I’m in central Texas with an insulated, but not climate controlled, garage shop. Occasionally I find good deals on wood on facebook marketplace or Craigslist. I’m normally buying kiln dried wood. I can’t pass up a good deal, so I bring it home and wait for inspiration to strike.
My question concerns storing the wood. I have several wall racks for horizontal storage. Do I need to sticker the boards? It is likely that I won’t use them for a year or more. Putting a 1/2″ sticker between each layer will greatly reduce my storage capacity. I’ve also considered cutting strips of thin plywood for stickers.
Thanks for any help.
Replies
For KD boards or dead dry boards stickers are not necessary. For unseasoned lumber or lumber that needs additional seasoning you need stickers.
KD wood will age well just piled up, I still have some going back 40 + years. Thinking you are saving money however is another matter, all you are doing is taking money from the bank and stacking it up on a shelve for years. It is unlikely that it will be the right quantity , size and wood type that will match your project. After many years of piling wood and wasting useful space, I now let the inspiration come first and then buy exactly what I need, there will be enough leftovers to remove the anxiety of not having a piece of wood for the odd job.
I don't disagree with your logic, and I admit I have some wood I regret buying. However there are exceptions. Like the pile of 8/4 black walnut, 10' - 12' boards I found at an estate sale. I bought $1500 (around 120 Bd ft) worth of lovely wood for $180 with no project in mind. I already made a table top with it and am not concerned at all about $90 sitting on the shelf in my garage.
If they give it to you its another story. That is not a good deal its a gift.
I hit an estate sale on a Friday with a friend once for old tools that turned out to be priced at ebay +++ ... But there was lumber EVERYWHERE with no tags at all. Upon asking (and surprising the sale folks) we were told $4/ board.
4x8x1" BB plywood: $4
8/4x10"x8' mahagony: $4
My fave... 1"×26"x4' chestnut $4.
We went back as the sale shut down on Sunday and cleaned up for $2/ board.
My takeaway is to only stockpile lumber for a year or two out from today. I do ignore the pile and buy for individual projects, but I try not to grow it.
I'm in East Texas and never sticker KD wood (mostly hard maple from Pa.) with no problem as long as it is stacked nice. I do sticker unseasoned wood. As far as "taking up room" some wood is just too good to pass up. Example....4/4 24 inch x 17 1/2 foot beautiful ponderosa pine that has been stickered and waiting and waiting for my inspiration. My brother and I bought an entire tree from a sawmill in New Mexico and they cut it to our specs. 14 boards total and has dried to about 22 1/2 inches now.
If your garage/shop is about the same humidity as where your work will go, or if, as you say, it will be in storage for quite a while, stickers are not necessary. The small amount of water going in and out will gain access thru narrow cracks between boards. Be aware that, depending on your average humidity, the wood may take on some moisture over time. Kiln dried does not mean permanent low moisture content.
Climate control is huge if you are in there a lot. If your like me and work 40-50 hrs anweeknit doesn't make sense to heat or cool the shop. Seasonal swings in humidity are big here. Get a dehumidifier. I keep the shop at 45%. Minimal cost. No rusty tools and no warped boards.
My deleted post below (#9) related to an apparently AI-generated post to this thread. These have sometimes occurred in the past. Typically concealed marketing or randomly irrelevant.
That post has now been removed either by the OP or Forum staff. Or MJ who, I think, has the ability to remove bot-revived old threads.
Russ
Dead stack KD wood.
Don't lean it against the wall or otherwise store it vertically except perhaps for very short period of time.
Dead stack it on the shop floor or on racks.
Charlie,
On your comment "Don't lean it against wall or otherwise store vertically" - why is this? The board will take on moisture from ground thru its endgrains at much faster rate than horizonally stored wood?
thanks for any clarification.
James
A bow always seem to set in for me when I've done this -- even when the board is almost vertical. And when they get that vertical they tend to fall over, too.
“[Deleted]”