The authors sought to determine a balance between drying quality of lumber and （drying） speed during the wood drying process. The criteria used was based on the cupping method, a new method presented in this paper, for continuously monitoring wood drying stresses. A stress detecting device was designed in which an eddy current sensor was used to continuously （measure） the critical drying stress deflection causing specimen cupping. The data were automatically collected and processed by a computer. Calibration and regression equations were used to evaluate different phases and deflection-drying time curves of cupped specimens under different drying （conditions.） A close relationship was developed between the deflection of cupped specimens and （drying） time resulting in a relative coefficient greater than 0.99. These results demonstrated that （automatic） and continuous detecting equipment could be used for monitoring wood drying stresses.