IMPROVED TECHNIQUE FOR MEASURING MOISTURE-CONTENT GRADIENTS IN WOOD

A method for measuring moisture content gradients in solid wood and wood composites using a Forstner bit for layer sampling is described. The original layer weight is obtained by determining the weight change of the entire sample caused by shaving removal. The ovendry weight is the weight of the collected and dried shavings. The results of this method are more accurate than those of the bandsawing method because the limitations of the latter due to moisture loss and material loss during the preparation and weighing of the slices are eliminated.