A question about stickers

[Brucer]

The best way to make stickers depends on what you're using them for.

All my side lumber is about 7/8" thick (1" - 1 saw kerf). I use 3 stickers for 8' and 10' lengths, spaced at 42". For 12' and 14' lengths I add another couple of stickers 12" out from the center ones. All the stickers are rough, approximately 7/8" square. I saw them green and use them green (until they eventually dry). All the lumber is air dried.

Mind you, I'm sawing Douglas-Fir exclusively. It's very stiff even when green so I can get away with a 42" span.

I also have to consider volume. All my 1" is side lumber from my main product -- custom beams. I've had up to 12,000 BF sitting in the yard. Then someone will put up a condo and want 10,000 BF for board & batten siding. They have me load it directly onto a trailer, stickers and all. In theory they're supposed to bring the stickers back, but in practice ... >:(.

My method would be a disaster with most hardwoods.

[YellowHammer]

Down here in humid Alabama, any white wood or sapwood is a likely candidate for sticker stain especially in the warm months, and its a bad day when you break open your stacks and discover the dreaded zebra stripes. Recently I've been experimenting with slotted "H" stickers and they seem to help.  Easy to make on a table saw with power feed. 


 

YH

[mesquite buckeye]

Them are some mighty fine stickers. ;D

Most of my dry ones are covered in swallow goo and have to be whacked a few times before use. ;D 8) 8)

[AnthonyW]

I was admiring the convenient cart on which they are stored. hmmm...

[mesquite buckeye]

Occasionally available at Costco, maybe try Sam's Club. Used to be around $100.

[Deese]

Since I have to manually set my blade height on my mill, I decided to cut 1.5" syp boards on the mill and then cut my stickers (all 1") on my table saw, ending up with a 1.5" x 1" sticker. This is the only way I have found to ensure exact thickness and removes the guesswork of orienting them correctly.

Are there any problems associated with using a 1.5" width sticker instead of a 1" wide sticker?
I have a friend who uses 2" wide x 1" thick stickers. Just curious about the width being <1"  ???

[mesquite buckeye]

More contact ups your chance of sticker stain, especially if they are fresh cut. If you want to get fancy you can groove them or do something like YH.

[WDH]

Yes, keeping them thinner lessens the risk of stain.  Once you stack some very nice lumber, like maple, air dry it 6 months, and then unstack and find the sticker stain, it is like a kick in the stomach.  It will not usually plane out, either.  The hot and humid South has more of a risk than other parts of the Country, all things being even. 

If you are cutting construction grade lumber, it does not matter so much.  If you are cutting for fine furniture, it matters a great deal.  That is why with the high quality hardwoods you must use dry stickers unless you like to gamble.  When you gamble, you always lose sometimes. 

[YellowHammer]

I have to do everything right to avoid sticker stain in my high grade white wood and while its generally rare for me to get stain in the lumber I care about, it takes effort and time.  Nothing worse than going up to a pile of sticker stained lumber and and hanging a sign that reads "Paint Grade, Some Defects, Half Price" :D.

I put my stickers in the ventilated metal carts so that I have no excuse not to put them in a dry place when they are un-stacked from the kiln, or just waiting to be used.  It also makes them easier to manage and is one less thing to mess with.

I've never used stickers with bird poop on them, but have occasionally had a little cow plop sweetener on them ;D
YH 

[ohsoloco]

Mine are from 1-1/8" stock,  knots anywhere in the sticker is a warp factor,  dry, air dry will work fine, does not take long to get a good sticker. the mill or edger should be fine for this. planning is fine,, just more work and time.   david

David summed it up well.  I rough cut 1-1/8" stickers, either when I'm edging boards, or if I have a short log or one that I have no other good use for.  Mine are all white pine.  Mill them up and sticker them to dry until I need them.  If there's a knot in the sticker it goes in the kindling or bonfire pile.  Clear sticks usually dry pretty straight. 

[Cichlidgoob]

There must be some kind of synthetic sticker available that will last forever (plastic), never change dimension, and never stain your wood?  This seems like a no-brainier idea that someone must have cashed in on already. Initial cost would be a bit more but they'd last forever as long as you didn't give them away to customers!

[beenthere]

If you could invent a sticker that wouldn't touch the wood but would hold the layers of wood at about an inch apart and keep warp to a minimum while the boards dry, then you might have the stain problem licked.  ;)  ;)

[Cichlidgoob]

I understand the staining mechanism when you have wood on wood but how would stains happen with plastic or non leaching material?

[jueston]

i think plastic would actually increase the likelihood of mold by holding the water against the wood and not allowing it to dry at all...

just my thought.

there are some patented sticker designs which apparently decrease the likelihood of stain. they have different fluted design, along the length of the sticker or some of them at a 45 degree angle to offer support while still allowing for air flow....

[beenthere]

I understand the staining mechanism when you have wood on wood but how would stains happen with plastic or non leaching material?

Like jueston said, I think also.

The sticker just leaves a small area where in contact with the wood that dries differently than the surfaces without the sticker in contact. That interface changes air flow, temperature, and relative humidity in the immediate area in contact. Hard to avoid altogether but certain stickers work better than others.

[Ianab]

A dry sticker will also actually absorb some moisture from the surface of the green wood. This might partly make up for the lack of airflow in that particular spot? A green sticker can't absorb any more water, so it slows the drying in that spot, and increases the chance of staining.

I remember reading that with with vary difficult to dry species using really dry stickers can wick moisture out of the green wood TOO fast, and actually cause surface checking  ???

I suspect a totally impervious sticker could cause more problems than it solves?

Ian

[Raym]

I have an abundant supply of 3/4 PVC cutoffs that I have ripped to 1" to use for stickers. Once I start sawing, I plan on the lumber going directly into the kiln. Should I expect issues with these?

[sparky]

I noticed several bundles of waste material behind a millwork shop some years ago. I was needing some stickers, so I asked about buying them. The owner offered them for free! They were all kiln dried hardwood and made excellent stickers. They were the same thickness, so I sawed them to 1 & 1/4 inches in width on a table saw and was set for some time. You may want to look into millwork shops as a source for sticker material.

Sparky