August 11, 201114 yr I am about to pick up a good bit of freshly cut lumber and just had a thought and decided to see what you all use. I am for sure going to need to sticker this lumber so my question to you is what do you use to sticker lumber. I bought some maple from a hardwood dealer once that had sticker stain and was not able to remove it from the maple. Even after staining, it was less visible but still there. I had though about getting some of the composite decking and cutting it into strips and using it as stickers. What do you use and have you ever used the composite boards for stickers.   John MoodyJohn Moody Woodworkshttp://www.johnmoodywoodworks.com
August 11, 201114 yr John, what type of wood are you getting? I try and use kiln dried sticks1" by 1" or close to that. If the wood is maple or something light colored, be careful to use something that is dry. If you use wet wood or something with pitch or sap, it can cause problems. If it is oak, try and use dry sticks. That can stain too. I always use kiln dried sticks. The mills used grooved stick now that are really nice. They are grooved lengthwise. Lets the air blow down the stick. Way less chance of mold.http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fplgtr/fplgtr117.pdfLots of good info here. Put out by the UW. It covers all you need. Be sure to put a cover over the top and weigh down the wood stack with as much weight as you can. It helps hold the wood flat. Elm is very tough to dry flat. So is Gum. I think you could put a box car on top of elm and it would still move and twist. Let me know if you don't find what you are looking for in that forest service paper. I would think plastic wood is too flexible for stickering. Be sure you start with a level spot. If not, your lumber will take on any twists and turns in the spot. Hope this helps. bob Bob Kloeswww.bobkloes.com
August 11, 201114 yr Author Hey Bob thanks for that info. I am picking up some Cherry, Walnut and Cedar that have all been freshly cut. I have a barn to store it in with a good flat concrete floor. I'll just cut me some kiln dried stickers. Thanks John MoodyJohn Moody Woodworkshttp://www.johnmoodywoodworks.com
August 11, 201114 yr John, I always try to sticker with the same species as I'm drying. I generally have a vast assortment of scraps ( yeh I'm a pack rat but aren't we all when it comes to throwing out that last piece of wood) so finding the right stickers is not a problem here. As you've already mentioned in your post, you've found stickering with a different species can present problems especially on fresh cut wood.Never used any composite lumber so can't comment on that.I'm going to pick up a load of cherry this weekend and even though I have some in stock, If I don't have enough scrap for stickers I'll probably section out the longest boards for cull and use them as stickers. It is hard to turn down a 500 BF load for $150 so I don't feel I'll lose in culling a few boards. Your fortunate to have a barn, I'm still reorganizing to find room for this load.
August 12, 201114 yr JohnBeen thinking about this all day in the shop. I would use dries stickers of the same species of wood. No threat of wet or sap running into a problem. If it was a pile of maple then I would use maple as the stickers. If you don't have anything dry enough, I would imagine you could wrap the stickers in wax paper and not have any bleed though. Hope this helps. Wayne MahlerGod bless and protect our troops that serve so we can be free.
August 12, 201114 yr Author Reid I thought I had found a deal but I think you beat me. I am getting this for .80/bf for Cherry, Walnut and Cedar. I agree with using the species, I was really wondering about the composite like the new decking material is made out of. I was at a saw mill a while back and it looked like they were stickering with something similar so I was wondering if anyone had used it.  I am like you I keep everything till I just can step over it any more. Thanks and good to hear from you. Let me know if you are ever over on the north west side of the state.Reid Smith said:John, I always try to sticker with the same species as I'm drying. I generally have a vast assortment of scraps ( yeh I'm a pack rat but aren't we all when it comes to throwing out that last piece of wood) so finding the right stickers is not a problem here. As you've already mentioned in your post, you've found stickering with a different species can present problems especially on fresh cut wood.Never used any composite lumber so can't comment on that.I'm going to pick up a load of cherry this weekend and even though I have some in stock, If I don't have enough scrap for stickers I'll probably section out the longest boards for cull and use them as stickers. It is hard to turn down a 500 BF load for $150 so I don't feel I'll lose in culling a few boards. Your fortunate to have a barn, I'm still reorganizing to find room for this load.
August 12, 201114 yr Author Thanks Wayne most likely that is what I will do. Kinda like you I had this thought running around in my head and thought I would throw it out and see what came back.Wayne Mahler said:JohnBeen thinking about this all day in the shop. I would use dries stickers of the same species of wood. No threat of wet or sap running into a problem. If it was a pile of maple then I would use maple as the stickers. If you don't have anything dry enough, I would imagine you could wrap the stickers in wax paper and not have any bleed though. Hope this helps. Wayne MahlerGod bless and protect our troops that serve so we can be free.
August 12, 201114 yr I've always used either fir or redwood. But I've only dried walnut, oak and mesquite. Nothing has ever stained, though. Wax paper seems like a good idea. Cement blocks, and anvils on the stack is always a good thing.
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