.

 

[MS-310]

We dry lumber here at my shop and we have an old junk pined meter....I never used it once. I have allways cut an sample off weigh it and dry it in the toaster oven, thats the only true way to get the right MC.
FYI
I have one other Idea why do you guys mill the your chain saws and not just get an bandmill???? Is it cuz the money for the band mill and you dont do that much or what?

Thanks

 

[woodshop]

We dry lumber here at my shop and we have an old junk pined meter....I never used it once. I have allways cut an sample off weigh it and dry it in the toaster oven, thats the only true way to get the right MC.
FYI
I have one other Idea why do you guys mill the your chain saws and not just get an bandmill???? Is it cuz the money for the band mill and you dont do that much or what?

Thanks

Lots of reasons why some folks use a csm instead of a bandmill. Probably cost in many cases. In my case, I don't have room for a larger bandmill, so I use a little portable one along with my csm, called a Ripsaw. If I had a larger property, I would own a full sized bandmill in a heartbeat.

 

[59Billy]

I have one other Idea why do you guys mill the your chain saws and not just get an bandmill???? Is it cuz the money for the band mill and you dont do that much or what?

For me, cost has been the main factor so far. Not just the cost of the mill; being able to take the CSM to the log saves me from needing a skidder, arch, or whatever. Not to mention that some of the logs I've been salvaging are in places where I couldn't even get an ATV (if I had one), so hiking in with a truly portable mill is the only way to get at them.

Sure, it would be nice to have a fast, stationary mill and all the gear for moving logs, but it would be overkill for 90% of what I'm milling... although, now and then I have wistful memories of the forklifts I used to run...

 

[aggiewoodbutchr]

I have one other Idea why do you guys mill the your chain saws and not just get an bandmill???? Is it cuz the money for the band mill and you dont do that much or what?

Thanks

Ever seen the price tag on a bandmill with a 68" cut capacity?:biggrinbounce2:

A csm is a good way for many people to get started that don't have the need for or the means to get a bigger machine.