Bought a $400 moisture meter and it's the only reason I didn't ruin a walnut table

I was about to start finishing a live edge slab I'd been drying for a year. The old 'knock test' said it was ready. The meter showed a 16% reading in the core, which is way too high. Letting it dry another six months saved me from a finish that would have cracked and peeled in weeks. Who else actually uses one of these, or do you still trust the old methods?

4 comments

4 Comments

nancyg142mo ago

Old woodworkers never needed fancy gadgets.

jessej232mo ago

My grandpa built his whole house with just a hand saw and a hammer. The stuff he made lasted longer than anything I see today. They just knew how to work the material.

murray.cora14d ago

That cherry story proves gadgets have their place though.

kim_ramirez32mo ago

My buddy almost lost a whole batch of cherry for a dining set. He air dried it for two years, figured it was good. Borrowed a meter on a whim. The reading was like 19% in the middle. He would have glued it all up and had joints failing in a year. That little gadget saved him thousands in wood and time.