Moisture meter advice

[Raclettefordinner]

Morning all, i have only recently discovered this greast forum and wanted to ask about moisture meters.
I generaly work in strucutral timbers which are green , but also carry out glazing and similar on green oak buildings for which i use air dried joinery grade british oak for the glazing cover boards.
I have noticed over a few jobs that the boards are perhaps not as "air dried" as i thought and this is far from ideal.
Im looking into getting a moisture meter so i can verify (i dont want to use boards that are over 20%) and am unsure whether to go gor a digital or pin type moisture meter - your thoughts would be most appreciated!

 

[Doug71]

I have had a Protimeter mini for longer then I can remember, never let me down. It was a lot cheaper when I bought it all those years ago , there are much cheaper options available but I have never tried them.

https://www.thetapestore.co.uk/protimeter-mini-moisture-meter

 

[Raclettefordinner]

Funnily enough that is the exact one I’m thinking of getting, just can’t quite believe I’ll be able to get the spikes deep enough into the oak board to get beyond the surface reading

 

[Tris]

Is this for checking boards before purchase? If so Protimeter make a pinless meter too. They are often used to assess damp levels in caravans so will work through surface coatings etc.

 

[Cabinetman]

It’s suprising just how wet some air dried timber can be, the first time I used any I left some oak on my table saw and the next morning it had gone rusty, I was not a happy bunny!
How wet will it be in the middle compared to the surface – depends of course, how long has it been drying and where, have you just cut the timber in half and exposed a wetter surface? Generally speaking it will be wetter in the middle than the outside, moisture meters – I have two one of which I have to take the battery out all the time or else it drains it, sorry can’t remember the make. They are handy to give you a general indication of MC without getting too fixated on it. Ian

 

[John15]

Any of the cheaper pin type metres are OK for giving you an approximate figure. If you are planning to use the timber for something in the house, then check the moisture on a few pieces of your own furniture - this is the figure you should aim for.

John

 

[Raclettefordinner]

Is this for checking boards before purchase? If so Protimeter make a pinless meter too. They are often used to assess damp levels in caravans so will work through surface coatings etc.

Well really it's for checking timber once its been delivered - but thanks for the pinless sugestion - having had a look they are a more than i want to spend so i think i will settle for a pin meter with an addtional hammer in probe to put my mind at rest about getting "into the oak".
Perhaps the sawmills have a little more leway with "air dried" timber as opposed to kilned dried which i suspect is more controllable and therefore consistant....?

 

[Chippymint]

One of the reference moisture meters in the world is the Lignomat. Not cheap but certainly accurate.

 

[Doug71]

Be warned, when you first get a moisture meter it will soon look like your workshop has a bad case of woodworm as you wander around sticking the prongs in everything to check out its moisture content out of curiosity.

I had a play with mine today, most stuff in my workshop was around 11%-14% apart from Accoya which didn't even register a reading

 

[Raclettefordinner]

One of the reference moisture meters in the world is the Lignomat. Not cheap but certainly accurate.

Thanks For the suggestion I’ll have a look at these tonight

 

[Raclettefordinner]

Be warned, when you first get a moisture meter it will soon look like your workshop has a bad case of woodworm as you wander around sticking the prongs in everything to check out its moisture content out of curiosity.

I had a play with mine today, most stuff in my workshop was around 11%-14% apart from Accoya which didn't even register a reading

Haha thanks for the tip- not a fan of the sight of woodworm in the workshop, however these really do send my pulse racing

 

[BEE13]

In a previous life, I was a Chartered Building Surveyor so have been using moisture meters in wood for 50 years or so.

Get one that uses inductive as well as resistance technology. The induction type will give much deeper readings. Although they might be slightly less accurate, they are well within the sort of accuracy you need for woodworking where you are probably looking at trends - when the readings stabilise over time, it's reached equilibrium.

Yes, Protimeter was one of the first and was aimed at professionals so is the make that most surveyors use although there are now others.

Look at my post here for more info.


https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/thread...-logs-any-recommendations.128142/post-1433939Brian

 

[Timthetangent]

Every day a school day on here. Thank you everyone. I've just relocated and had run all my wood stock (no - not the festival) down. I just picked up some oak planks to replenish and these have been kiln-dried. I have access to a Lignomat from another nearby woodworker (95% of my work is picture frames, somewhat exposing my lack of skill at producing anything more technically difficult) but I'm a professional photographer and buying one solely for my own use would not be the best use of available money I suspect. the guy I borrow from uses my thicknesser, so it's quid pro quo though.

 

[Raclettefordinner]

Thanks BEE13, you have given me a further line of investigation to look at the inductive type meters!
And thanks for the link to your previous post about this subject