Wet wood - problem??

[agent511]

I am making a table top from quartersawn white oak 5/4, which will be about 20" x 24". I mail-ordered the material, which was shipped as two pieces about 6" wide by 50" long. I divided in 1/2 to 25", then jointed one edge, ripped the other to 5 1/4". three of the 4 boards were fine. One had a bad crook in the board rendering it unusable unless I planed it to about 3/4" thick.

I called the mail-order place, who replaced free of charge and sent me a piece about 6" x 25". Problem - it weighs a ton compared to the other boards.

I got out my never-used HF moisture meter that I bought for $9.99 - it doesn't work at all.

Let's assume that the new piece is very wet. What do I do - call mail-order people and have them replace it again? I hate to do that, and how can they match the water content to the pieces I previously got months ago. Is that the only solution? I can't let this sit for months and months

Thanks for any knowledgeable reply.

[RayintheUK]

Any way you can get another meter on it? I doubt that moisture alone will increase the weight that much, but oak can vary tremendously in density. If it's within acceptable moisture percentages and/or close to the moisture content of the existing boards, use it.

Ray.

[Ken Weaver]

What do I do - call mail-order people and have them replace it again?

What Ray said - and I suppose it would depend on what the ad said when you bought it. If advertised as "kiln" or "air" dried, then that would suggest unacceptable MC is grounds for calling them again.

[agent511]

When I get a chance, I will take the moisture meter back to HF (no receipt) see if they will replace. I mean time, I am taking the advice of you guys with more experience, and will go under the presumption that the piece is more likely to be more dense thatn it is to be so soaked as to make it heavier. I planed it up, and will treat it like the other pieces and I will see what happens. Thanks, all.

[John Hunter]

I picked up that meter when it was on sale too and mine works fine. Make sure you push the probes deep into the wood and give it a moment to take the reading.

[agent511]

There is a calibration test to run first. Mine won't even calibrate.

[John Hunter]

HF has always been good about returns so they should make it right.