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Am I the only one who learned this the hard way about wet lumber?
I built a outdoor bench with some fresh cedar last week and now the joints are pulling apart... I didn't think to check the moisture content before I started. Turns out it was way too high and the wood shrank as it dried. Always test your wood with a meter first, or you might end up redoing the whole thing like me...
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rileysullivan6mo ago
Been there, dude. Moisture meters save lives.
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mason_knight6mo ago
Moisture meters do more than save lives... they save projects. Even if you don't own one, you can sometimes feel how heavy wet lumber is compared to dry stock. That shrinkage you saw is the worst... it doesn't just pull joints apart a little, it can warp the whole piece beyond fixing. I always let fresh wood sit in my shop for a few weeks before I even measure for cuts now. Learned that after a garden gate turned into a twisted mess... you really don't want to do the work twice.
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emery4556mo ago
Ugh that reminds me of the time I used plywood that sat in my garage all winter. It felt fine when I brought it inside, but man, it drank up the house humidity like crazy. Two days after I built a bookshelf, the panels puffed up and swelled over the edges of the frame. Total loss. Now I'm paranoid and stick even sheet goods in the living space for a week before I touch them.
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