Do you test the moisture percentage in a blank before turning it? If so what % are you looking for and what do you use to test?

i look for less than 10% ...

pin moisture meter... in many places around the stock, and then right after i rough it out on the bandsaw

jeffe

Or you can weigh it on a good scale. If it is drying it will lose weight over time
until it's relatively dry.

I purchased 40 english walnut blanks about amonth ago with the hope of reselling them for enough profit to keep a few for free. I ordered a pin meter from Harbor Frieght and it arrived today. Of the three that I tested one showed 8% and the other two showed 7%.

quote:

Originally posted by ElCaballero:
I purchased 40 english walnut blanks about amonth ago with the hope of reselling them for enough profit to keep a few for free. I ordered a pin meter from Harbor Frieght and it arrived today. Of the three that I tested one showed 8% and the other two showed 7%.

It's very easy for the exterior to dry quickly, the internal moisture comes out as it feels like it. That's why Jeffe was talking about measuring after the band saw cuts; to check the content deeper in the wood.

By weighing the blank you get to know if water is still migrating to the exterior over time. But that is a slow process.

If you're in a hurry, just advertise the method of your testing and don't oversell the moisture content as dead-nuts accurate.

The blanks have been cut for six years, however they were in a humid part the north west. I now have them in the house in very dry conditions. I have inspected each one for any warpage and have found none.

I do not have a mosture meter, but may get one some day. I really and truly do know how accurate the are.

I live in a very hot humid climate, I would guess getting a blank down to 12 - 14 % would be about as dry as I could get one.

I think weighing is the best option. A wood cutter buddy of mine said if you cut a blank and dusts up its dry.........but I have no idea if that is a good indicator. But it sounds like it makes sense. If I had as many as I think you have, I'd cut one down middle to use for a two piece and check it with a mosture meter and see if it dusts up on your saw blade. I would say checking one cut in the middle would be a better measurement than one the outside.

But I would venture to say, that running sawdust from a blank through a moisture meter like grain and rice and etc is tested with would be a very good indicator.

I never have a moisture problem in my fiber glass and plastic stocks.

quote:

Originally posted by p dog shooter:
I never have a moisture problem in my fiber glass and plastic stocks.

To each his own, but I believe tupperware belongs in the kitchen.

quote:

Originally posted by Gringo Cazador: If I had as many as I think you have, I'd cut one down middle to use for a two piece and check it with a mosture meter and see if it dusts up on your saw blade. I would say checking one cut in the middle would be a better measurement than one the outside.

Good idea! I have one that would be best suited as a two peice anyway!

Now the ends are sealed on all of these blanks, if I cut one in two do I need to seal th fresh cut ends? If so what product is best?

as long as they have been drying I wouldnt worry about it. If I recall they were cut 6 yrs ago.

If I was set on sealing the ends, I seal with whatever I had on hand, auto undercoating, tree purning sealer, roof sealer..........whatever you got. Might not be the perfect thing to use, but it would work for me.

quote:

Originally posted by ElCaballero:

quote:

Originally posted by Gringo Cazador: If I had as many as I think you have, I'd cut one down middle to use for a two piece and check it with a mosture meter and see if it dusts up on your saw blade. I would say checking one cut in the middle would be a better measurement than one the outside.

Good idea! I have one that would be best suited as a two peice anyway!

Now the ends are sealed on all of these blanks, if I cut one in two do I need to seal th fresh cut ends? If so what product is best?

A thick layer of candle wax will work.

EC-

The pin type moisture meters can tell you what the moisture is in the "skin" or outside of the piece. They only register as deep as the probes are. Like tiggertate said, the moisture migrates from the middle to the outside to evaporate to the atmosphere...therefore the wood in the middle will normally be wetter than the skin. Over time it will stabilize to the ambient moisture content. Time is your friend in this; you can rush it in a kiln, but you run the risk of "honeycomb" or collapse of the cell walls and weakening the piece.

Cut out an oversize pattern, weigh and see if it loses weight over time. You could also use your pin meter on the fresh cut (to track that point over time with the moisture meter).

The more figured the piece, the more the moisture content will vary from point to point in it.

I don't think you would need to coat the ends if you cut it because after six years it is pretty darn dry. The end coat (wax) is used to keep it from losing moisture too quickly (when green) and end-checking (splitting).

Bob

In most areas of the country, the "dry" is about 12%. This is Winter in some areas and Summer in others. The desert areas will find "dry" at about 7-8%. However, different meters will give diffeent moisture levels. Also important is that the amount of "dryness" is not the only consideration. A blank needs to stabilize for about a year after it has become dry. A general rule is that black, Claro, and Bastogne in the 2 1/2-3" thickness will take about 3 years to dry and another to stabilize. English will take 1-1 1/2 Years to dry and another to stabilize. In wet climates, this total may be 10 years (England, etc).

I used to send blanks to Warsaw Missouri (Fajens) to be routed. They invariably put the blanks in the kiln to dry them even though the blanks were over 20 years old.....

Fajen's wanted their stocks to be 6% or less before making into stocks.

Unless one lives inb a very arid climate the stocks may never get less than 10 % no matter how long you dry them.

FWIW I think Fajen's number worked well.....6%

It was a foolish thing for Fajen to do. One big problem is sending wood somewhere to be inlet for your gun that is greatly different from your own in humidity. It is especially bad if they fit your metal to the stock. There can be serious growth or shrinkage when it returns to you. I have had these problems when I send an inletting job to damp areas. They shrink when they return to me.

I moisture test my stocks in high and dry southern Idaho and they seem to settle at about 6%....

In a more humid clime I would think they would return to 8% or a bit more in time...

If I buy a stock blank, I will not use it until it reaches about 6 to 8% then half turn it and give it another 90 days before having the turning process finished....or if I make it from a blank I will take it down to rough finished and let it sit for awhile and be sure it does not move...These little practices are what make a difference in a stocks ability not to change zero on you for years to come, along with proper cure and proper layout of course....IMO....

Ray is correct in this and it is not just because of moisture. Highly figured blanks can have serious internal stresses. David Trevallion (ex-Purdey) heads up the action on shotguns (inlets the action area) then leaves the action/wood outside to undergo stress relief and undergo humidity changes. This goes on for several weeks. Then the stock is finished.