Wood Moisture Meter

[PaulD]

This is really an offshoot from the "Thickness Caliper" thread. Someone reference a dial indicator on sale at Harbor Freight so I checked out the link and looked at other items by Cen-Tech. The list included this 2 pin moisture meter (http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=2757) for $19.99.

I occasionally shop at Harbor Freight, but my Junk Tool Alarm usually goes off if I'm even in the vicinity of a HF ad so I'm skeptical about the precision and reliability of this thing.

Does anybody have experience with this Cen-Tech moisture meter? Even if the reliability sucks, if the precision is there you could buy 1 to use and 3 spares and come in cheaper than any meter I've seen from a "reputable" woodworking tool supplier.

Still... my Junk Tool Alarm is screaming in my head just having the HF Website up in my browser! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif No offense to you Harbor Freight afficianados... I realize the fill a particular niche and I do occasionally buy some good, usable tools there.

Paul Doubek

[sunburst]

My Junk Tool Alarm went off as soon as I started reading your post!

...but then I looked at the link, and got to thinking...
Electronics have come a long way. I wouldn't be surprised if someone could make a resistance-reading moisture meter that would work fairly well for that price, especially if it was made in some low-wage part of the world. With all the things a cell phone can do these days, why not put a couple of pins on there sticking out of the end of the phone? You could check your lumber between phone calls, take a picture of the wood, record a description, and designate a special ring tone for when the wood is dry.
OK, maybe not, but I'm waiting for the answer too.

FWIW, If I get a moisture meter, it will be pinless, because I'd like to be able to check instrument wood without poking holes in it.
As it is, my wood is usually in my shop, or other storage so long before I use it, that I don't really need a moisture meter. There was a pinless meter at the shop where I used to work, and it was uaually surprising to me how soon the wood was dry after it was in the shop.

[Antlurz]

You are correct about the variability at Harbor freight. If I ever get around to buying their neat little metal working mini-lathe, I know ahead of time it will require a bit of TLC and careful shimming and adjustments to bring it up to specs, but once there, it will, and has proven to be a great little lathe. The dozen 6" bar clamps I bought there last year on sale for $2.98 each beat the ones at Menards by better than $15 apiece, and I really don't mind that they were painted a different color or had a different sticker glued to them. They came out of the very same mold.

The knock off of the Binks mini touch up spray gun I bought for less than $20 which then went to less than $10 a week later is every bit the quality of my old Binks.

On the other hand, I made the mistake of thinking maybe their air regulators were a good deal and found out better instantly. I value my knuckles FAR to much to ever trust them to any of their cheap box end wrenchs or cheap socket sets. I also value the shape of the bolt heads too much to round them off with said tools.

I think they have improved their overall quality a lot in the last three or four years, but some things are still very much below par. You need to pick and choose.

My personal biggest hangup is dealing with a communist bloc country.

Ron

[arbarnhart]

I would be far less likely to buy HF goods if there wasn't one in town. They ask no questions on recent returns, especially if you want another and offer a "no questions" full replacement warranty for a small (compared to item price) annual fee for as long as you care to pay it.

Politics are not part of the equation for me; I can't figure out which people (innocents or oppressors) would be hurt worse by a boycot and if you go somewhere else you are often buying stuff off the same line with better QA and packaging.