Originally Posted by
Kevin Jenness
To measure mc of thick wood with a pin meter you would ideally have pins that penetrate to the core to establish the moisture gradient. Rod suggests one method to achieve that. Some meters come with a slide hammer to drive the pins to depth, some woods are too hard to drive long pins without pre-drilling. You may not want pin holes in your finished piece. Measuring mc in a thick slab with short pins is a waste of time.
With a capacitance meter like the Lignomat SD the values are dependent on the assumed specific density of the sample and the depth range of the instrument relative to the sample thickness.
What species are you drying? Thickness? Drying conditions?
A simple way to monitor drying progress without elaborate equipment is periodic weighing with a scale. When the piece stops losing weight it has achieved equilibrium with the ambient humidity.