Additional Lumber Needed

[AdamAronson]

Hi All,

Received another pair of 11" wide 8/4 ash boards yesterday which had (last Friday) been skip planed and ripped to 5 1/2". When I loaded them into the shop last night I decided to check their moisture content with my Ligno. The meter read ~8.2% at 3/4" - just a half a percent above the boards that are in my shop now and have been for 3 months.

Does anyone see any reason why I can't work these boards this weekend? I need to remill my long stretchers - my jointer fence was out of square - didn't notice until after I was finished.

Adam

[toddclippinger]

I wouldn't worry about it at that reading. Ideal moisture content is 6%-8% but with ambient humidity levels like you have the readings will most likely be in the 8'ish range.

When I was doing custom work in Ohio all my lumber was +/- a couple of decimal points off 8% and everything has worked out fine over time.

[toddclippinger]

I should expand a little more on my methods to insure wood stability. This is the procedure I use to help insure low-risk results as a professional.

First I try to pick the grain that best represents a stable board.

When I bring it in the shop I let it rest for a couple days to adjust to the temperature in my shop. My supplier's warehouse is much colder in the winter than my shop and in the summer it is not too bad, but the temperature differential can be cause for movement.

After a few days I chop the boards into slightly over-length sizes and just peel them open in the planer and on the jointer. Then I let them rest and acclimate a little more.

After a few more days I will check the material and continue with the project at that point. This process takes place over a week or 2 week period. This may seem like a long wait but you also have to keep in mind that I always have 2 or 3 projects going at one time and they overlap so I work non-stop.