Lumber moisture meter is necessary to have by woodworkers. Using lumber moisture meter, they can know how much moisture is trapped in a board to help them during the milling process, when fitting parts, and even when making repairs.
It is known that increases or decreases in moisture can warp panels, crack tabletops, delaminate glue-ups, loosen or split joints, and generally wreak havoc, so wood movement is one of the most perplexing situations for woodworkers. Actually, they can determine the moisture content of lumber using a mathematical formula, but it is not easy. The process can take a couple of days—not very convenient. In this case, using lumber moisture meter can be a solution.
Lumber moisture meter is a much quicker way to monitor the moisture content. This tool can help any home-shop woodworker avoid the damaging effects of wood movement in a project. And today, this tool is more affordable than ever. When it comes to this tool, you have two options: pinless and pin-type meter.
In general, pinless meter is lumber moisture meter that is more appropriate for home shop woodworkers. It is accurate and easy to use. However, pin-type meter is ultimately more accurate for determining the exact moisture content of a specific area on a board. A pin-type meter may be suitable if you dry your own lumber or consistently work with thick wood and are willing to do a bit of destructive testing in the board to find the moisture content with pinpoint accuracy.
The typical lumber moisture meter measures water content in the range of 5-30% in .1% increments. Although you certainly can get a meter that will measure up to 60% moisture, it is usually a waste of money.
Related to calibration scale, there must be different calibration scales available for every lumber moisture meter. It is known that wood species vary in density and this affects the reading, thus in simple meters, the actual reading is adjusted to reflect this with the use of a calibration table. Meanwhile, in more sophisticated meter, there is a button or on screen menu that lets you change between say a reading for oak vs a reading for maple or pine.
One of lumber moisture meters you can opt in the market is Wagner MMC220 Extended Range Moisture Meter. The Digital Display of this lumber moisture meter instantly and accurately measures moisture content of rough finish grade wood. Highly flexible, it measures from 5-to 30-percent moisture content, scans to .75-inch depth and offers press/hold feature.
This lumber moisture meter also allows you to select species settings, eliminating the need to refer to manual correction tables. This meter also features an extended species setting range for exotic species. It is designed for flooring manufacturers and installers, furniture and cabinet makers, lumber suppliers, contractors, builders, inspector’s architects and engineers.
Another option is Delmhorst J-4 6% to 30% Pin Analog Wood Moisture Meter. This lumber moisture meter is used by quality control inspectors, lumber buyers, hardwood flooring installers and manufacturers, pest control services, painting and general contractors, furniture and cabinetmakers and woodworkers. Its new case design features a built in handle and fingertip controls for easy one hand operations. Also, the J-4 displays wood moisture content in an easy to read and popular analog readout.
This lumber moisture meter is calibrated to read Douglas Fir at 70 degrees. Using the included species correction and temperature correction tables, moisture content for a variety of different species and environmental conditions are possible.
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