How to label end of boards

[Lynn Kasdorf]

This may seem like a pretty trivial topic. I am doing a massive cleanup and organization of my totally insane collection of lumber. I am building some massive shelves in my barn workshop and I plan to label the end of all long boards with the species and the length.

In many cases, the end grain of stock is rough, or dirty or dark and I can't just write on it with a pencil. Chalk would be to coarse in some cases and not very permanent.

One thought I had was to write on a small piece of card stock and staple it in the end grain. Is this over the top obsessive? :(

I have to store furniture grade lumber as well as 2-by construction lumber, pine 1x12 shelving, mdf, etc.

Another problem is the wide variety of sizes I have. And, a lot of narrow strips. These are less of an issue for labelling. It is mostly the big stuff that I want to identify from the end easily.

Ideas?

[ed vitanovec]

I marked some of my lumber with a Sharpie on the side so I can see it when stacked.

[David Falkner]

Mine is marked on the side with a Sharpie. I didn't label Walnut or Honduras Mahogany because I have a fair amount of that and it just really wasn't necessary. But I did label the exotics and I wrapped the Padauk in paper so it will hold its color until I use it. This isn't near the quantity it sounds like you'll have but this works well and this is a fair amount of exotic wood, for me, anyway.

310979

310980

[John Schweikert]

Red, white or black grease pencils work well.

[Allan Speers]

Red, white or black grease pencils work well.


This.

Or colored crayons, which is what I use. (Different colors for each wood species.)

You could probably also just use paint. (From a can, brushed on, not sprayed.)

[Matt Day]

Lumber crayons. HF sells yellow and red.

[Jim Matthews]

Red, white or black grease pencils work well.

+1 on this. I use my kid's crayons on the darker species.

[Bradley Gray]

+1 on lumber crayons. I worked at a lumber yard after school in the 60's I still remember: white=6' green=8' yellow=10' red=12-14' black=16'

[Rich Riddle]

Lumber crayons on the side work great. Too bad one company doesn't market all the different colors as a variety pack.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

First thing to do is identify exactly what you want to know based on a fast look.




species
length
width
thickness
total board footage


I expect that you do not need all of this since some things are mostly obvious; for example, thickness.

If you had a large set of colors (say from sharpies or crayons), you could color code the information that you want. You could even use colored thumb tacks with the plastic colored tops.

I have no idea if a staple is an issue for something like a sawstop (or any flesh sensing saw). Off hand, I would guess no, but, I would want to test that before I assumed it was true (if I had a saw of that sort.... no wait, I do).

You could also use glue to attach (hot melt, etc).

[Kent A Bathurst]

Felt-tip marker for me: Species and length. Width if writing on the side - not needed if writing on the end.

PLUS - key for me: I write the source and "grade" [my made-up notations for grade]. I have, for instance, std-grade QSWO from local source, and I have log-run and big $$$ from Talarico. [Somewhere is a board or two from Johnson's in Charlotte, MI] I know by the source what I am looking at.......it might say QSWO Peach [Peach State in Atlanta] or QSWO TAL Vnr for Talarico veneer-grade, etc...................

If I gotta dig something out, I want to be sure I am aiming at the right target - - my least favorite task, and I don't wanna have to pay for the same yardage twice.

[Brian Henderson]

When I've done it, I did it kind of like dowels. Paint the end with something color-coded to species and then write the length in black permanent marker on the paint. I've sort of gotten away from it recently because I don't tend to have wood just laying around without a purpose, but it does work.

[Lynn Kasdorf]

Thanks for the ideas. I picked up some lumber crayons- I'll see how that works for me.
My shop is in a huge 1849 bank barn. I end up getting a lot of things for free or cheap and I can't throw anything away. I have at least 3 serious table saws and a few more non-serious ones, about 5 band saws, 3 jointers, 3 planers, 3 radial arm, etc. I need to sell some equipment at some point.
Over the years I have acquired for free a lot of lumber from various places. One was a prolific furniture maker who was leaving the area and didn't want to move his entire collection of wood, so he gave me a massive stack of various things, including misc exotics, cedar slabs.
10 years ago I resided my barn with white oak, and I have a lot of cutoffs from that project. I also pulled up the white oak flooring in one section of the barn that I rennovated- lots of rough & random pieces. I was given a bunch of walnut and other from an estate sale where the owner had a sawmill.
Also, I have a lot of construction lumber that I need access to from time to time.
So- I have wayyy more wood than I'll ever use in my lifetime, but I want to be able to basically find what I want and know what I have. I look forward to being able to actually do something in my shop. Right now, that is impossible.
I'm building a shelving section that is 16' high (I may decide to extend it another 10' to the ceiling) with 5' x 6' shelves. A lot of the 8' or longer stock will stand up, but my real storage problem is shorter pieces. It is probably not an overstatement to say that I have over 1000 pieces of wood.

[Allan Speers]

When I've done it, I did it kind of like dowels. Paint the end with something color-coded to species and then write the length in black permanent marker on the paint. .


Say, that's a good idea !

[Max Neu]

I also agree with color coding the ends,you can identify them from a distance easier.Whenever I get lumber from my suppliers,each species has a different color painted on the ends,it makes it alot easier to sort and identify.

[Chuck Hart]

All that wood. YOU SUCK !!!!! I don't even have 1% of that total YOU SUCK

Chuck

[glenn bradley]

China marking pencils write well on lumber, can be made sharp so they are easier to read than thicker markers. I switched a couple of months ago and it is lots better for me. I can now ID wood from a distance instead of having to squint and wonder "what that says".

[Lynn Kasdorf]

All that wood. YOU SUCK !!!!! I don't even have 1% of that total YOU SUCK

Chuck

Yes, I do. The big problem is that there are only so many of me to go around. I can't recall the last time I actually did any serious woodworking- I'm constantly working on the shop and getting it useful. I have a large woodworking machine area, a welding and vehicle repair area, a metal machine shop area, and an insulated room for woodworking bench work, and electronics and CNC. I still have to make a living, so I spend a lot more time chained to my computer than I would like, and my workshop time is precious. Too many hobbies and too much stuff. And I'm always getting stuff for free. I see an air conditioner in the trash and take it home and all it needs is a new power plug. A friend gave me a jet engine a while back. That kind of thing. But I digress..

[Allan Speers]

Yes, I do. The big problem is that there are only so many of me to go around. I can't recall the last time I actually did any serious woodworking- I'm constantly working on the shop and getting it useful..... .


Man, I know the feeling ! I have at least 5-6,000 BF of lumber out in the back. (seriously.) 1/4 sawn WO, Figured Maple, Air-dried Walnut, Koa .... my hobby used to be collecting wood. - But for the last 5 years or so, I haven't cut anything but plywood, for simple utility projects.

I'm just now getting back to real woodworking, and I'm STILL spending all my time researching tools & building jigs, etc.

[Lynn Kasdorf]

Man, I know the feeling ! I have at least 5-6,000 BF of lumber out in the back. (seriously.) 1/4 sawn WO, Figured Maple, Air-dried Walnut, Koa .... my hobby used to be collecting wood. - But for the last 5 years or so, I haven't cut anything but plywood, for simple utility projects.

I'm just now getting back to real woodworking, and I'm STILL spending all my time researching tools & building jigs, etc.

Glad to know I'm not alone... another "problem" I have to deal with is my enormous pile of figured maple logs that I need to do something with before they rot. There is some great bowl stock there, and probably pieces big enough to make violins and electric guitars. I need to get a ripping chain to saw these things and see how they look on the inside. I got this stuff for firewood, and can't bring myself to burn it...

[Clay Fails]

Not caring if it's obsessive or not, my approach is to staple typed cards to the ends that indicate the species, mill source, date and price per board foot. I find this to be very useful 5 or more years down the road when i'm sifting through the stacks. I also tend to hand plane a few boards from each bunch and mark the moisture content on them at the time they enter the shop. Again, i find this useful as a benchmark when i'm milling up several years later. YMMV.

[Robert Engel]

If you store vertically you don't have to do that!

[Lynn Kasdorf]

If you store vertically you don't have to do that!

My plan is to store the very long stock vertically, and I already have a bunch of 12'-20'(!) pieces standing up. The trick for vertical storage is that I need to make spars coming out from the wall to keep the whole mess from falling over. The wall against which much of this is leaning is stone, so I can't attach things to it.

[Jim Andrew]

Lynn, if you would drag home a bandmill, maybe you could catch up on the boards. I haven't counted my board collection, but I cut a pile after stacked in Feb and March, measured 4'x16'x10'. And I only sawed on nice days.