black palm

[whammo57]

I try to always buy kiln dried wood.

Has anyone else noticed that black palm is usually about 10% moisture even though it is kiln dried. Most other wood I receive is about 5-6%.

I dry it down to 5% before I use it. Is it my supplier? or is it the nature of the wood?

Kim

 

[howiesatwork]

Maybe it wouldn't work for woodturners if the moisture content was less than 10%?
I know some woods tend to chip or fragment when really dry.

 

[josie]

What moisture meter do you use? The ones I tried didn't read accuarately once the wood got down below 20% or so. I would love to have one I could count on to tell me the wood is at 5%.

 

[whammo57]

What moisture meter do you use? The ones I tried didn't read accuarately once the wood got down below 20% or so. I would love to have one I could count on to tell me the wood is at 5%.

I have 2 and they are not real expensive ones. One was about $40 and the other I bought at harbor freight on a lark for $10 and it works just fine. It is about as big as a pack of tac tacs.

They both read the same value within one percent. Neither will read under 5%. If it is under 5%, there is not reading. All my other wood reads in 5 to 8 percent range.

I don't think any of them have great accuracy. The reading depends on how and where you poke the wood. It's better than guessing.

BTW... I have a "one stick vacuum kiln". I can take a piece of turned and bored wood from 10% to 5% in about 2 hours.

Kim

 

[blackhawk357m]

I picked up a Ryobi Pinless meter from home depot for about $50. I like it, it measures up to 0.5" below surface and has a range of 0% - 35% for hardwoods.

 

[JoeyInCali]

I have 2 and they are not real expensive ones. One was about $40 and the other I bought at harbor freight on a lark for $10 and it works just fine. It is about as big as a pack of tac tacs.

They both read the same value within one percent. Neither will read under 5%. If it is under 5%, there is not reading. All my other wood reads in 5 to 8 percent range.

I don't think any of them have great accuracy. The reading depends on how and where you poke the wood. It's better than guessing.

BTW... I have a "one stick vacuum kiln". I can take a piece of turned and bored wood from 10% to 5% in about 2 hours.

Kim

I poke them at the ends.
Dick had a better idea. Weigh them in grams.
Re-weigh them weeks or months later.
If they stop getting lighter, they're dry.

 

[whammo57]

I poke them at the ends.
Dick had a better idea. Weigh them in grams.
Re-weigh them weeks or months later.
If they stop getting lighter, they're dry.

I do weigh them before and after. It really lets you know what is happening.

Kim

 

[whammo57]

I picked up a Ryobi Pinless meter from home depot for about $50. I like it, it measures up to 0.5" below surface and has a range of 0% - 35% for hardwoods.

Are the pinless meters more accurate. I have only seen one and I wonder exactly how they work???

Kim

 

[JoeyInCali]

Are the pinless meters more accurate. I have only seen one and I wonder exactly how they work???

Kim

I have a double pinned one Delmhorst.

 

[josie]

I tried a $200 one with two pins and had no luck. I might try the Ryobi. Weighing each piece is a great idea.

 

[blackhawk357m]

Are the pinless meters more accurate. I have only seen one and I wonder exactly how they work???

Kim

A couple weeks ago I picked up a 1.5" X 8" X 4' board of SERIOUSLY curly maple. The seller said it was kiln dried and the moisture was @ 6-8%. So I figured it was a good first test of my new meter, and sure enough, everywhere I put that meter read from 6-8%. Other than that I have no way of knowing just how acurate it really is.

Nathan

 

[whammo57]

I tried a $200 one with two pins and had no luck. I might try the Ryobi. Weighing each piece is a great idea.

Try the $10 one from harbor freight. It really does work.

The price is not always the indicator of function. I just bought a laser infra red thermometer gun off Ebay for $13. I use it to check the temp of my epoxy after I heat it and the cue I am putting it on. How accurate is it????? It reads 32 deg when I point it at the ice in my drink. What difference does it really make if it reads 86 or 84 deg instead of 85 deg????

LOL


Kim

 

[Lexicologist71]

One drawback to considering it dry when it stops losing weight is that it may not be dry. A green piece of wood in my basement is never going to be 'dry' enough for cue use. Use a reliable meter.