Wagner Moisture Meter

But with the absence of pins comes the ability to finally know what's going on in the middle of our precious boards. The Wagner MMC220 is a digital meter that registers up to about 3/4" beneath the surface. It is an extended range meter, meaning that it will register up to about 30% moisture content and will read boards that are as heavy as a .70 specific gravity. In practice you look up the specific gravity of the wood species that you're using from the included small handbook. You enter that value into the meter and away you go. The meter takes care of all of the conversions and simply reads out the moisture content. You do have the ability to set the meter and then slide it across your board, taking a continuous reading from edge to end to center of mass. Interestingly, it's instructive to watch the moisture content number take a nose dive at the edges and ends, proving that the moisture content in the center of a board really is more than at the ends. The Wagner is not the cheapest meter on the block. But when the alternative is to leave deep holes in what should be blemish-free faces of possibly expensive boards the tradeoff is worth it. The wood species conversion chart packs into the carry case along with the meter, giving you the ability to trot this out to your local lumber yard and get a good insight into your lumber before you buy. And the lumber yard people aren't going to holler at you for leaving marks in wood that you don't intend to purchase.