Strapping vs weight for air drying lumber

[toyowashi]

I've seen a few guys that are using plastic or steal strapping to bundle together lumber for drying instead of placing concrete blocks on top of their stacks. Seems you can get the strapping setup for pretty cheap on amazon. Has anyone tried this and what was your experience?

[pezrock]

I use straps and air dry. This is my first year. I tighten them every couple weeks in the beginning. $8.99 for 4 Husky straps at Home Depot and much easier and less space than cinder blocks. Looking forward to knowing others experiences as well.

[D6c]

I'm not sure you can get enough even pressure on the top layers with straps to reduce cupping.  
Lately I've been trying lumber pallets stacked with weight.  One has some sections of old sidewalk.  Another has about 900lb of old track plates from a small crane.  I use the track plate weight in the kiln as I'm afraid I'd get rust stains out in the weather.
Not enough use yet for results.

[petefrom bearswamp]

Tried both methods settled on weight as no adjustment is necessary.
used 8" solid concrete blocks.

[ladylake]

 I think if wood wants to cup it's going to, I've had it cup on the bottom of a tall stack.  Steve

[beenthere]

Weight is constant on the load of lumber, strapping is not. 
So depends on what you are going to be satisfied with in your results. 

[doc henderson]

I think both may be the answer.  I would strap it first as I can move it across my yard without it all falling apart.  especially if it is a single stack.  once in place weight can be added.  depending on you equipment, it may be hard to move a whole stack including the weight, so the straps or strapping can be snugged and then the weight removed.  I know @customsawyer used a plastic strap but left it fairly loose.  I started with steel then to plastic like his with buckles that are adjustable.  I now have custom made pallets, but also use some regular pallets for one off stuff.  if you have a wide pallet with spaces between the sides of boards, a tight band will tend to pull them to the center.  you have to put a solid board across the tops.  I have made tops from the plastic totes to cover firewood in the metal crates.  when we have leftover concrete, we have used those as a form to make a 4 inch thick, 3.5 x 4 foot weight.  my pallets are 42 inches deep (the length of my pallet forks) so oriented in the 3.5 foot direction lets two of them cover 8 feet of wood.

[doc henderson]

save, saw, sweep, stack, sticker, secure, and dry one log at a time in Drying and Processing (forestryforum.com)

Pallet dimensions and design in Drying and Processing (forestryforum.com)

[YellowHammer]

I use 3,000 lbs or more per stack of lumber, stacked on a pallet that gets placed on top of the wood stacks.  We just unload the kiln yesterday and even the hired hand said to was the flattest lumber he had ever seen come out of a kiln.  Although I'd like to say it's my sawing skill, its really due to tonnage.  This is a true situation were lots of force applied over a long time solves lots of problems. 

I use strapping on every load in our yard.  It's won't do what tonnage will do.

Its easy to tell if you have enough weight.  Get a stack of wood, put a few thousand pounds on top of it and you will see it shrink and settle down right in front of your eyes.  There is no guessing, no adjusting, no problem.  Straps have a tendency to ball up a stack of wood, not flatten it unless there are very strong crosspieces.  Other stacks of wood make excellent weights, also.

Here's a video where I discuss this at length.

The Best Technique - How to Kiln Dry Lumber and Get Flat Boards - YouTube





  

[doc henderson]

great explanation with video Robert.

[JoshNZ]

I strap with nylon webbed stuff, the wider bands that you crimp which you can put a fair bit of force on. You can certainly pull boards into line but I don't think it's a set and forget type thing. Great for keeping bundles together.

I want to get a few concrete slabs made up with forklift slots in them. I had a 44gal drum filled with concrete at the local concrete yard last year for a tractor counter weight. I think if you make it convenient for them and leave a box of cold beverages beside it the drivers are happy to tip their excess concrete into your container when they return to their yard, rather than their crusher/bunker area/whatever.

[Stephen1]

I will strap single logs that are sawn and stickered. a Buole i think its called. But you have to keep tightening the straps. A pain. Something else I have to remember. Bundled lumber go's round when strapped.  I use other bundles of wood. I am looking at making some pallets out of concrete. 

[WDH]

Robert,

I watched the video and apparently someone slipped in and stole that fancy dust collection system.  

[YellowHammer]

I made this some time ago, before my dust collector upgrade videos.  I've been dabbling on the Cecil B Demille stuff but have yet to have Hollywood call me.  

[KenMac]

I made this some time ago, before my dust collector upgrade videos.  I've been dabbling on the Cecil B Demille stuff but have yet to have Hollywood call me.  

Your videos are worth much more than the Hollyweird stuff!

[customsawyer]

I do similar to YH. I use banding and weight on the higher end hardwoods. I don't use the banding loose as Doc suggested. That is how much the lumber has shrunk and the banding got loose. I don't worry about weight on pine for a couple of reasons. That much weight spread over a 16 ft pallet would likely bust my pallet. I want to know which pine boards are going to miss behave before I go to the trouble of running them through the planer. If it is only twisted on one end I can cut it back to a 12' board, if it bowed in the middle I can cut it into 4' pieces and use for samples going into the planer. Of course I always need more stuff to put lumber on a customers trailer and you can stack a few up and get your forks back out. 

[doc henderson]

oops.  sorry to misrepresent Jake.  At the event a few years back doing the sycamore, it was left loose, but I think it was headed to Danny's.  my mistake.  If I recall, I kept turning off the dust blower, so that is two.  I don't care to know what happens when I get to Three!   :D :D :D     

[doc henderson]

Funny thing is a small piece of the quarter sawn sycamore made here to Ks via Michigan originating in Ga thanks to @Furby brought to the pig roast.  It is an almost triangular piece.  lots of figure and rays.  I did buy the same plastic banding and tools that you have as well.

[customsawyer]

 :D :D :D Doc it was left loose on the pack of sycamore due to lack of experience of installers.  :D

[doc henderson]

I remember that now.  It was a great time to get to know some folks, and I learned a ton.  thanks again for hosting it.  Hope someday we can do it again. FURBY!!! :D :D :D

[longtime lurker]

 

 

Topics came up before so the pics been posted before.

Strapping is what holds packs together so you can shift them around the yard.

Weight is what makes wood dry nice and flat. Moreover I'd go so far as to say evenly dispersed weight is what makes wood dry flat. That and good stickering, because a poor stickering job and serious weight will force all sorts of bends into timber.

And the best weight for a pack of timber is IMHO another pack of timber, it's just a matter of rotating so the dry stuff is on the top of a pile.

[YellowHammer]

    Well said.

Strapping plays an invaluable part of our operation, especially the Kubinec style with the adjustable buckles because the flatter and dryer a pack of lumber gets, the more prone it is to sliding off a set of forks and making a bad day.

Once the packs are dried and ready to be transported, I switch to the high grade poly strapping and crimps.

[customsawyer]

Once it has been  planed it adds another level on its ability to shift during transporting.

[longtime lurker]

Yup, nothing like having to hit the brakes when there's a pack of DAR on the truck/ forks/whatever. Slick like playing cards.

I use 3/4 green poly strapping most the time. Corner protectors, and pull it down until the strapping machine is maxed out. It's tighter than I could ever get it with my old hand tensioner, I don't often have trouble with boards sliding lengthwise in transit like I used to.

I'm also a believer in a row of stickers every 5 or 6 rows, even when it's block stacked. It adds a lot of stability, and gets away from that outside row running down your shin business when you cut the straps.