Tips on stacking, strapping, shipping 1x8 T&G?

[wkf94025]

I have ~8,000LF of 1x8 tongue and groove redwood siding being moulded this week.  Shop and I are spit-balling how best to stack / strap / load / transfer the finished product.  FOB my flat trailer, in four bundles, with unloading at my place with beefy skid steer and palette forks.  Goal obviously is to avoid breaking any tongues or grooves, or marring finished faces.  Fairly sure we're not the first two rookies (shop owner and me) to face this question.  I welcome advice from 1x T&G veterans....

[Don P]

Knock together some pallets out of the culls. Make them a couple inches wider than the stack to keep your forks out of it and cut some top 2x cauls for the top to protect the edges. Then honk on the straps till its above middle C.

[beenthere]

Fairly sure we're not the first two rookies (shop owner and me) to face this question

I'd be nervous if this is the first rodeo for the shop owner. 

But start the stack on cross pieces and end with similar cross pieces on top (2x3 or 2x4) to pull down hard on strapping. The cross pieces should be longer than than the stack is wide, and I'd interlock the T&G on each layer. 

Good luck..

[Ljohnsaw]

When I bought a bunch of shiplap pine (31 years ago - pre-sawmill ;)) I noted that the boards were stacked face-to-face and back-to-back to protect the finished sides.

[customsawyer]

On mine I put the first layer good face up. Then the remaining layers good face down, until you get about 500 SF. Place 3 or 4 stickers and repeat the process. The stickers will keep the outsides of the stack from wanting to tip over. Put a scrap board on top and bottom where you place the banding and tighten it down some. Just know that when you are hauling this finished product that it will be the boards in the middle of the pack that will try to shift out. Plan on stopping every 30 min. or so and check the load or you can get some of the plastic wrap that the shipping companies use to cover the ends so it can't shift out. This makes it to where you don't have any good faces exposed to forks.

[Don P]

Oh, tongues out on both sides. I can handle a damaged tongue but cannot hide a damaged groove.

[Cedarman]

Pallet wider than stack and longer than stack.  Best face up first layer, rest best face down. Tongue to tongue, groove to groove.  10 layers then stickers or cardboard. we put up to 1000 square feet of 9/16 per bundle. Longer boards on bottom, shorter as you go up the stack.  Steel strap with cross pieces for LTL.  Plastic for local pickup. We put cardboard over the top to protect for LTL.  If a board does get a damaged edge, it can be used for board in corner where edge is not seen or you will have board that will need to be ripped to finish a wall or ceiling.  As said, damaged tongue won't be seen.
We have shipped hundreds LTL and no complaints so far.
Next order is 10,000' of  9/16"x 3 1/2" x long, V groove.   UGH.  Will load on his trailer though.