I have some walnut and white oak 6/4 from Fine Lumber so I believe it’s already kiln-dried, I am wondering how I should reduce the moisture content from the 14% it is reading now down to furniture level 6-8%? Will that take a long time no matter what? Thanks!
Hey Sarah, the moisture of anything coming out of Fine Lumber should already be 6-8%. How confident are you in the moisture reading?
I’m not sure, but it is reading that consistently across all of the pieces. I got these recently, right after it had rained for about week in a row, so not sure if that could be why?
It’s a pinless meter so maybe I need to bring one in and compare to what the meter in the workshop says?
@AerethIsBat Sarah, where are you storing the wood? In your garage or in an air conditioned space? The MC of the wood will not be the same in the two different locations.
I find my wood stored in my garage ( I do not store any in my home) has a consistent MC of 11 -13% and I consider that “ready to build” furniture. I use a pin less MC meter and find it perfect for all 6/4 materials or less. If I was building with 8/4 of thicker and got the same MC 0f 11-13%, I would let the wood rest an extra 2-3 weeks before building with with. Remember, the MC of the wood will vary in the various regions across the state, country and world. You only need to worry about the MC where you live and I’ve never seen wood at 6-8% MC here in the Austin area.
While wood does move and there plenty of line wood movement calculators, I believe there is a tendency to over exaggerate it. Let me add the caveat that the size of the individual pieces must be taken into account such as large panels.
Once the piece is completed and moved into a AC environment, there is the greater likelihood the the MC will decrease from the garage storage MC and you will not have to worry about the small MC variance. If the piece is being sold and shipped, then you will definitely want to ensure you have a clear understanding of the MC of the final location–and whether its an indoor or outdoor piece.
If you want to meet up or talk and dive further into this, I’m happy to do that.
Michael
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Adding on to Michael’s spot on answer:
Don’t look for 6% moister content. Look for a stable moister content. 6% might be perfect today, but in three months 11% might be perfect. If you have a long or thick board, it could read differently in different places so look for consistency throughout as opposed to measuring one spot.
Bonus:
Moisture content sitting in the open warehouse at Fine Lumber might be one number, in your garage or a workshop in AC environment might be a different number.
Consider not where you live, but where the furniture will live. If you build something here and ship it to Denver Colorado, the wood will shrink since it is much more dry there. If you build something in Denver and ship it here then the wood will expand.
Joinery that allows for wood movement exists for all these reasons to help keep furniture stable between seasonal change as well as to assist with more drastic changes in a location move. You don’t need to do handcut dovetails to see the affect: In one form, screwing a table top into the base might have some problems later (ask me how I know), but screw joints that allow for wood movement will last much longer. Pocket hole screws are pretty good at the latter
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Thank you @Rolo and @Glory2God for the insightful answers! I’m keeping the pieces indoors right now as that’s the only space I really can put them. I am putting together a desktop and none of the pieces are huge- only up to 36” x 6” would be the biggest one, so I guess I might not need to worry too much? Should they be fine to use with the SawStop if I’ve had them indoors for a couple weeks?
My plan was to just glue them edge to edge after milling and maybe use some dowels, is there another way I should consider? Thanks again both, very helpful information for my first project!
Sarah, are you building the desk to a set of plans either made by you or purchased?
I truly believe the best way to offer help is in person going over the plans or helping you make them. Once whomever has a better idea of the scale of the project and joinery, they can offer insight into the best methodology. The joinery is the most critical aspect of your project as this is what provides it its strength and stability.
To answer your specific questions of using dowels, yes you certainly can them The more important criteria is where to place the, how many and how deep.
Is there another way? Absolutely! The domino (which is currently down for repairs) is a great way. You can use a router and make loose tenons yourself or you can go with traditional mortise & tenon joinery.
I’m more than happy to meet up and go over your project design with you and help and/or teach you while building your desk.
Michael
Wood Shop Lead
Hello Michael,
Thank you for the response. I had just put something simple together as my plan. I would appreciate feedback for sure, and can bring a few of the pieces and my diagram I have in if there was time in the next couple weeks you would be in the workshop? Thanks!
Great advice given above but… they are missing the part when you finish your project and seal it with stains, waxes, or clear coats, it makes it far less prone for moisture to penetrate the lumber. Depending on how well you seal the final product you don’t really need to worry too much about movement as all is going to expand and contract in unison. The only exception is if you frame in large panels with no room for movement. A good practice is to do the same thing in the inside/bottom as you did to the outside/top. Meaning if you put two coats of clear finish on the outside, do the same to the inside. Any end grain that is exposed has to be sealed as best as you can. Don’t be too scared about moisture. Think about this: solid wood furniture is moved from one end of the world to another and you don’t hear often people having to replace it because of moisture damage. If you cut off the colored ends of the boards when you got them home you invited moisture to penetrate your lumber a lot easier. That paint is actually arbor seal that prevents moisture to enter the lumber and keep it consistent during transport and storage. Normally is done at the sawmill. Moisture readers are prone to be incorrect. If you use the pin/electrode kind, you have to insert them parallel to the grain. Pin-less meters you have to follow the steps of the manufacturer. Both degrade readings according to the age of the battery. So, in my opinion don’t over think it, if your lumber is stable such as not cracking/splitting, nor cupping, or warping, you should be ok. If any of the above are happening or start to happen when you’re working with the lumber, you really have bigger issues other than just moisture content. I can tell you i have built a lot of furniture and only worry about moisture or wood movement when large panels (over 12” wide) are to be framed in.
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Hi Sarah,
Sounds great! I’m going to DM you so we can coordinate and date and time to meet up.