Any woodworkers?

Test piece

 

But what am I looking for.. how am I testing it? That is what I don’t understand

 

Well first and foremost how long has it been drying?

Where is wood from?

where is it stored?

This should get you in the ballpark if it’s been dry stored for 6-12 months per inch thickness should be near dry.

Stain should soak in evenly. Outer coat should go on and cure as normal

 

Moisture meter. You can get a general moisture meter for about $30 ish.

 

Best way really

 

What is the meter supposed to read for a ready to seal and stain piece of wood? Is a moisture meter test enough alone to determine if dry enough for staining or also must perform staining test?

 

Add to this basically if its weight has quit losing its dry, from what ive read. But yiu have to have weighed it from start.

 

It also kind of depends on where you are in the country and what your normal humidity is. Some places less than 11%, for me in Michigan about 12% to 13% is good. Arizona will be much less.

 

I recommend a pinless moisture meter. You can use it directly on your actual work lumber (no holes). You can pick up a one of the knock off one on Amazon for $15-20 or a Klein Tool version for around $40

 

Florida

 

Will have to pick one up

 

Ever hear of "woodworker porn"?

 

Could probably be a little higher since it's very humid there.

 

This is also part of woodworking for me. Emptying the scrap bin and burning it.
I've got a waxed canvas firewood bag that makes it easier to cary the scrap upstairs.

Happiness is an empty scrap box.

And I have a burn box outside.



The last of it is in the fire pit.

Good bed of very hot coals.

And another empty box.

Mission accomplished.

 

Aftrer the burn I went back down to the shop and sanded the face of 7 of these crosses with 400 grit and gave them a coat of wax.
These are going to church and will be for donations to the church benevolence fund. Any donation of $20 or more and you can choose one to take home.

This one has some nice figure in it.

So I used some Johnson paste wax on these because it's thinner and easier to apply and get a nice thin coat and it's easy to buff off. I prefer minwax for my machine surfaces as it's thicker and I think protects the cast iron surfaces better.
You can't get the Johnson paste wax in Michigan anymore, I'm not sure if they even make it still. The environmental nazis have eliminated most any product with petroleum based solvents. Pretty soon good old rustoleum oil based paint will disappear too.

 

Plaque for inside the frame is done. A dark-brown wood I found in the odds-and-ends bin at the wood store ... $2/lb. This stuff is hard ... maybe someone here recognizes it. If the minor not-straight in the edge of the paper-slot are too much, I did try. Small splinters on the back around the cutout were sanded down to "good enough".

The grain is multi-direction, mostly vertical. Cutting that much out of poplar board let the top part break off ... I needed a better wood to deliver a lifetime-memory-piece.

 

That looks great. Wood looks like walnut to me but I’m no expert

 

Took 7 crosses to church today, 3 sold right away. Good start tu fund the church benevolence fund for when people are going through a hardship.
So I got started on the next batch of blanks I had prepared. Started the pattern routing. Man I was really surprised how well the Catalpa routed, especially with the grain changing direction every which way. The box elder is another story, very chippy and prone to tearout.
I got a dozen box elder done.
And the flame box elder my wife claimed, lol.
I had one Chip out on it but I couldn't get the piece to fit right to glue back in so I'll just smooth it over and hope the roundover bit cleans it up. I think no burnt edge on this flame box elder piece because it is so nice.

Got a dozen box elder to go.