The reason the one guy said to do the garage thing is because these are fresh barrel staves and will be wet (no smoking in the shop
). If I take them into the house with how low the moisture content is they run a high risk of splitting and cracking. The garage has higher moisture content so that and the covering for the first part is to allow the heavy moisture to come out slower. I will try out the tunnel setup you suggested though to see if I can get it below 13%.
As for measuring moisture content I'll look for a meter. The kitchen is mine so I'll be the one killing me if something happens. Besides the idea of alcohol soaked boards in the microwave doesn't sound too healthy.....
As for the boards they are quarter sawn so I have end grain along to how surface.
Thxs,
Jim