This oak round had been cut from an 8' log I had laying around just over a year. The weather has been hot and humid with dew points running right around 70 for the most part - pretty typical stuff for south Jersey in July/August. I cut this round from the middle of the log and let it sit like this. How much time do you think had passed between me cutting this round and taking this picture?
While it's impossible to tell for sure, I'm going to go with 5. I know last year we milled a soaking wet birch in below freezing temps and didn't paint the ends until we got home 3 or so hours after we were done. The end of one of the slabs (3 1/2" thick) was already starting to show small cracks.
Luckily for you it’s less of a gadget and more of a doohickey, so it might be safe for you to get one.
They can check really quick whether they sit in sun or not. It is funny that many folks see some checking on the wood ends and right away think it is super dry. It it...on the ends.
Aw man, you took my guess............I should type faster. Wait, is there a prize for the correct guess?
The time between cutting and taking the picture was a little under 72 hours so just shy of 3 full days.
I'm not saying it's dry. I know it's far from it. I was just surprised to see so much checking with dew points so high. I will take summer drying over winter drying all the time though.
