question about moisture content

[cryostallion]

I have a bunch of white ash logs, staves, billets seasoning.  I am using a pin-type moisture meter and of course get different readings depending on how deep the pins are stuck into the wood.  my question:  if i'm getting a reading of about 8.5-9.5% just below the surface, does it matter that it reads more around 11% when the pins are shoved in all the way?  is this ready to be a bow or what?  the stave i'm testing is near-bow dimensions.

[sailordad]

nevr used a meter
i just tap one end on the concrete floor
if its dry it will make a nice ringing sound

[wally]

I've never used a meter so I don't know.
I usually skin the log and split it into bow size bits of wood, then, while still green, trim it down roughly to the shape I want but leaving about 1/4" over size.
This will dry quicker but may twist a bit so I usually strap tightly to a board. In Summer dry enough for a bow is about 2 month, in winter about 6 months. I live in London England so temperatures are about 20-26 summer. Winter is 8 to 'I'm never leaving the fireplace again'.

[aaron]

i have used that type of moisture meter- also with varying results like yours- never could figure it out... also i accidentally poked holes in my nice ring-chased BL stave in the BACK. oops.
now i just "look up" the MC on a graph that is based on Temp and Relative humidity. If you store it at a known temp and RH, it's MC will be given by the graph. i think this link is it....
http://www.p1m.com/EQ.pdf
good luck

[VMR]

Sailordad's method is probably the most practical but if you’ve spent a lot of time around heavy machinery you might not be able to tell the ringing you hear due to tinnitus from a stave ready to become a bow.

The chart at the link Aaron provided shows a band of acceptable MCs between about 50-70% relative humidity (RH) within a wide range of temperatures.
If you want to figure out what the average RH has been where you live during the months your wood has been drying, use this link: 

                                                         http://www.cityrating.com/relativehumidity.asp

The info at this website also shows what you already knew about RH being lower in the afternoon than in the morning, so it may be best to save your tillering until the afternoon when your bow will have a lower MC due to lower RH.

[adb]

I have one of those moisture meters as well, and in my experience, they don't work well. Ideal moisture content is 6-9%, but how does one arrive at that number? Short answer for me is experience, I guess. If I've cut wood myself, I let it season for a minimum of 3 years at an RH of about 60%.
I also judge a staves readiness by it's weight. If it's considerably lighter than it was green, and the weght seems to have stabilised, then I start to work it. This is all for staves, mind you, as kiln dried boards are ready to work the day you buy them.

[George Tsoukalas]

I have one too and love it. Use it all the time. What I do is begin making the bow. If I get a reading that is too high (I like 6-10 % depending on the wood) then I stop and let the wood dry. I would 9-10 % for ash.  Jawge

[cryostallion]

thanks for all the replies! good info, though no one has answered my question .  george, when you take your readings, how far in are you pushing the pins in order to get that reading?  that's what i'm wanting to know.