How do you determine a piece is dry enough for final turning?

[Glen Blanchard]

After a blank has been rough turned and put aside for drying, how do you tell if it's ready to be put back on the lathe? I would think a moisture meter is the tool of choice, but if it is, what moisture content is considered low enough for final turning? 12%? If not a moisture meter, what?

In an attempt to kill 2 birds with one stone, any recommendations for a decent moisture meter? Don't they make them now that don't have the prongs that will mark the stock?

[Jon Nuckles]

The surest way is to weigh the piece when you rough turn it and as it dries. When it stops losing weight, it is as dry as it will get in its current environment and is ready to re-turn. I should note that I don't do this. I just rough out enough pieces that I always have plenty in reserve and am not in a hurry to get to them.

[Michael Mills]

It depends a lot on your specific area, Corpus Christi shows a low to high of 14.2 to 15.5, on the other side El Paso show a low to high of 5.8 to 9.8.
http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fplrn/fplrn268.pdf (http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fplrn/fplrn268.pdf)
I use a Delmhorts pin type but I think most people just weigh. Several months back someone posted that HD had pin type for about $30… may not be completely accurate but 1% off shouldn’t matter.
I just stick it in the foot (base) right through the paper bag, if it’s dry enough I open the bag to find out what I will turn.:)

I've never had the pin holes show up.

[Eric Holmquist]

I take an approach similar to Michael, I just keep enough in the queue drying that I rarely have to worry about it. For the occasional piece that I need to put back on the lathe before it's turn, I use a pin type moisture meter. Keep in mind, it's a rough out, not a finished piece so you will be turning every surface which will remove any minute pinpricks that the pins leave.

I picked up the HD unit on sale for $10

[Clint Baxter]

If you are going to use a moisture meter, you will need to be able to determine what the moisture content of the wood should be using the relative humidity of the air around you. For instance, if your relative humidity is 30%, the moisture content of your wood would be at 6% as it achieved equilibrium. Bumping the relative humidity to 50% increases the moisture content to 9%, while you should see a moisture content of around 12% at 65% RH. I picked up a digital scale with sufficient capacity, 25#, that will read in grams of weight. Makes it easy to determine when your wood is at equilibrium with your environment. You will see a continual decrease in weight as the wood dries. Once it stays at the same reading, (I generally want it there for at least three or more readings), or the weight increases, (you will see this when your turning is at equilibrium and the RH increases), you're ready to finish turn your item.

Clint

[Steve bellinger]

I do as has been said, i use a prong moisture meter, and a elec scales. I'll keep checking the weight on the scales till it stops loosing weight, and also check the moister content. Don't know if i need to do bouth, but i hate the looks of a piece that warps,after i think it's dry, and i finish turning it.

[Dennis Ford]

Most of the time, I go by the amount of warping that has taken place since the piece was roughed out. I don't expect the piece to be perfectly round after finishing as my shop has higher humidity than my house and the piece will move after finishing. If you have a moisture meter; compare the reading of your work-bench to the rough-outs. My work-bench runs 12 - 14% depending on the season. (according to the cheap meter from Lowes)

[Bernie Weishapl]

I bought on of the home depot pin type meters on sale for $14.95. It does work pretty well. Like Eric I have 60 or so bowls in the drying queue. When I am ready I will weigh the bowl for a few days before putting it on the lathe. Most times these bowls have been drying for 8 months or so.

[Barry Elder]

I bought a digital scale a few years ago for weighing rough-outs and found it works very well. I could even watch the weight change with the relative humidity. It's a sure thing but you have to realize that "dry" is a relative thing depending on your location.

[Pat Scott]

I date all of my rough outs. I try to go by the old rule of "1 year per inch", or sometimes you'll see it as "1 year per inch plus a year". For this reason I have a lot of rough outs and will just pick one that's at least a year old before I finish turn. A lot depends on the wood and where you live. I could probably finish turn pieces a lot sooner than I do, but I don't need to because I have so many to choose from. My Cottonwood and Box Elder blanks dry really quick, so I could finish turn them within 3-6 months if I wanted. I do try and let my Walnut and Maple blanks dry a year before finish turning. I rough out my big platter blanks as 2" wide slabs and will not touch one of these until they have dried 2 years. I don't like spending time to finish a piece only to have it start rocking on the foot because it wasn't dry enough!

I do have a pinless moisture meter that I use on the bottom and on the rim. Going by the 10% rough-out rule, a 10" bowl has a 1" rim so that is wide enough for my moisture meter to check. You can't use a pinless on the side since the surface is curved, but I'd imagine a pin type meter would work there. I always use the bottom reading as the determining factor since the walls will dry faster than the base.

[Don Nicholas]

At what point does one remove the wax coating? I assume no drying is taking place, is this correct? I have several pieces of 3"x3"x12" Rosewood that is completely coated with wax that have had in the shop about 8 Months.
Thank you for any info or suggestions.

[Glen Blanchard]

I assume that the wax is left intact until the piece will be turned. Let's see if I'm correct, as others will chime in.