Moisture meter for staves

[kiltedcelt]

 Just curious how many of you guys use a moisture meter to determine when your staves are ready to become bows. I'm starting to accumulate some staves but they're all pretty fresh cut and I want to know when I'll be able to start tillering them without having to weigh them for weeks on end until I get a stable weight. Also, it seems like a moisture meter would be a good idea for when you have to steam something. That way you could check it afterward to determine when it had dried enough to go back to tillering. Also, as far as meters go, any opinions on pinned versus pinless? It seems like with a pinned meter you could only use that on the belly wood for obvious reasons, but a pinless meter would allow you to take measurements on multiple areas of a stave without causing damage.

[sailordad]

no meter for me
i usually leave green staves sit in the garage rafyers for 2 yrs before i touch them
and then if i tap them on the concrete floor and they dont make a hollow ringing soun,then they sit some more

[osage outlaw]

I don't use one either.  I let the stave sit in the garage for a year or so, then reduce it to a rough bow shape and let it sit for about a month before I start bending it.  I did just by a Relative Humidity gauge for the garage.

[Pat B]

I bought a moisture meter years ago and never used it. I gave it to Justin Snyder in Utah so he could be sure his wood was not too dry!    Like Sailordad I go by sound and feel. That comes from experience. You can get your staves to floor tiller stage without harming them. They will dry faster this way too. If they are real fresh(at floor tiller stage) you should attach them to a form(2x4) to prevent warping.
  When you start working a stave and it begins to bend it should recover quickly and not be sluggish. If it starts to take set and you are not overpowering it it is still to wet. The more bows you build the easier it is to read the wood. Be sure to listen to what it has to say or it will bite you!  

[George Tsoukalas]

I use it all the time. Right down to the first stringing of the stave.  You can't beat it. Jawge

[Pappy]

Got one but hardly ever use it.
   Pappy

[Del the cat]

I got one but only used it a couple of times, it's a handy check if you are trying to season some timber quickly.
But experience soon takes over (much like the rest of bow making!)
Del

[dragonman]

I live in a damp place, so I ot a pin meter, its good for staves but you dont want to keep putting holes in your bows and I dont see how the other type can give a good reading without getting under the surface? The surface readings are way lower than the inside, the deeper you push in the pins the higher the reading. But still I find it usefull, especially with seasoning green wood

[El Destructo]

I got one....the Wife uses it to check Her House Plants.... .....I always go go by sound and also I weigh them after I reduce them....and weekly after that....and when they quit losing weight....they are.dry enough to make a Bow...jmo