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Cody Colston
08-22-2015, 7:39 AM
When stickering a stack of different lumber thicknesses, which size goes on bottom, the thicker or the thinner lumber? I often will saw 4/4 and 8/4 from the same log(s) and I've never decided how it should be stacked. The 8/4 on bottom to help keep it flat or the 8/4 on top for the extra weight on the layers below.

Scott T Smith
08-22-2015, 8:36 PM
When stickering a stack of different lumber thicknesses, which size goes on bottom, the thicker or the thinner lumber? I often will saw 4/4 and 8/4 from the same log(s) and I've never decided how it should be stacked. The 8/4 on bottom to help keep it flat or the 8/4 on top for the extra weight on the layers below.

Cody, I have found that it's best to place the thickest lumber at the bottom of the stack because it requires more weight to ke it flat. Immediately above it I will place the widest boards for the same reason.

Danny Hamsley
08-22-2015, 9:10 PM
I also put the thick stock on the bottom, as usually, it is more valuable. In this case in the pic, the bottom boards are old growth shortleaf pine that I am preparing for Farm Tables. I sawed the boards 9/4 (2 3/8" thick) so that they will plane out to about 2" for thick table tops. This tree that the bottom boards were sawn from had a very off-center pith, so I am hoping all the weight from the stacks above will help them dry flat without as much bow.

320027

Cody Colston
08-23-2015, 7:00 AM
Thanks Scott and Danny for the info. Now I know and so will the other 127 people who viewed this thread without commenting. :D

John Fairbairn III
08-24-2015, 8:46 AM
Yup - I am of the 127... ;)

Am I the only one that does not go as crazy with stickering for rough framing lumber (hemlock/spruce) as when I am stickering cherry and maple for some future furniture project?

Cody - thanks for asking though - I have never thought about this question, I have tried to keep the 2" stuff on the bottom but mostly so that if I need the bottom of the pile, I am moving lighter materials... Lazy.


Thanks Scott and Danny for the info. Now I know and so will the other 127 people who viewed this thread without commenting. :D

Cody Colston
08-24-2015, 10:59 AM
Am I the only one that does not go as crazy with stickering for rough framing lumber (hemlock/spruce) as when I am stickering cherry and maple for some future furniture project?

I generally stack and sticker the same way, regardless of lumber type or intended use. Probably more of a habit than a necessity with construction lumber.

Tom Hogard
08-24-2015, 12:43 PM
Boy, I hope there isn't one, correct, answer ;)

Historically, I have stacked with the thicker pieces on the bottom (if the lengths were consistent). That was because I knew that the thinner stuff would be ready to use sooner and restacking all of those thicker pieces to get to the thinner stock was unappealing. Most of my clients air dry and, generally, the logs they are milling are not of a consistent length. Often each is a different length, sometimes by several feet. It would be nice if they were 4', 8', and 12' but it usually doesn't work out that way.

Longest stock will normally go on the bottom, but there are other considerations, one of which is having enough boards of the same thickness to fill up a layer. 500 bf or more usually means a 4' deep stack. If while milling we run across a unique piece, "Hey, leave that one like it is, it'll make a great mantle"... it's probably not going on the bottom. If they end up with 3 - 9/4 x 23" live edge planks, destined to become a table, I'll usually remind them that we'll need to come up with another 9/4 to finish out the layer.

Of course, another consideration will be species - some need more 'guidance' than others. Now that I'll be kiln drying (Nyle L200M), my stacking protocols are likely to change...

Prashun Patel
08-24-2015, 12:47 PM
I've only dried lumber a couple times, but both times, the stuff was so heavy, I stickered it in the order it came off the saw.

Cody Colston
08-24-2015, 2:29 PM
I've only dried lumber a couple times, but both times, the stuff was so heavy, I stickered it in the order it came off the saw.

It's a fact that green lumber is heavy. I sawed some 2" thick x 8" wide x 16' long Post Oak trailer decking for a friend back in the spring and it was all I could do to handle one of those planks by myself. Luckily he had left his trailer there so I only had to move it once from the saw to the trailer.

Tom, I saw almost exclusively for myself, milling and drying lumber for my woodworking projects. I buck almost all hardwoods to 8'-6" which is the length I prefer for woodworking projects. Thickness is almost always 4/4 or 8/4. I always cut to rough length first when woodworking and have no problem getting 3/4" stock out of a 4/4 rough plank. Most times I get it flat with planed, parallel faces at 7/8" thickness.

Occassionally I'll saw Pine or Oak for a construction project that has been bucked to fit specific needs but I stack that separately from my "woodworking" wood and keep the different sizes separated so that I can easily get to the ones I need first. I don't kiln dry construction lumber.

Danny Hamsley
08-24-2015, 10:35 PM
Stacking a bunch of lumber of varying length is like a puzzle and very frustrating. That is why I quit kiln drying lumber for people. They would bring me the oddest assortment of stuff under the sun. No way to stack it properly so that it would dry properly. So, when people call and ask me to kiln dry the lumber that their Grandaddy sawed, I say NO.

Larry Edgerton
08-27-2015, 7:37 AM
The mill that does drying for me has some composite stickers made for the purpose. No sticker stain on ash. Only place I have seen them.

Todd Burch
08-27-2015, 5:02 PM
I'm glad I've been reading this thread. This is an AHA! moment for me.

When I have had wood sawn in the past, there really wasn't (on my part) a consideration for the length of the boards. My only consideration was MAX wood, both in length and width! THEREFORE… stacking and stickering them was certainly a pain for me at the time. I had jigsaw puzzles, with the occasional diving board sticking out every now and then. I see stacks like Danny's above, and I think "wow, he really planned ahead - look at that neat stack!"

Same with board widths. I've always gone for max width in a board. When I laid my layers on my sticker stack, sometimes spacing would work out pretty good, as far as even spacing edge-to-edge, and other times, more often than not, I had considerable gaps between boards which would oftentimes repeat themselves across multiple layers, creating voids and gaps for rats and other vermin. I had a large batch of live oak that was dubbed by several buyers as "rat pee" oak due to this ignorance on my part.

And, again, same for thickness. I recall having some elm cut. It had beautiful red flames. I cut it to 2" thick. I think I had enough pieces to cover 1.5 layers. And, I recall, my stack was crooked too because of it. :(

I will conclude then, that if I had 4 logs… 3 @ 8.5' long and 1 @ 12.5', it would be worth my time to cut the longer one to 8.5' just for peace of mind at stacking time. And, it would also be good to keep to consistent widths that would allow for laying layers without big gaps between boards. Also, I will be sure to not try to keep wavy edges, but to rip them down to consistence widths.

When I had wood sawn before, I hired out a band mill, and I ended up with lots of live edges (aka, no edging was done), and tapered (in width) boards. I learned that live edges were a very nice warm and sugary place for beetles and other creepy crawlers to reside and create generations of offspring. Now that I have the swing mill (if I ever get time to set it up…) I don't foresee the same issues. I live, I learn.

Phew!! This is going to be fun. ;)

Danny Hamsley
08-27-2015, 9:21 PM
SOmetimes I stack in length multiples. For instance, if I am sawing 10' lumber, then some of the short boards that are produced when opening up the log can be trimmed to 5' long, and then two 5' pieces = 1 10' piece. Just stack them end to end. With your odd 12.5' log, you could cut the log at 8.25' and 4.25' feet. Then the 4.25' pieces can be butted end to end and stack like a 8.25' piece.

When I stack part of a pallet rack at say 10', maybe 3 or 4 layers, then go on top of that with 8' lumber to complete the stack, most times the longer boards on the bottom not supported by the weight of boards above them bow upwards, effectively ruining the board and making it essentially an 8' board in practice. That is why I abhor trying to make a good stack from boards that are not the same length.

As to width, I can accommodate that in a stack without too much trouble.