Delmhorst slide hammer

[xlogger]

Seems like I'm going thru more longer pins lately. I think when one pin bends bad and I replace it and the other is slightly bent I leave it on they both bend faster. Do you just replace both pins on slight bends? I still wish I can find a easy way to use the Kil-mo-trol on my slabs, probably save money on pins and be easier to check..

[Don P]

I tap the pins to make a mark then use an 1/8" bit to drill close to depth then hammer in the last bit.

[YellowHammer]

I only drive them in a little until I know the wood is or isn’t dry.  For example, if I tap it in a quarter inch, and the slab already reads 12%, there’s no need to go any deeper, and risk the pins.  Only when they read 7% do I keep driving them in, and keep testing readings as I hammer them.  

[GeneWengert-WoodDoc]

Delmhost sells 1/2” long pins which will work for 8/4 and thinner and bend and break less often.

The preferred depth is 1/4 of the thickness, as this gives the average MC.  The depth is the tip of an insulated needle.

Predrilling is excellent, but use a sharp drill bit to avoid heat and only drill partially, as the pins should have 1/4” of solid wood that they are pounded into.  But with shorter pins, you will not have to predrill as they seldom break.  The predrill diameter should be about 90% of the pin diameter.  The pins with the Kiln-Mo-Trol are larger in diameter than the pins used with the 26ES hammer probe, so they do not break.

There is a detailed article about all this and more in Sawmill & Woodlot magazine in two months.

[xlogger]

thanks all. I see what Robert is saying and Don. I might try both way, But doc I thinking I need the longer pins because I almost always dry live edge slabs and drive the pins in from the side. As you said once to me before I need to really check beyond the sap wood. So the more I  go in should be more helpful on my reading. How deep does the pins on the kiln-mo-trol go in?

[mredden]

I'm experimenting with using pairs of finish nails set at 1/2 and 1/4 depths in the heartwood. I have alligator clamped leads attached to them. I just clamp to the short pins on my cheap meter and check every morning because this particular batch of coffee table boards are drying in my heated shop. I check the live edge sides of them with the pins, but less frequently. The readings with my meter pins that I take in the sapwood are around 10% while the 1/2 depth (about 1 inch) nails read around 14% at present.

After a month I put in two new nails to see if the measurements would be different due to drying caused by the two original nails. The difference was negligible. Did it again after the second month and the results were the same.

When the readings get down to my target, I'll double check with the Demhorst that is available to me on weekends. Until then, the cheapie meter and finish nails suffice.

[GeneWengert-WoodDoc]

Just curious if you change your drying procedures if you are making decaffinated coffee tables. You do indeed have good procedures for caffeinated coffee.

[scsmith42]

How deep does the pins on the kiln-mo-trol go in?

Ricky, I have a variety of pin lengths with my Kilmotrol.  It takes both shell and core readings, so I use short, uninsulated pins for the shell readings and for the core readings I usually use insulated pins that will reach 75% or more to the center of the lumber.  They are installed into heartwood on the face of the boards / slabs, and not into the sapwood.

[xlogger]

Scott, would the pins in the heartwood area be ok in maybe the second from the top slab? I'm just trying to figure out putting them in my heavy live edge stack that has been air drying without rearranging most of the stack.
I did order some new shorter pins and new caps to have different lengths to change out so I don't have to use my longer pins all the time, so now trying to reduce my pin breakage.

[scsmith42]

Scott, would the pins in the heartwood area be ok in maybe the second from the top slab? I'm just trying to figure out putting them in my heavy live edge stack that has been air drying without rearranging most of the stack.
I did order some new shorter pins and new caps to have different lengths to change out so I don't have to use my longer pins all the time, so now trying to reduce my pin breakage.

As long as the second from the top slab was representative of the MC% of the entire stack, I don’t see why not.

[GeneWengert-WoodDoc]

The next issue of Sawmill and Woodlot has an article on using the pin moisture meter to dry lumber.

[mredden]

Just curious if you change your drying procedures if you are making decaffinated coffee tables. You do indeed have good procedures for caffeinated coffee.

I have my own curious nomenclature for my lumber. Anything between 36 and 60 inches is a "coffee table slab." (yes, you can curse me using "slab" instead of "flitch.") I had formerly called slabs shorter than 36" "end table slabs." I think I'll now have to call them "decafs."
FWIW, my personal nomenclatures is:
60' to 120" are "table slabs" if less than 24' wide with one edge squared
60' to 120" are "countertop slabs" if 24" or more with one edge squared.
longer than 120" are "bar slabs."

The coffee table top I'm going to make for myself out of this batch will actually be a black epoxied river table stained with coffee. I'll use decaf in your honor! Really though, staining is about all decaf is useful for.

Happy Thanksgiving. I'll be driving through Bishop tomorrow on my way to Greenville, SC. I'll shout out.