Stickers

[Brian]

I was wondering if I could use acrylic for stickers for drying wood??? Also how thick is best for the stickers?? Thanks in advanced ................ Brian

[Bay Area Dave]

Stickers, small uniform-sized boards, allow spaces for air to move across the lumber surfaces. They are used in stacks to separate the lumber so that air can move through the stack and to distribute the weight of the lumber vertically from top to bottom. They should be placed an equal distance across each layer of lumber and aligned on top of one another from the bottom of the stack to the top.

If the spaces between the lumber are not equal, air will flow more slowly through the larger spaces. Moisture on lumber surfaces at those locations will evaporate at a slower rate, and the lumber will dry more slowly. Stickers should be sufficiently more wide than thick so that they are not accidentally placed on edge between a layer of lumber.

There is no set sticker size, but the same size sticker should be used throughout a lumber stack. One inch by 3/4 inch or 1 1/4 inches by 1 inch are practical sizes for stickers.

Stickers should be placed as far apart as possible to ensure good air circulation. However, if stickers are placed too far apart, the lumber will not be supported well enough. Poor support while drying will cause the weight of the lumber in the upper layers to sag or otherwise distort the lumber near the bottom. Proper sticker distance is a function of the size (especially thickness) of the lumber. Generally, a sticker distance of about 24 to 36 inches should be sufficient for almost any size lumber. It is important that the stickers be placed at equal distances and straight across a layer and that each layer have a sticker at both ends for support. Proper sticker alignment allows air to circulate evenly across the surfaces of the lumber and allows a more uniform drying rate for each piece of lumber.

Commercial kiln operators need to consider a balance between more air flow across the lumber (thicker stickers) and more kiln capacity, that is, more layers (thinner stickers).

dave

Brian wrote:

[bole2cant]

Dave has actually given a fairly comprehensive reply, but I would add:

If your stickers are square there is no chance of them being 90° off. Always use stickers that are dry, not cut from the lumber you are going to dry. I doubt that anyone would use 36" spacing to dry 4/4 lumber. Most would use

18". Acrylic what? Anything dry and non-metallic should work fine. Coat the ends of the boards with a wax compound (as in AnchorSeal). Paint is only slightly better than nothing.

[Brian]

Plexiglas is a brand name of "acrylic". I cut allot of it at work on the laser. I could use the drops to cut them out and use them at home for stickers....Brian

[Doug Miller]

The basic requirements for stickers are that they be straight, flat, and dry. Acrylic meets all of those requirements.

The best air circulation is achieved with a sticker thickness around 1" (3/4" is OK). Having a specific thickness is less important than making sure that all of your stickers are the *same* thickness.

-- Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

How come we choose from just two people to run for president and 50 for Miss America?

[Silvan]

Make me wonder what book/site he copied that from. It sure doesn't sound very off the cuff to me.

[Scott Cramer]

On 06 Nov 2003, Silvan spake unto rec.woodworking:

It also uses capital letters and punctuation.

0.12 seconds of Googling provided this:

Plagiarism is the highest form of flattery.

Scott

[George]

Disagree. Rather have a sticker that would draw away moisture, helping prevent sticker stain. That's why you use dry wood for stickers. Something non-porous like acrylic would tend to keep the contact area moist, allowing mildew.

Also, it's not effective to end coat any wood you get from the yard, the checks are already established, unless it is absolutely freshly trimmed at the ends. That's why they cut it long - more cost effective.

................

[Doug Miller]

Scott, you have too much time on your hands. :-)

-- Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

How come we choose from just two people to run for president and 50 for Miss America?

[Scott Cramer]

On 06 Nov 2003, Doug Miller spake unto rec.woodworking:

True, true... 0.12 seconds of my life, gone just like *that*. Wasted on BAD, no less. In my defense, I had just finished my third cup of coffee, and the time SEEMED to go by much more quickly than 0.12 seconds, but I know that is just a perceptual anomaly, the actual time wasted is

0.12 seconds, not one millisecond less.

Wesley Clark in a thong would be only marginally better than Al Sharpton in a Speedo, but Carol Mosely Braun in anything less than a burkha is more than my imagine can deal with.

[Silvan]

Are you trying to imply that Bay Area Dave, BAD DAVE of all people, ripped something off from a web site, failed to give proper attribution of the source, and then tried to fool people into thinking he actually had something useful to contribute?

Unfathomable, surely. He must be the person who wrote the text featured on the source web site. Yes, certainly, that's the only explanation that makes sense. Our beloved Dave would never do such an unthinkable thing after all.

[Charlie Self]

Scott Cramer responds:

Ah, I am really, really glad I swallowed just before I read that. This keyboard is so old one more cleaning might kill it.

Charlie Self

"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers." Thomas J. Watson

[Bay Area Dave]

I wonder what miscreant you most admire. You are doing a great job of copying their juvenile manner.

dave

Silvan wrote:

snip

[Bay Area Dave]

and here I thought I was doing the OP a favor by copying the pertinent passage so he wouldn't have to wade through a bunch of extraneous material! screw YOU, Cramer, and Silvan.

dave

Doug Miller wrote: snip

[Doug Miller]

I guess posting a link would have been too much trouble, eh?

-- Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

How come we choose from just two people to run for president and 50 for Miss America?

[Bay Area Dave]

the link wasn't the detail. the quote was. posting the link is easy. plonking you is even easier! bye bye!

dave

Doug Miller wrote:

[todd]

Well, BAD, you can plonk me, too, for this, but I learned that when you quote something, you are supposed to acknowledge the source.

todd

[Charlie Self]

todd responds:

We must have gone to different schools together. That was the concept at all those I attended. Attribution, attribution....

Charlie Self

"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers." Thomas J. Watson

[Bay Area Dave]

toddy, you are guilty of plagiarism also. I'm sure at least 1,438 other posters have said the very thing that you just did. I think it only fair that you acknowledge them all. practice what you preach. The next bozo to say the same thing will have to acknowledge 1,439 folks.

have a great day!

dave

todd wrote:

[Doug Miller]

Oh, please, Dave, say it isn't so! My life is no longer worth living! I can't go on! I think I'll just shoot myse