Moisture Meter

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DWSmith

New User
David
I am having a problem with Franklins TiteBond III Glue, the glue lines seem to be raising up after drying and finishing the boards. TiteBond tech service tells me it is because the wood is shrinking around the joint as the moisture leaves the wood which I am having a hard time wrapping my head around. So I am l in the market for a good, not expensive, moisture meter so I can test the wood along the production process. Has anyone here had a good experience with a moisture meter and can someone recommend one that will not break the bank and stay accurate?

Thanks!
 

Bill Clemmons

Bill
Corporate Member
I have this one, which is on the low end of the price scale. You can read customer reviews on Amazon.

http://ri.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0L...0275F5O2/RK=0/RS=WGI.SeNAbAuRcJaAUeJnn6DmnYE-.

I don't know how the accuracy compares to the more expensive models, but it seems fine for my needs.

81-yo55Z9wL._SL1500_.jpg
 

RandyJ

New User
Randy
+2 for Bill's meter. As he said, I haven't compared it to other meters for accuracy but it meets my needs.

Good luck with your decision.
 

KenOfCary

Ken
Staff member
Corporate Member
Yeah, I never saw Chris post anything about the results. Maybe they were inconclusive. I have a Lignomat pinless meter which is very nice. It can be set to read 1/4 or 3/4" below the surface. It is not cheap, but super convenient. Bought it directly from them.
 

mkepke

Mark
Senior User
I use a Lignomat E/D..about $100 IIRC. It uses pins.

Regarding the glue-line problem, I have read at least one amateur study that concludes glue-lines manifesting are more common if: i) the glue used is water-soluble and the glue-up has experienced large swings in humidity and ii) the joined wood has different coefficients of expansion, even the same species where one side is flatsawn and the other is quartersawn.

Both seem like possible conditions during the production of cutting boards - especially as we just transitioned out of a pleasant spring into humid summer.

Maybe try gluing some boards with non-water soluble adhesives like polu glue and/or plastic resin during a Titebond 3 run and compare results across the three types of adhesive.

-Mark
 

jnforness

New User
John
I use to use my brother's pin moisture meter and never thought much about it. I picked up a surface one (non pins) pretty cheap off of CL and it seems to work decent, but sometimes I feel it is not the most accurate. I did bring in a stack of Walnut a few months ago, to acclimate to my house - ok, really just needed a place to store it and it sounded like the best rationale to tell the wife! I tracked the moisture in it for several weeks, and it was pretty accurate with the readings I was getting. Think I would just feel better with the pins....
 

tarheelz

Dave
Corporate Member
I have had raising glue lines on all my work that include draw bored holes. Seems reasonable to me. I should expect it. Wood dries and tightens the joint. Hard to complain.

I use I and II.
 

Jeremy Scuteri

Moderator
Jeremy
It seems like this effect should be even less on an end grain cutting board since for the glue line to raise on the surface of the board, it would require the wood to shrink along it's length and each piece is very short on top of that. When I experienced this issue it was on kiln dried wood. Not to say that kiln dried wood doesn't still expand and contract, but it should be dry enough that it's expansion/contraction shouldn't cause glue lines to raise.
 

Jeff

New User
Jeff
David,

I have the mini-Ligno E/D which is about $100 +/-. It's been sufficient for my needs and it's qualitatively accurate imo.

Your description sounds like glue line "creep" where the adjacent boards have shrunk a bit in thickness but the glue hasn't shrunk so you feel a washboard effect. Did you notice it before the boards were finished (sealed)?

http://brownellfurniture.com/2011/11/29/glue-line-creep-study/
 
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