Four days I go I have started my first trial in slicing some logs which. I have cust almost 20 feet. Know I have placed these in the klin I made. The slabs I cut they not fully soaked with water but I can feel that there is water inside I think mostly dried because the log was laying out side. The question how do I know if the water already dried without owing moisture a meter, beside the wood I cut is eucalyptus different species some of them red and some white. I need little advice.
Weigh a small sample (a few grams) from the kiln.
Put the sample in an oven and bake it dry.
Subtract the dry weight from the 'wet' weight.
Divide the difference in weight by the dry weight.
Multiply by 100 and you have the moisture content for your sample.
Den,
Maybe a silly question but how do you know when it is dry in the oven?
Is the method of weighing the wood more accurate than a meter?
Thanks
Ron
Have the oven about 220F and when it does not loss weight it is dry. Oven dry is more accurate than a meter. The very definition of moisture content involves oven drying
Moisture meters can be purchased fairly inexpensively these days (compared to what they used to be). If you do a search on eBAY for "wood moisture meter" you can find quite a few and many will ship worldwide. However, these pin type meters typically don't measure below 7% MC, so it's probably not that useful for the finished product.
However, it's still a good idea to know how to accuratly determine the moisture content of a peice of wood. This Woodweb article (http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Determining_MC_by_weight.html) has some good info.
-srj
I have a moisture meter, it is good for telling me if the wood is wet or dry but useless for reading the exact moisture content. I use the oven drying method weighing the sample on a small set of digital scales bought for about £10 on Ebay.
John
Meters can be terribly inaccurate. I dried a load of ash baseball bats over the weekend and my expensive Wagner gave me readings all over the place. My Delmhorst stick meter didn't agree. Baked samples came out between the two.
QuoteMeters can be terribly inaccurate
Just wondering, what was the variance? Was it > +/-2% ?
One 3" ash square that I checked went like this. The Wagner is suppose to reach 1.5" deep and it read 9.7% which I didn't believe. I cut that piece and stuck the core with the Delmhorst and it read 6% which I didn't believe. I cut a cross section wafer and baked it. It calculated at 6.8%. I didn't bake a sample from the core but I would guess it was between 7 and 8% so both meters were off by just a couple percent - just off in different directions.
Quote from: Den Socling on December 07, 2005, 07:56:04 AM
Weigh a small sample (a few grams) from the kiln.
Put the sample in an oven and bake it dry.
Subtract the dry weight from the 'wet' weight.
Divide the difference in weight by the dry weight.
Multiply by 100 and you have the moisture content for your sample.
Can a microwave be used instead of an oven ???
I have used the microwave to try small burl blocks in the past.
Max
Some 'experts' say you need to use an oven and 24 hours. I say a microwave will work just fine but it takes some attention. I heat, let the samples cool and then repeat. I periodically check the weight of a sample or two. When you see them coming dry, be careful not to burn.
Thanks,
I think I will try your method instead of buying a meter.
Max
Quote from: Max sawdust on December 10, 2005, 06:47:46 AM
Thanks,
I think I will try your method instead of buying a meter.
Max
Why not enter the Christmas contest and maybe you will
WIN a meter ??? ;)
Furby,
OK I will get a good pic and submit it ;)
Max