Stickers

Nebraska · February 21, 2025, 01:42:28 PM

I was pondering breaking down and ordering good uniform manufactured stickers to use in my solar kiln. Hope it's up and running by mid May. I make my own currently on the mill like most everyone. Good enough for air drying my mostly rough sawn dimensional stuff. I just feel I could and should do better especially if custom drying for someone else. I did some looking on line and just didn't know what way to go. Fluted, exotic hardwood, spiral synthetic most of mine are Green Ash and Ponderosa Pine.

customsawyer · February 22, 2025, 06:16:48 AM

I use both flat and fluted stickers. I like the fluted on hardwoods. However, the fluted will leave little marks on softwoods when you stack the pallets of lumber two high or higher. The amount of weight will leave marks at every flute towards the bottom of the stacks. I tend to stack 4 pallets high or higher and they really get marks on them. The marks will plane out, but since I also sell dried rough, I don't like to have those marks.

longtime lurker · February 22, 2025, 08:12:26 AM

The problem with every manufactured option is cost... the more you saw the more stickers you need. Using your own by-product is cheap. Ive got a couple hundred that are 3/4" RHS aluminium, I keep them for a couple high value white species I occasionally saw. Shifting to aluminium stickers drastically reduced the incidence of sticker stain in those species.

An alternative to plastic/metal/ fluted/ spiral stickers I've since found is to CCA treat your stickers. That also keeps a lot of the fungi out from under the stickers and reduces discolouration.

KWood255 · March 17, 2025, 10:10:16 PM

The last couple years I have been cutting my stickers at 1x1x48 out of white poplar. Our white poplar is plentiful, cheap and durable. Most importantly, I find that it doesn't stain like pine stickers will.