Sticker Question

[gfadvm]

I have a lot of 12" stickers cut but sawed some 20" lumber and want to know if I can just overlap the shorter stickers I have already cut?

[WDH]

I do it and have not had any issues.  You could also just put them end to end and let them stick out a bit on each side if you are dealing with a sticker stain prone species like maple or yellow poplar. 

[gfadvm]

Thanks Danny, I spent forever cutting stickers, stacking, and weighting the lumber from a big blackjack yesterday. A guy came today and bought the whole stack! Why didn't he come yesterday when I was cutting it and save me all that work?

[WDH]

It never works out like that.  At least he did not want one board from the bottom of the stack  .

[red oaks lumber]

why do you make 12" long stickers?

[hackberry jake]

why do you make 12" long stickers?

Because 6" stickers are too short  ;D

I have actually thought about making 12" stickers and only using 12" stickers. It is much easier to maintain straight stickers with shorter lengths and I vary the width of my drying stacks depending on how much of that species I have to cut. I had only three medium sized pecan logs a while back so I made my sticker stack only 2' wide to maintain weight on the lower layers of pecan. I have a couple 8' wide stacks because I had a "whack" of cherry and cedar to cut.

[loghorse]

Also depends if your forks are 42, 48 inch or whatever size.

[gfadvm]

I had sold several stacks of narrower boards stickered with 12" stickers so I had them. (in answer to "why do you make 12" stickers).

[WDH]

All my 12" stickers are "broke 48" stickers"  :D.

[GeneWengert-WoodDoc]

One advantage of long sticks is that the pile is more stable.  But using a few 12" sticks in a wider pile should be ok.  Be really careful when you go much over 12 layers when using narrow piles with short sticks.  Same is true when tight piling dry lumber. Etc.

[Dan_Shade]

Gene, did you mean short sticks?  do you recommend sticking dried lumber?

[GeneWengert-WoodDoc]

"narrow piles with short sticks" is what I meant.  Thanks for noting that...it is corrected.

For tight piles of lumber, it is prudent and certainly safer to use several thin stickers every 12 layers or so.  I have heard of people being injured when the pile spilled without stickers.  It is especially a risk when the bands are cut, so always stand to the side when cutting bands.  With dry lumber, the risk is that a piece on the edge will fall and then a few more follow.

[Peter Drouin]

All of mine are 48" to work with my 4' pallets. I think 4' is a standed thing . Even a cord of firewood is 4' wide.

[gfadvm]

Peter, I cut flitches and stack each log separately. No pallets. No forklift. No tractor with loader. Just old man power.

[mesquite buckeye]

I like my stickers 48-54", but not so easy with mesquite, so we make do with overlapped short ones a lot of the time. I am tempted to bring out a big pile of oak stickers from Missouri.

[OneWithWood]

My stickers are 40" to match my 40" forks and half the width of my kiln carts.
When drying aspen and tulip I only use half the width of the carts.

[WDH]

That way you don't have "Sticker Stain City"  .