![\"IMG_1089_edited-2\"](\"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/IMG_1089_edited-2.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
4. Interpret the information and use it.<\/b><\/p>\n
“Yes, I am asking you to fuss with wood.”<\/p>\n
-James Krenov, from The Fine Art of Cabinetmaking<\/i><\/p>\n
In this final installment on the topic of moisture meters<\/a>, I will broaden the discussion to the<\/strong> management of wood<\/strong> that has been dried and brought into the shop, from wherever you have obtained it, because it still needs attention before it is ready to be used in a project. A moisture meter can help here.<\/p>\n When a new board comes into the shop,<\/strong> I write the date and moisture content (MC) on it. I refer to the back of the Lee Valley Wood Movement Reference Guide<\/a> to know the equilibrium MC for the ambient relative humidity (RH) indicated on my shop hygrometer. (Temperature is a negligible factor for practical purposes.) The FPL Wood Handbook<\/a> has the same information. I try to keep the RH within about 40 – 65%, winter to summer, with the use of a humidifier and dehumidifier,<\/strong> as needed.<\/p>\n Unless I am lucky, the wood has some adjusting to do.<\/strong> Therefore, I store it so air can circulate<\/strong> on all sides of each board by storing it horizontally on a rack and stickering it, or leaning it vertically against something. Sometimes I will do an initial light skim planing<\/strong> to get a peek past the rough surface, and to facilitate measurements with the pinless meter.<\/p>\n Then I keep an eye on the wood,<\/strong> checking the MC in a few days to see if it is moving. Depending on the initial MC, species, and thickness, I look for the MC to level off<\/strong> over the next few weeks. The wood is then ready for the first dressing.<\/p>\n Another approach<\/strong> is to look for when the MC of the new wood matches that of wood<\/strong> of the same species that has been in the shop for a long time. Beware,<\/strong> however, of the density issue with pinless meters that was discussed in the previous post<\/a>. Also beware<\/strong> of the possibility of a moisture gradient<\/a> through the thickness of the wood, especially in thick stock.<\/p>\n I usually use the pinless meter<\/strong> for this because it is faster and doesn’t make holes in the wood. However, if surface or density issues seem to be confusing, or if the stock is thick and I want to look for a moisture gradient, I will turn to the pin meter<\/strong> for additional information. If I could own only one?<\/strong> Pinless, probably. No holes.<\/p>\n Could this be done without a moisture meter?<\/strong> Sure. Patience and experience will work. Even quick monitoring with a straight edge on flatsawn boards will be informative. I like the convenience and greater reliability offered by the meters to help avert disappointments.<\/strong><\/p>\n Unless it is very tame straight-grained wood and the final thickness is only slightly reduced from the initial state, I usually dress rough stock in two stages,<\/strong> even after it has reached uniform equilibrium MC. For example,<\/strong> to get a finished 5\/8″ from a rough 4\/4, I will first joint and thickness down to 3\/4″, taking approximately equal thicknesses off each side of the board.<\/p>\n I watch the wood.<\/strong> Did the initial jointing stay flat and true? Did new a twist arise, or maybe a slight bow? These surprises<\/strong> can come about from internal tension releasing when some thickness<\/a> is removed<\/a>. Odd grain and case hardening are among the possible causes. These issues will usually manifest their effects quickly,<\/strong> sometimes immediately.<\/p>\n Then I take the wood down to final thickness,<\/strong> removing any slight distortions. If the distortions are large, or reappear, I usually find another board.<\/p>\n Resawing<\/strong> is another matter, discussed here<\/a>, but requires knowledgeable observation and understanding casehardening to avoid disappointments<\/a>.<\/p>\n Understand the wood. Watch the wood. <\/strong>A moisture meter can help.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 4. Interpret the information and use it. “Yes, I am asking you to fuss with wood.” -James Krenov, from The Fine Art of Cabinetmaking In this final installment on the topic of moisture meters, I will broaden the discussion to the management of wood that has been dried and brought into the shop, from wherever […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[25],"class_list":["post-2464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-wood","tag-moisture-meters"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2464","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2464"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2464\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2474,"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2464\/revisions\/2474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2464"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2464"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rpwoodwork.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2464"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}