spindlebox Posted October 7, 2022 Report Share Posted October 7, 2022 Hello all. I think a good addition to my shop would be a wood moisture meter and so if anyone here is using one I'd like a recommendation! I'm not a rich man, but I don't want something that's inaccurate either. Thanks in advance!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted October 7, 2022 Report Share Posted October 7, 2022 There's been several threads here during the years, maybe you can find an answer in one of these: https://www.google.com/search?q=wood+moisture+meter+site%3Aprojectguitar.com Another way to check if the wood is dry is to dip one end into soap water and blow into the other end. If you get bubbles, the wood is dry! That's an old trick for testing firewood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spindlebox Posted October 7, 2022 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2022 Thanks, I'm actually surprised there are so little recommendations for these things. Ben from Crimson Guitars literally espouses their use - especially when purchasing new wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted October 7, 2022 Report Share Posted October 7, 2022 5 hours ago, spindlebox said: Ben from Crimson Guitars literally espouses their use - especially when purchasing new wood. Knowing the whereabouts of Crimson that's no wonder. I've seen a couple of videos of him buying wood, one of his favourite lumberyards has open barns and even outdoor piles. And it's only some 10 miles from the factory to the seashore. According to https://en.climate-data.org/europe/united-kingdom/england/dorchester-6580/ "The month with the highest relative humidity is January (84.97 %). The month with the lowest relative humidity is July (76.03 %)." Having said that, back in the last millennium I read an article about Fender Custom Shop woodhunters who were after the backyard storages of deceased woodworkers in the Southern parts of the USA as there often was lumber that has been stored in the driest climate for decades. When Ben got his first fancy moisture meter he visited a large guitar store to measure the moisture content of various brands. Fenders were the driest ones, only about 8%. The climate isn't the sole explanation, the average humidity in the Fender factory locations isn't that much lower than those of, say, Gibson factories. Significantly lower, yes, but we're talking about 55 v.s. 65%. As a rule of thumb you shouldn't use any wood until you've acclimatized it in your premises for a lengthy time. A climate controlled room like Crimson has is most likely overkill for us home builders, our living rooms will in any case be closest to where we'll be playing and storing our guitars. A few years properly and sparsely piled outdoors and then at least several months indoors, making sure there's good airflow all around the blanks should stabilize the wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spindlebox Posted October 7, 2022 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2022 Well I'm not going to simply be buying guitar blanks for my work - I'll be using reclaimed wood and things like that. So something like that will help me with A number of different scenarios, To establish a baseline, or if something is even worth grabbing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted October 7, 2022 Report Share Posted October 7, 2022 34 minutes ago, spindlebox said: I'll be using reclaimed wood and things like that They're most likely good stuff unless they've been exposed to continuous flooding. Properly stabilized in indoor climate for decades... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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