Kasters Kustom Cutting Case Study
How does moisture measurement make a difference in the sawmill industry?
Thatâs what we wanted to know from Kasters Kustom Cutting, Inc., a family-owned business that uses Wagnerâs moisture meters.
Based out of Mulino, Oregon, they started in 1995 as a portable business that cut logs on other peopleâs properties. Now, they have their own in-house equipment to mill logsâredwood, black walnut, maple, oak, cedar, and moreâfor custom lumber products, live edge slabs, and beams. What makes them unique is their ability to work with oversized logs, up to 72 inches wide and 20 feet long.
Owner Kevin Kaster and his two sons, Daniel and Stephen, took some time to share with us about their workâand how theyâre using Wagnerâs moisture meters and stack probe to produce high-quality wood products for their customers.
Hereâs what they had to say.
How Kasters Kustom Cutting Measures Wood Moisture
Moisture measurement is an integral part of Kasters Kustom Cuttingâs drying process.
The process begins when they purchase logsâwhether from arborists or homeowners. They bring those logs back and use one of their mills to break them down into 2- or 3-inch slabs. After cutting the logs into slabs, they sticker them and allow them to air dry about a year per inch of thickness.
As the drying period comes to an end, they use a wood moisture meter to check the wood. âWe go in with our Wagner meters and check our moisture before they go in the kiln. We want them to be 25% or less,â explains Kevin.
Then, they put them in drying kilns to get them down to the needed moisture content for selling them. And hereâs where using a moisture meter becomes especially important.
The team at Kasters Kustom Cutting uses an L622 Wagner meter with a stack probe to check wood drying in the kiln.
The reason for this?
âEspecially with slabs, we need to make sure the centers are as dry as the outside,â explains Daniel Kaster.
The stack probe allows them to get between the stacks of wood in the kiln and understand the wood moisture content of the wood throughout the stack. As a result, theyâre getting âtruer readings than if you just get a piece sticking out from the end.â
Hereâs why that accuracy matters.
Why Sawmills Need Accurate Moisture Readings
Wood isnât useful if itâs not dry. By checking the moisture content of their wood, Kasters Kustom Cutting ensures that their customers receive the best quality. But at the same time, they also save their business time and money and protect their reputation. A win-win!
More on those points next.
Providing high-quality products
Accurate moisture testing during kiln drying is key for protecting the woodâs quality. If you dry the wood too fast, it could become damagedâand useless.
Stephen Kaster points out that wood drying âis based on relative humidity, temperature, and air velocity,â with humidity being one of the biggest factors. Lowering the humidity and raising the temperature too quickly can cause issues, such as uneven drying or too quick of drying.
Case hardening is one of the most common issues.
Stephen describes what happens with case hardening:
âThe cells on the outside of the wood will dry out. Theyâll quit moving moisture once they get to a certain dry point, and your insideâŚwill still be wet. If you take that same piece of wood and you rip it into strips, youâre going to have moisture thatâs cased into the hard outside shell.â
With the outside dry and the core wet, the wood can experience significant movement or twisting when itâs ripped.
But with proper moisture testing, the kiln operator can adjust conditions that allow for even drying, resulting in high-quality wood at the right moisture content.
Before selling wood to a customer, Kevin will often use his Orion 930 moisture meter to show them the slabâs moisture content. âThey know they can take it home and work on it today if they want to.â
Kasters Kustom Cutting is indeed known for its quality. Some of the wood they milled was used for work in the Portland airport and for building a suite in the Seahawks stadium in Seattle, Washington. Moisture measurement is an important factor in this success.
Saving time and money
Preventing damage to their wood is no doubt a savings of time and money for Kasters Kustom Cutting.
They also check that their wood is under 25% moisture content before putting it in the kiln. This precaution prevents them from wasting resources. If they put wood into the kiln while itâs still at 40 or 50% moisture content, the wood will have to stay in the kiln for several months.
In the words of Kevin, itâs âa waste of kiln space and electricity,â not to mention other quality problems that may arise.
Much better, then, to know exactly what moisture content the wood is at so that it doesnât end up in the kiln any sooner.
Protecting reputation
Kasters Kustom Cutting doesnât sell any of its wood green, so moisture measurement is a way to help assure their customers that theyâre getting what theyâve paid for.
Hereâs where the Orion 930 comes in handy.
When a customer comes to pick up a slab, they can quickly and easily slide the Orion 930 across the surface, showing that the wood is at the right moisture content.
Kevin says, âItâs nice to be able to show our customers as the wood leaves here, so if they take it and they store it improperly or they install it improperly or they have a moisture problem at their house or job site, we can come back and say, âHey, it was 10% when it left here.ââ
This has been a protection for the company.
For example, some wood flooring they milled began to buckle in someoneâs home in Seattle, Washington. Rather than being an issue with the companyâs product, it turned out to be an issue with groundwater running underneath the house.
In another case, a customer bought tongue-and-groove paneling for an outside patio cover. During the winter, the panel absorbed water and buckled.
Thankfully, with accurate moisture measurements, Kasters Kustom Cutting could prove the moisture content of the wood was acceptable when it left their site, protecting their reputation.
What Kasters Kustom Cutting Looks for in a Moisture Meter
High accuracy, ease of use, and durability are all factors that the team at Kasters Kustom Cutting looks for in a wood moisture meter.
Accuracy assures them that the reading theyâre seeing is the true condition of the wood. And the stack probe has helped them to be able to get a better picture of all the wood within a stack.
They also appreciate having a meter with a species setting so they can switch back and forth when needed.
And finally, durability is essential in a sawmill environment. The team needed something that wasnât going to corrode or quit working with a little moisture exposure.
Kevin says it this way,
âAt the mill, things get beat upâŚ. You want something thatâs going to last you if youâre buying a unit like this thatâs a little bit of money. You want a unit youâre going to be able to keep for a few years and not be replacing every so often.â
For his business, Wagnerâs meters have fit the bill.
An Indispensable Tool for a Sawmill
Kasters Kustom Cutting is just one example of the way investing in an industrial moisture meter and stack probe can make a difference for sawmills.
As weâve seen, these toolsâŚ
- Help prevent damage to high-quality products
- Save time, labor, and money
- Give customers confidence in the sawmillâs diligence
- Protect the businessâs reputation
What could they do for your sawmill business? Call us at (844) 755-3460 and talk with us about the best solution for you.

Wagner Meters is a family-owned American business that aims to provide solutions in moisture measurement technology that will enhance the quality and value of each customer’s project. With an almost 60-year legacy of innovation, Wagner continues to be a resource for both individual craftsmen and high-performance commercial endeavors.
Last updated on March 21st, 2025