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"Pallets" for air drying

Started by yieldmap, June 01, 2004, 01:34:39 PM

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yieldmap

Hey all,
I'm new to this whole sawing and drying thing, but am ready to get started.  I've lined up some red oak logs, cleared from a lot, and have a sawyer scheduled to come in a couple of weeks.  I'm planning on air drying the lumber, but would like to build some sort of "pallet"s to stack the lumber on for drying.  I would like to stack the wet lumber, stickered, on the pallets outside for a few weeks, then take them into my shed for final drying.

What design and material experience does anybody have in creating these pallets?  I obviously want something that will not bow or bend, lest the wood follow.  I also do not want to have a 500# pallet, as my loader forks can only pick up about 1700#, and I want as much wood on each pallet that I can stack.

Suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

beenthere

Green oak, by the calculator on the left of this page, will weigh about 5.2 pounds/bf, so a 'stack' of red oak 1" lumber for air drying that is 4' wide X 8' long will have about 166 pounds per layer, which will total about 1500 # in 9 layers (leaves 200 pounds for the pallet underneath).  With 3/4" stickers, that is a stack (pile) about 16" high.

You can probably figure that as a rough estimate to get the weight of a 'pallet' of green red oak lumber. Of course, as it loses moisture it will weigh less.  Hope this helps your planning stage.
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

DanG

I'd suggest you pay more attention to the support under the pallet, than to the pallet itself. If it droops a bit while you're moving it, it's no big deal(as long as the lumber don't fall off :D ) but if it sags while drying, it could be trouble. 1700 lbs is not a huge stack, so you shouldn't need all that much support to transport it. I transfer 4/4 8-10' lumber, on stickers, all the time with nothing under them. Sometimes a sticker or two will fall out, but I just put them back in as I'm setting it down. :)
"I don't feel like an old man.  I feel like a young man who has something wrong with him."  Dick Cavett
"Beat not thy sword into a plowshare, rather beat the sword of thine enemy into a plowshare."

ARKANSAWYER

   I would have the sawyer cut you a 4x6 out of the center of every log and cut these in half.  I would put 4 of them under your lumber with the outside two about 4 inches from the end of the boards.  Place a sticker on top of the 4x6 for the lumber to rest on with the 4x6 placed so that they are level and as high as possible off the ground.  Then keep all stickers right above the others.  If you keep your stack narrower and stack higher you lift can pick up more if it is closer to the lift.  The wood you will be putting in the 4x6 is of low grade any way and will not be wasted and cheap for the price.
ARKANSAWYER
ARKANSAWYER

yieldmap

Arkansawyer,
Thanks for the tip.  That's a really good one.  I suppose then I could just move the stacks with the forks directly under the 3x4's?  Then, sticker with dry 2x4's between the stacks vertically, if I put two stacks on top of each other?

I gave up the idea of using the loader forks.  1700# isn't much wood, as listed in the post.  Dad will let me borrow his 3 pt hitch forklift, which will lift around 3500#.

Stack narrow and high, eh?  3' wide by 4' high or so?

You replied to my post on woodweb a couple months ago, a picture with two red oak logs.  A friend wanted some standing dead cleared from his lot to build a house, so I've got a bigger pile of logs now, 32 at last count.  Should be fun!!

whitepe

Yieldmap...
Who's coming?  

Donsbach?  (Maquon)
Miller?         (Brimfield / Elmwood)
Snyder or Snider     (Edelstein)
Patton?        (Edwards)

Those are the only four guys in our area that I know of besides
my self that have a Woodmizer.  I don't take my LT15 on
the road.
blue by day, orange by night and green in between

yieldmap

Miller

He's quite the character.  I bought some hardwood off of him, then was given a couple of logs to saw from a friend.  Then a few more logs.

How do you dry?  I thought about building a solar kiln, but Miller's talked me out of it so far.

Here's the pile of logs.  
Some are pretty small (12"), but I've got a few 24" ones.  The price was right.



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