Cutting Stickers

[labrador1a]

Hi, was wondering if anyone had suggestions on cutting stickers efficiently or recommendations for making a jig. Thanks

[Nebraska]

I just cut them half a dozen or so at at time with my compound miter saw.  I was guessing you were asking about cutting to length.  I set my side support out so I can tell how long they are give or take a smidgen.  I just make sure they are long enough. If they are too long in the stack, I take a battery powered Sawzall and give them a hair cut....

[fluidpowerpro]

I just use a hand saw and trim them after boards are stacked on top.

[Joseph35]

I cut the log I want to use for stickers into 4' lengths (the length I use for stickers) and then saw the 4' logs into stickers.  This way I don't have to cut the stickers to length later.  You do need to be careful about your 4' cut though so you don't end up with short stickers.

[fluidpowerpro]

I usually edge flitches at the end and will saw stickers out of those.

[caveman]

Sometimes we will saw whole logs into stickers.  Lately, we have been cutting them 1 1/4 x 1" at whatever length the log is.  We bundle them together with mule tape and chainsaw cut them to 42-44".  Our pallets are 42" wide.  We then stack them to dry on top of other stickers.  

Other times, when sawing 1" material, we'll save the edgings and saw them into stickers.  It is nice to have uniform stickers that can be quickly grabbed and put in place rather than lining them all up to ensure they are exactly the same thickness.  

[esteadle]

2 ways I do it.

1) Square up a straight clean log (no knots, no branching, straight and clean) so you end up with a 10-12" cant.
    Then cut 1" or 1-1/8" boards through the entire cant, top to bottom.
    Flip the boards up 90 degrees, and saw through the entire set of boards top to bottom at the same dimension.
    These days I would cut to length from there using a flip out table that I had custom fab'd for my mill.
    But before I did that, I would run a chainsaw down through the stack at the right length between my 2 hydraulic clamps

2) Other way - when edging 1" boards, I "step" down on the edges by 1" and cut 1" squares out until I get clean boards.
     (or whatever the thickness is -- can make 5/4 or 6/4 stickers too).
     This maximizes useful board footage and often yields many extra stickers from what would be waste.
     But it can wear out blades, as the board edges will often have dirt or mud or silica that grinds down the sharp edges.
    
Lately we've been planing stickers down from 1 1/8 to 1" to even them out before we build a stack.
When stickering, good vertical placement and straight clean stickers are key to good straight boards when dried.

Best of luck,

ERX

[Magicman]

The question could apply to actually producing the stickers or shortening them to length.  ??

I am 100% portable and I also furnish the stickers (free) as part of the job.  If there is a cull log available, I will saw it into stickers before the actual sawing begins.  If not we will lay the first boards aside and get the stickers when we edge the flitches.  I always edge the flitches after each log is sawn so there is usually enough stickers being supplied to sticker the lumber.

Often the lumber is dead stacked onto a trailer, etc. and transported to the drying location.  We accumulate stickers as described above and if we decide that we don't have enough, then throw a cull log on the sawmill and make them.

Shortening to length is generally done with my handy and light Stihl MS 170. 

[GAB]

Hi, was wondering if anyone had suggestions on cutting stickers efficiently or recommendations for making a jig. Thanks

Reading the above I'm confused as to what the author is thinking or seeking.
The last stickers I made I had same air dried pine that was not selling so I ran the pile through the planer to 3/4" thick then loaded them onto the sawmill and cut in 1" increments.  Then used the chop saw to cut to the desired length and whatever else was available.  When restacking a log to dry for future use short stickers are best.
No jig or fixture needed, just planer shaving handling capability.
Planed to 3/4" for evenness when stacking.
GAB

[Brad_bb]

Well I've read many times here on the forum, you need good quality stickers to make good quality boards.

I've also read many times not to use green stickers.  

I was therefore somewhat unconventional with how I made my stickers.  I started out milling a lot of dead Ash.  I milled beams and jacket boards.  I milled stickers from the edgings of jacket boards.  Jacket boards (the outside part of the log) tends to have the higher grade clear wood, which is good for the stickers.  Ash is also good for stickers because it has much less tannins than woods like oak or walnut.  Dead Ash is good because it's lower moisture content than most other woods right off the saw.  I've ended up with very little sticker stain.  It was a rare occasion that I was running low on stickers and needed to cut up an entire jacket board for stickers.  That only happened a few times maybe in 400 or so logs.  Because of the way I was cutting the logs - getting either beams or 2x8's or 2x6's for T&G, and jacket boards, I was able to keep up with the required stickers through 400 or so logs.  I'd also make stickers when cutting walnut and cherry, though I use the walnut only for walnut and wait until they are dry enough.

So I used rough cut 4/4 stickers for a long time, which for me were 1-1/16th thick.   Now fast forward to this summer... I have started kiln drying my jacket wood in another guy's kiln a kiln load at a time.  As kiln dried wood gets restacked and the stickers removed, I sort them.  Any not straight enough go to the firewood pile.  This is under 5%.  I run the rest through the planer to bring them to .75".  Now I have a supply of stickers coming back and reprocessing them faster than I can reuse them.  Now they are dry, straight and consistent .75".  

Another option is to buy fluted stickers from the guy in Tennessee.  They are similar to the Breeze stickers but closer for shipping purposes.

[PAmizerman]

I save 4' long boards and stack to dry.
When I need stickers I cut to length on my radial arm saw. Then throw them on the mill and pattern down through 

[Crossroads]

I like to take a 12' log, square it into a cant and saw it down to the deck. Flip the "1x10's" 90° and clamp them lightly. Mark them at 4' lengths and cut them down to about 3/4" from the bed with the chainsaw. Now cut down to the bed and watch the tail gunners scramble collecting 4' stickers. 

[Magicman]

Concerning B_bb above concerns, remember that 90%+ of what I saw is SYP framing lumber.  Sticker stain/shadow is not a concern.  What we each do depends upon our business profile and our market.

[WV Sawmiller]

   I prefer to cut them 2 or 3 times the length I will be using then cut to length with a chainsaw or more often now with a battery powered circle saw. I also use the circle saw to cut stickers for the customers from their edgings when needed. Cutting them longer makes it easier to clamp the log/cant/flitches when cutting them  into stickers.

[jpassardi]

Howard,
I find myself using the cordless circular around the mill as well.

[WV Sawmiller]

   I had a customer bring one out and use it last year and I was hooked. It is great for cutting stickers and salvaging a 3' 2X4 or 5' board off a flitch that would otherwise go in the slab pile.

[K-Guy]

For 1" & 2" lumber use 3/4x 3/4" x 48" stickers. For thicker material use 1 1/2" or 2" square stickers.

[SawyerTed]

Is there any thing wrong with clamping a batch of flitches or boards and making a vertical cut with a chainsaw or circular saw at the length you want stickers, then sawing them with the sawmill.   They come of the mill to length.  The only drawback is collecting them.  

[Rhodemont]

My oak gets stains if I use green stickers.  So,  I load a stack, maybe 8 or 10, of 1 inch flitches on edge on the mill and saw as many as I can get.  Since the hydraulic clamp can bend a stack of flitches pretty easily I put a 3 x 3 at the base of the stack on both sides for the clamp to apply pressure the full length to hold them steady.  These  full length green stickers get stacked under cover to dry for future use.  It also allows to cull out those that twist or bend when drying.  First time use I use my Ryobi electric circular saw to cut to length after boards are holding them down.  

[Erik A]

Not an answer to your question, but i have used survey lath for stickers.

When a company is finished building with them, i can pick up a pile of them from the trash pile.

Example: 
https://www.menards.com/main/building-materials/lumber-boards/boards/4-wood-lath-bundle-50-pieces/1022948/p-1444431620399-c-13115.htm

[Magicman]

Occasionally my customers will have those bundles of lath to use as stickers.  I have seen them run out and make a quick trip to the store.

[jpassardi]

Years ago, when I didn't have a mill, I had someone mill 3600 BF of pine for me. I used lath for stickers. It worked well but it is thin so there will be reduced air flow and likely takes longer to dry the lumber.

[SawyerTed]

Tobacco sticks are what customers here want to use instead of stickers.  

There are 2 kinds, sawn and split.  The sawn ones work ok if they are clean.  Sawn tobacco sticks are usually just like stickers.  Usually 1x1.  Most are oak, some are pine.  

Split tobacco sticks tend to be irregular dimensions.  Split sticks are often very old.  Being irregular they don't stack lumber very well. 

[YellowHammer]

For us, sticker geometry depends on the final lumber product, the species being dried and the quality or acceptability of sticker and enzyme stain.

I started making the conventional 3/4 x 1" stickers and they work...to a point.  In the summer and during high humidity conditions, they cause ticker stain, which comes enzyme stain and in some species will permanently and deeply discolor the lumber where it will not plane out.  Ash, maple, and the sapwood of poplar and some oak species, for example.  These conventional stickers work fine in the winter, or cooler months.  Some of the bigger mills in my area won't even mill whitewood in the summer due to sticker stain issues.  

Then I went to H type stickers, made a video of me making them, and used them for many years.  They work fine in all but the hottest months of the year, but still would limit sawing some species during the summer.  So I would reduce sticker stain by using barrel fans in the summer to move air over the stacks.  

Then I switched to the spiral "Breeze Dried" style stickers and they work 95% of the time, no issues, any species, and no fans blowing and making noise.  Yes, they cost a little but I save that on non damaged lumber and electricity costs.

If producing mill run or construction lumber, or species that are not pone to sticker stain then it's hard to justify more expensive sticker geometries.  However, for us, where one board can sell for hundreds of dollars, and the wrong geometry stickers may zebra stripe every board in an entire stack, and not having zebra striped wood separates fun form our local competitors, then it is money well spent, especially since the stickers are reusable.    

[customsawyer]

Most have seen my bin with stickers in it. I have both fluted and flat stickers. I use the fluted on hardwoods and the flat on softer woods. I have found that if use the fluted on softer woods that it will make dents in the bottom layers of the stacks. Especially when I stack several stacks high in the air drying shed.