Newbie mistake. I leaned the hard way. Palletizing.

Brad_bb · December 10, 2018, 11:36:09 PM

So some may have seen the thread of the pallets I made recently for lumber.

I started milling 4 years ago, milling mostly beams. Jacket boards/boards are a byproduct of my milling. I started by stacking the boards in a 16 foot long stack in my shed on the ground. I might have some 16 ft boards, but a lot of times I was putting board of different lengths together to make up a full layer. I was leaving the boards whatever length the logs were. The problem is that you then have a stack with a mish mash of lengths and widths and when they are sufficiently air dried, sorting through is very inefficient.

So I took the hint from the fellas on here to do it in a far more orderly fashion. I now have pallets that are 4'2", 6'2", and 8'2" long. Which is what I cut my boards to now. I don't have longer pallets because I know that I don't have any use for boards longer than 8'. If you know you need boards longer, then build a pallet long enough for them. When building most projects, 2', 4', and 6' are the most common board lengths I tend to use. But 8' is a good length to handle especially if I decide to make some flooring. It's good for one person to move, run through a planer or other processes. Longer than that, you likely want another person to help you move them. Also, the jacket boards I get often may have a 12" wide 6' board, and then narrow down to get say an 8" wide 6' board. I'd rather not have a 12' board that is only 6".

So for the newbie's I've seen on here lately, think about what length boards you want to store and make pallets accordingly. I'm now doing double work sorting through 6 large stacks to restack on pallets. Having all the same board length on pallets will really help efficiency when it comes to handling, drying, and machining. Organize right off the bat and save yourself a bunch of work.

TIP: building pallets you don't have to screw or nail everything. My bottom boards are 1.5"x3.75"x46". The two outside top boards are screwed to every bottom board. The remaining top boards are just screwed at the ends. The top boards are about 4" wide and evenly spaced. Stickers then get screwed on their ends aligned to each bottom board. Bottom boards are 12"-15" apart. depending on length of pallet. More pallet info in this thread:
Standardizing lumber pallet? in Sawmills and Milling

WLC · December 11, 2018, 02:45:12 AM

Nice looking pallets. I do similar but I use three runners on the bottom as I stack outside covered with sheets of old metal roofing. The runners keep my pallets from sinking in the ground when we have freeze thaw cycles and seem to make the pallets more rigid and easier to level off.

curved-wood · December 11, 2018, 06:24:37 AM

I am on the same system of pallets. Because I am in a rough and uneven terrain, I skip the one block on each side of the center. Also I dont put bottom boards because my forks are very sharp and if the backhoe is not exactly on the same level, the fork splits the bottom pieces. Since I have no bottom my sleepers are made in 4x4 ; in 2x4, they tend to flip if there is a side force. 4'' is too wide for a nice drying on the row of the bundle underneath, so the last row of the bundle is always scrap boards. For frost ground, I have no choice than to put wood scraps on the ground in line with the sleeper otherwise the pallets split apart and sleepers stays in the frozen ground till spring.

tawilson · December 11, 2018, 06:45:05 AM

I'm storing on not quite flat bedrock so I added a couple 4x6's for this skid. I figured I may as well nail some stickers on while I was at it.

alan gage · December 11, 2018, 09:43:18 AM

When I got my mill going last winter I told myself I'd be diligent about getting everything lined up ahead of time as far as storage and drying. That didn't quite work out and I sawed up some logs (mostly cottonwood) for lumber as part of my air drying shed. There was some lost lumber due to not having a good place to stack or store it at the time. The lumber that did get stacked as a pain in the butt because it was often in the way and not very moveable.

After the drying shed was done I forced myself to saw up more cottonwood and built a bunch of pallets. It wasn't easy to do because all I really wanted to do was start sawing up my nice hardwood logs. I'm glad I did it though because it sure made things easier. So nice to have everything relatively organized and it's easy to move stacks around for access or just to reorganize. It's certainly worth the time and effort. Sure is nice to have this forum to see how things should be done.

Alan

WV Sawmiller · December 11, 2018, 10:41:48 AM

I don't put long boards on the bottoms of my pallets either. I use 2X6 for tops although 1X would likely be fine. I use 2X4 for vertical runner in between. I now make mine 2' wide as I only have 20" forks on my FEL. Wider is better if you can handle them. Be sure not to make your pallets or stacks of lumber wider than the forks on your MHE. One real advantage of the standard pallets is it makes it very quick and easy to inventory your lumber. For me if I have a 10' pallet 2' wide each layer of 4/4 lumber is 20 bf, 24 for 12', 16 for 8' etc.

carykong · December 11, 2018, 10:23:26 PM

I no longer use pallets for stacking boards because all my lumber is stacked outdoors in my pasture and some of my stacks are over two years old. I have discovered that pallets like all wood close to the ground rot and get invaded by termites. Rather not cope with the partially disintergrated pallets and nails that attack my tractor tires. So the bottom sticks get sacrificed to mother nature and I can bushhog with fewer worries.

Old Greenhorn · May 23, 2019, 11:51:47 AM

Hey @Brad_bb thanks for posting this thread. I had been about to ask this question of the group, but I did a search and found this. You OP and the ensuing discussion pretty much covered all my questions. Like others, I have my own take and a different situation, but I am trying to figure out how to best deal with it. I feel like I am on the right track now.
I HATE using good lumber to make skids, I am frugal, sorry. But I also know it is a necessary evil for good wood. I just finished one the other night and made it as long as I could get out of the log to allow for stacking odd lengths end to end. I used 6x6's for the cross ties for two reasons A) my ground ain't flat, so I have to do some blocking on the cross ties to get it level and I want something rigid there, and 2) I don't have a fork lift or any way to pick a pile, so if/when I have to move the wood, it will be by transferring to a trailer or something a board at a time. So my pallets will tend to be 'in-place' for the duration. Last night I made a pup tent type cover over the skid to keep the rain and sun off, but allow full airflow. If this winds up going through snow season. I will harden that up to handle and shed the snow weight.
I prefer to use odd logs to make the pallet wood, like shorts, smalls, or stuff with a lot of rotten pitch on the outside I can cut off and still wind up with a usable 6x6 or 4x4. It's a learning and development process. I am sure I will refine my plans as this first season for me progresses. Thanks again for the thread.
Tom

alan gage · May 23, 2019, 12:15:28 PM

Quote from: Old Greenhorn on May 23, 2019, 11:51:47 AM
I just finished one the other night and made it as long as I could get out of the log to allow for stacking odd lengths end to end.

Something I took from other members, that seems to be working well for me so far, is to develop some standard lengths of lumber. I made pallets for 6, 8, 10, and 12' boards. Sometimes it hurts to cut the end off a 11' 10" log to turn it into a 10'3" log but it's nice not dealing with odd lengths of lumber. Any time I do cut an odd length log I kick myself as I try to figure out how and where to stack it.
Alan

Old Greenhorn · May 23, 2019, 12:19:24 PM

SO far, my 'standard' is 8'6", 10'6", and 12'6". Anything under 8' gets used for pallets, benches, and other stuff around the mill. I imill it and use it within a week. Yeah, yo need to have some standards otherwise you go crazy.

Ron Wenrich · May 23, 2019, 12:44:24 PM

The way lumber yards handle the odd lengths is to mix them in with the even length stack. A 9' would go in with the 10' stack, for example. To accommodate that, a sticker is placed 1 ft in from the end of the pack. You have to do it all the way up, and you don't put odd lengths on the outside of the bundle. It works well, and you don't end up throwing out good lumber.

YellowHammer · May 23, 2019, 11:16:15 PM

Pallets or skids are tremoundous worksavers. We build them by the dozen and spray paint the pattern outline on the concrete floor. So no more measuring, simply lay the pieces on the outline and hit them with the nail gun.

We don't use our good wood for pallets, but our cull kiln dried pieces.

alan gage · May 24, 2019, 09:56:53 AM

Quote from: YellowHammer on May 23, 2019, 11:16:15 PMWe build them by the dozen and spray paint the pattern outline on the concrete floor. So no more measuring, simply lay the pieces on the outline and hit them with the nail gun.

I took that advice and it sure made things easier. But I spray painted the outline on my deckover trailer so I could build at a comfortable height.

Alan

truevine · December 14, 2019, 01:36:35 AM

Well I have been looking for a while now at the thread on building pallets to stack wood on. Very impressed with what you guys have done but unfortunately I have a bad habit of always trying to make something stronger and last longer. Used a lot of really good wood, not Entirely scrap stuff. Base made with store-bought treated 4x4's , That I had left over from another project. Runners are 2" x 3" ripped in half red oaks. Well 2" x 6's Ripped in half, With inch and a quarter by inch and a quarter stackers screwed to the pallet. No nails used all screws. Should hold up for a while Just a little on the heavy duty side, so far I've built 5 ...

APope · December 20, 2019, 06:52:22 AM

Welcome to the forum truevine. Nice looking pallet you built.

YellowHammer · December 20, 2019, 08:07:41 AM

The thing about pallets is that once you start using them and start realizing the saved time, energy and efficiency you'll wonder how you ever did anything without them.

They keep lumber flat and serve as an easy sticker guide.

They also lend themselves to pallet strapping which is the next logical and easy step after a few beautiful loads get spilled off the loader or forklift.