# How to stack boards for drying



## reprosser (May 19, 2010)

Ok - there must be a secret that I am missing...









Now that I am converting logs to rough boards, I need to stack and sticker them for air drying. I have a 8x12 covered platform to put them, but I am having some challenge with stacking efficiently.

The problem is that the logs arrive in different lengths, and I cannot figure out how to stack the boards well with good support.

I may mill a couple 9 ft logs, then a few 6 foot logs, then another 9 ft, then some 6, some shorts, etc...

I cannot figure out how to stack so I can add longer boards on top of shorter boards and still support the ends. I don't want to un-stack the shorter boards to add longer boards underneath.
Maybe start a collection of assorted "short boards" (2-3 ft) to fill out the shorter ones to match the longer lengths?

What is the best approach?


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

This calls for a long answer to do it right, so here's the short answer cause I am late for a movie:

_Don't mill shorts any more that you have to. But if you do have to, let someone else give the long answer._ 




:smile:









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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

I don't know if there is a correct way or not, all I can say is how I do it. It would be easy to plan if what ever is on top gets used first. Or, if it's a long term wait. Then, an order can be set up.

Invariably, it doesn't always work out that way. I've always got lumber in the rough, planed, air drying and KD, so my stacks only make sense to me. For lengths in the stacks, the same reasoning applies to all of the previous mentioned conditions. It would be nice if the short need now stuff is on top.

So, a lot of conditions apply to what a stack can consist of. I really don't like sifting through and restacking lumber, but ideally long stuff on the bottom, and decreasing lengths towards the top.












 







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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

reprosser said:


> Ok - there must be a secret that I am missing...
> 
> What is the best approach?


The movie was a bust, but the meal was great. 

reprosser, What works best for me is to simply never mix longs with shorts. I tried it at first and it just never works out for several reasons. I mill more short logs than the average sawyer because box elder has a tendency to be crooked enough that it won't fit on the machine unless I buck them. 

Shorts under longs don't make for a solid foundation for the upper stacks no matter how careful you sticker and that's where your valuable lumber would be with that arrangement. Shorts on top of longs are invariably always on top of what you need next or most, the longs. And they don't have any weight on them like they would if they were stacked with other boards of comparable length, because if they were stacked in their own pile, it would be more concentrated (higher) so only the top layer or two would have little weight, the ones below would have the benefit of the weight of all the stacks above them. 

On top of all that (figuratively speaking) stacking according to length conflicts with the most important rule of prioritizing what goes where in a lift of lumber: value of the lumber. You always, always, always want to sticker your stack by laying the most valuable boards down first. This minimizes movement during drying. The lesser valuable boards as the stack is built, because they are often going to be cut shorter anyway, or used for lesser than high end applications. Apply this rule to all your various lengths of stacks. 

As a general rule (because there's almost always exceptions) I sticker all the 8'6" to 9' boards in the same lift. Unless I'm felling box elder that has crooks, I never buck logs less than 8'6" because an 8' log on my LT40 is barely long enough for how the mill is designed. That extra 6" makes it so much easier for me. It also allows check to be cut off after the lumber is dry and still be 8' long. I stack most of my shorts vertically in one of three lean-to's I have built just for that purpose. They dry well that way and it's fast and easy and they're much more accessible. The really high dollar shorts that do need weight because they are crotch or other highly figured grain, I stack all in a pile together and weigh them with scrap steel or a big chunk of concrete slab. Not long after I got started in this I tore out a 20' x 30' slab here that had been built without rebar. It was cracked all over the place and most of the chunks were a few hundred pounds each so perfect for putting on top of stickered lumber. 

So the answer for me is that I never sticker a pile of mixed lengths. Rarely will you be able to look inside a pile of my lumber and find two boards meeting end to end, they run full length. It's not only easier and faster than trying to mix and match, it makes for much higher grade lumber overall. There's more to it than this but if you'll use the two Cardinal Rules of high-dollar on the bottom and work up the pile with the lesser valued lumber, and don't stack boards end to end, you can't hardly go wrong otherwise. 








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