Official Luthiers Forum!

I need to monitor the humidity in my shop and also measure the wood so
I'd appreciate hearing about the tools you like.

Thank you Filippo.

I searched Amazon and found many but reviews were so mixed about accuracy that
I got discouraged and thought folks here could take the guess work out.

http://www.stewmac.com/Shopping?actn=se ... &x=25&y=13

That one from StewMac seems best in this price range. I have one of these in my shop among some cheaper ones that came with some guitar cases I bought. The cheap ones are all over the map and are essentially useless except to encourage me to trust the StewMac one more.

I'm going to be doing some construction in my shop soon after which I'll have more or less an isolated wood storage. I'm going to try to find a more accurate system but I wouldn't be opposed to using two or three of those StewMac units....and I'd fairly trust the average reading of those.

http://www.wagnermeters.com/woodworking.php

As for moisture meters....I feel you can't do without a fairly decent one. I'd use a pinless type but when you shop make sure it can read a depth of 3/4". Some will only read to a very shallow depth and if you have a piece of 8/4 lumber...you're not getting the right picture I fear.

I have a Wagner MM205. It has performed flawlessly and I'm glad I bought it. It isn't cheap.

_________________
I read Emerson on the can. A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds...true...but a consistent reading of Emerson has its uses nevertheless.

StuMusic

I am using the Caliber III. I’ve had others recommend this particular brand and model to me in the past. I think this is the same one that is available from Stew Mac.

http://www.amazon.com/Western-Humidor-C ... hygrometer

When I looked for that link I noticed they now have a Caliber IV. I don’t know anything about that one. If you do a search there was some discussion\testing for this particular Hygrometer a couple of years ago.

The Caliber III at Amazon is the one I was looking at; I think it's the same one at Stew too.

The MMC205 looks ideal.

Stuart I had an area planned to use for storing the woods and decided to park my softail there; thinking I
could figure out what to do later.
The plus is that I had the entire shop interior walls spray foamed so I'm hoping that it won't be very hard to
control the whole building. It is very, very tight. ( The "dirty work" sawing is all done in an isolated room; it is sealed to the building and can be open to the outside.)

I haven't had an issues in the last few years I've been in it but I just don't like not knowing the specifics.

Thank you guys. I feel comfortable headin' on with your help.