Stacking planed lumber

[Barry Bruner]

A friend of mine gave me a phone number of a guy that has 600 bdf. of kiln dried cherry lumber for $1.50 a foot for sale. Sounds good so far but I am fixing to get to the strange part. I called the guy up and said I was interested in about $500.00 worth of it, he said I could have it for $1.25 if I would take all of it. I ask him how thick and wide the wood was and he said from 3 inches to six inches wide. I told him that I was not interested in anything three inches wide. Then he told me that it was kiln dried and plained to 7/8 inch thick. I have bought 7/8 inch plained wood from the lumber yard for a project many times but not 600 feet. If I sticker it I am afraid it will discolor the wood where the strickers are and might not be able to get it out. I would not think you could stack it with out stickers, tell me what to do? I might be better off giving $1.50 a foot for 200 feet of 6 inch wide wood and telling him that is all I want. Barry Bruner

[johnny means]

No need to sticker dried lumber. Stickering is part of the drying process.

[Alan Schaffter]

No stickers needed. Stack flat or stack vertical.

[John TenEyck]

Agreed. No need to sticker KD lumber, but be sure to give it time to acclimate to your shop before using it which will take longer when it's dense stacked.

[Troy Turner]

Then he told me that it was kiln dried

Jumping on the "no need to sticker, it's already dried" wagon here...

[Randy Dutkiewicz]

Why can't "I" seem to find deals like this down here in Savannah...

[Keith Harrell]

I have to agree with no stickers needed for true dried wood. The reason I say true is I got a similar deal when i was starting out years ago but he did not have use stickers when he dried it. I thought I could plane the mildew out on the boards. WRONG

[Barry Bruner]

Much thanks to everyone for your replies. Keith you bring up a good point. My stepfather had a large oak tree that he had sawed and he stacked it green against my advise and it molded and rotted within a few months. I actually have one more concern about the 3 to 6 inch width. That seems like the tree was rather small. I was told by a guy that owns a sawmill, whenever trees are harvested too small, makes them unstable. The same stepfather gave me some 4 to 6 inch walnut and it was stickered by me and it still warped pretty bad. Barry Bruner

[Jim Becker]

If the tree was small, sap wood is going to be a major issue...unless you like it for whatever style of work you do. It's certainly just as good structurally...I don't waste sap wood; rather I use it for secondary stock...but with small tree output, you may end up with mostly sap. You really need to look at this lumber carefully before you bite.

[Chris Fournier]

Not worth the trouble or money plain and simple. In fact at 3 to 6 inches width this could well be the left over rippings from a large millwork project. If someone actually milled 3" wide lumber they didn't know what they were doing and that gets you to wondering about how it was kiln dried... This lumber should likely be sold as frame stock which is used under upholstered furniture.

If it's only for utility purposes in your shop, you can buy really nice graded poplar for this much money per BFT and less. Oh yeah, the poplar will be 6" and wider.

[Barry Bruner]

Jim, the guy actually said that they cut all the sapwood off. I will be sure to look it over. Believe you me that I have been burnt a bunch. I bought a bunch of maple, site unseen, that looked like potato chips. Barry Bruner

[Barry Bruner]

Chris, you bring up a very good point. The guy does tree trimming on the side, he said this tree landed on someones house after a storm. He also said he kiln dried it where he worked, which goes along with what you said. It is strange that a tree that produces 600 bdf. does not have a board wider than six inches wide. I am going to pass, something does not quite add up.

The lumber yard I usually buy from has wood less than six inches wide put into panels. Of course, they charge around $4.50 a bdf. for cherry from 6 to 10 inches wide and around $30.00 for a 36" x 48" panel. Barry Bruner

[Chris Fournier]

I agree Barry, something does not add up, at least not to a good deal. The great deals come when you're not looking too hard, and when money's tight, and when you're just about out of space!