Nick2cd Posted December 18, 2011 Report Share Posted December 18, 2011 I just got a small load of cherry and walnut from my wood guy. it's mostly 4/4 to 5/4 stuff. the lumber is dry. do i still need to put stickers between each board or can i stack one board on top of another? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Slack Posted December 18, 2011 Report Share Posted December 18, 2011 I always do it. The reason is that when you stick it the elements will "hit" the boards evenly in all surfaces. It is good practice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darnell Hagen Posted December 18, 2011 Report Share Posted December 18, 2011 Na, once they're dry don't bother. Stickers just get in the way of finding the board you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewoodwhisperer Posted December 18, 2011 Report Share Posted December 18, 2011 In the ideal world, I'd sticker and stack for even air flow. In the real world, it's just not practical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boatworks Today Posted December 18, 2011 Report Share Posted December 18, 2011 I typically do and band them together pretty tightly. I don't know if it makes any difference but it makes me feel better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keggers Posted December 18, 2011 Report Share Posted December 18, 2011 Once the wood is dry, it is better to just stack them on top of each other. Stickers are not necessary. When I joint and plane the dried rough lumber either to sell or for a project, I always sticker and stack it for a few days so it can stabilize again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattvan Posted December 18, 2011 Report Share Posted December 18, 2011 I think the only time I ever sticker and stack a load of lumber is when I'm really bored or feel all uppity LOL. Actually what I prefer to do, when I get a chance, is to mill the stock and then stack and sticker before I cut the joinery and assemble my projects. It doesn't happen all the time, but occasionally there's a big lag between when I mill and when I can move on to the next step(s). To keep from having all that hard work being undone, this seems like a good extra step. So far...so good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick2cd Posted December 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2011 this all makes sense. the wood is not milled for any upcoming projects. it's still rough on all 4 surfaces. Matt, i like the idea to stack and sticker if there's a lag between milling and joinery. im going to sleep better tonight knowing that my lumber isn't going to turn into a pretzel by morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted December 19, 2011 Report Share Posted December 19, 2011 I just start the stack with a strip of plywood and top it off with ply. Keeps the top and bottom boards from cupping. Don't have to worry about any thing in the middle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattvan Posted December 19, 2011 Report Share Posted December 19, 2011 I've noticed when I "stack and sticker" like I described, I don't need much weight. In fact, my Benchcrafted Moxon vise has become the latest dead weight object I choose. Prior to that, it was just a few bricks I have laying around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyNoName Posted December 19, 2011 Report Share Posted December 19, 2011 Nick - Something you might want to try if you dimension the lumber, but aren't going to use it for a while, is to stack it and clamp it all down in a big pile. I haven't tried it, but I saw this done is some of Christopher Schwarz's Germany classes. You can see the photos here. Jonathan ================================== Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimV Posted December 19, 2011 Report Share Posted December 19, 2011 I don't bother. I just pile them up on my wood rack on the shop. There's enough air around them anyway. Stickers would just reduce the usable space on my lumber rack which is already overflowing. Plus, like Darnell said, they just get in the way. I don't mill/cut the full boards until I'm ready to use them for the project so I accommodate any changes if there are any in the milling process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattvan Posted December 19, 2011 Report Share Posted December 19, 2011 If I know I'll be able to work on a project within a given time frame, I tend NOT to stack and sticker the wood after milling it. BUT because it's quite frequent I'll end up going a week or more between working on a given project, this method works for me. Ideally I'd love to be able to mill, cut, shape and assemble all my components on one day or even over a single weekend, but my reality isn't it just doesn't happen very often. If I just took a 4/4 board down to 3/4" or 7/8" I've removed a fair amount of material and exposed surfaces that were close but not equal to the MC % on top. Especially in the winter, I'll tend to worry about twist or cup during those time spans. It's typically over kill for most shops, but for my peace of mind it works for me lol!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robjeffking Posted December 20, 2011 Report Share Posted December 20, 2011 My shop is built into the side of a hill so I made a storage area in the back of the shop using the retaining wall. The guy I get my wood from sticker stacks it out in the open. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bois Posted December 22, 2011 Report Share Posted December 22, 2011 I always sticker my stock after I buy it to get it acclimated to my shop. I rarely go back and unsticker it, so most of my stock stays in stickers. I also sticker the stock after I resaw it for the same reason. I actually think that there may be a downside to clamping your stock after dimensioning. If it's kiln dried lumber, in many cases any subsequent twisting or cupping is often the result of uneven kiln drying. In these cases, no amount of pressure or clamping will flatten those boards in the long term. So all you're really doing is delaying the inevitable. I'd rather let those stresses out of the stock after a week or so and then re-mill everything flat again. That way I know everything is at equilibrium once I start doing my joinery and assembly. With air dried stock, I could definitely see more of an argument for clamping the stock. Once the moisture levels even out, the wood will settle into it's flattened state rather than bouncing back since those wood fibers are still pliable. Might be an interesting experiment to try some time actually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyNoName Posted December 22, 2011 Report Share Posted December 22, 2011 Bois - I think the clamping technique would only be for short term things, like if you milled the stock on Saturday, but you couldn't cut the joints until Thursday. I haven't used it though. It sounds like we need to crowd-source this :-) Jonathan ======================================= Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GNiessen Posted December 22, 2011 Report Share Posted December 22, 2011 Knowing the moisture content is important. Even if they say it is dry I check it. I had a bad experience with a Cherry floor. :-( Even wood that I have had in my shop a while I will check when I resaw it. If the center is different then the original outside, then I know if might move. Though I had some reclaimed lumber I never worried about. I figured that any wood that is over 100 years old is pretty stable. And after several months since I used it I have not seen any movement. But new wood I always sticker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CessnaPilotBarry Posted December 23, 2011 Report Share Posted December 23, 2011 I don't, and have never had a problem in 15+ years. All my stock is purchased dry, from reputable dealers, and I don't mix construction lumber into the stack. FWIW, my dealers don't sticker boards, only complete bundles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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