LANCASTER, Pa. – Gene Wengert, the Wood Dr., will deliver the keynote speech to open the second day of Wood Pro Expo. Wengert’s presentation, free to all WPE attendees and exhibitors, is scheduled for 8 to 9 a.m. Friday, October 18.
Wengert will also tackle some of the costly and largely preventable issues related to moisture content in a presentation at Wood Pro Expo Lancaster. Wengert will present “The correct moisture content for kiln-dried lumber: establishing reasonable MC targets and measuring MC,” at 11 a.m. Friday, Oct. 18 at the Spooky Nook Sports complex.
Copies of the presentation and a related talk on moisture content are available here.
Wengert said he will present the latest business impacts of many of the topics he regularly covers, including wood economic conditions and employee issues. He also plans to reserve time to field questions from the audience on technical challenges they encounter with their lumber and panel resources
Wengert said questions submitted by readers about moisture content, gluing and machining defects, and low material yields have long been staples of his column. He said he is seeing more management issues involving cost and profits, especially from managers that are new in the industry.
Wengert closely monitors North American woodworking industry trends and wonders aloud where things are headed.
Wood Pro Expo is a regional event for woodworking businesses that brings together suppliers and experts for a localized presentation of equipment and supply solutions. WPE includes a strong educational program on best practices for shop production - including CNC basics, employee recruitment, finishing, lean manufacturing, business management, software, and shop safety - and an expo floor with equipment and supplies geared to small and medium-size shops.
The Fall 2019 Wood Pro Expo takes place Oct. 17-18 at the Spooky Nook Sports Center in Manheim, Pa., near Lancaster. For information visit woodproexpolancaster.com.
Download Links:
- Moisture Content Handout (DOC)
- Your Business' Blood Pressure Handout (DOC)
- Your Business' Blood Pressure Slides (PDF)
YOUR BUSINESS’ BLOOD PRESSURE
Gene Wengert. The Wood Doctor is “IN”
OPPORTUNITIES TODAY
Economic conditions
Wood availability & quality
Employee issues
Manufacturing efficiency
ECONOMY
HOUSING STARTS as a predictor (yes and no)
Remodeling
Hotel & Motel
Population growth
WILL IT BE MADE OF/WITH WOOD IN THE USA?
Past trend for imports
Why can they control 60% of market?
We should
#1 determine customer definition of quality
#2 prompt delivery
#3 control cost
RESOURCE AVAILABILITY
Loss of China markets
Sawmill profit down
Shortage of loggers and logs
High capital & high value uses will pay whatever it takes to get enough wood
We should
#1 Get involved with forests, logging, sawing
#2 Consider non-solid-wood options
#3 Increase efficiency
EFFICIENCY
Employee
Machine
Purchasing
Purchasing Changes
MANAGEMENT
Measure Roughmill Performance - -
$ of raw material / sq. ft. of product
Who controls your future?
MOISTURE CONTENT
Gene Wengert , The Wood Doctor is “IN”
MOISTURE
Water is the lifeblood of a tree, so to speak. A living tree can contain as much water as wood, by weight. The bark is an excellent water barrier and keeps the water in the tree. But once we harvest the tree, cut it into logs and then saw the logs into lumber, the exposed wood begins to quickly lose this water- -a process that we call drying. We need to control this drying process so that the final product has the quality characteristics that we or our customer expects or needs.
Articles in IS&WM have discussed many important aspects of drying. This month we will discuss one of the basics: moisture content.
Wood does not change its size or shape (that is, shrink or swell or warp) in use except when its moisture changes
DEFINITIONS
Moisture Content. In lumber and solid wood, the definition of moisture content (MC) is the weight of water in a piece of wood compared to the oven-dry weight of the same piece of wood. (Oven-dry is assumed to be 0% MC.) The MC is always expressed as percent. Mathematically,
(Current weight - Oven-dry weight)
MC = -------------------------------------------------- x 100
Oven-dry weight
OR
Current weight
MC = [-------------------- -1] x 100
Oven-dry weight
The current weight, also called the wet weight or present weight, in these formulas is the weight at the time the MC is desired.
The oven-dry weight is obtained by putting the piece for which the MC is being measured into an oven at 215 to 217 º F until all the water is evaporated (the pieces stops losing weight). A fan in the oven is desirable. Oven-drying often requires 24 hours or more.
Final MC. The moisture content when the lumber leaves a kiln or other drying system is called the final MC. Hardwood lumber that is under 10% MC may be called kiln dried, especially by producers. For most buyers and users of kiln-dried lumber, kiln-dried means lumber that is 6% to 8% MC, or perhaps 5% to 7% MC. There is certainly some confusion about the exact definition. It would be best to use the term “kiln-dried” along with a MC range, such as “kiln-dried to 6.8% MC plus or minus 1.0% MC.
RH MC EMC Environment
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
100% 28% 28% Very wet; foggy
80 16 16 Tropical island; coastal climate; humid
65 12 12 Exterior in most of North America; Interior in coastal areas
50 9 9 Interior in summertime for most of North America
30 6 6 Interior in wintertime for most of North America; dry
0 0 0 Oven-Dry
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Exterior means outside climate, but not exposed to direct rain; Interior means inside an office or home.
Pin Meter Pin-Less Meter
Range: 6.5%
to 25% MC. Range: 4.0% to 25% MC
Species: minor corrections with USA species. Species: very sensitive to wood density changes
Temperature: + 1% MC for every 20 F cooler. Temperature: minor effect
Measures one spot; can get gradient. Measures an average under the meter
Slow due to driving pins. Needs air under the piece & Very fast
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