Newbie with two big cherry trees

[LostInTheWoods]

Stickering question

Hi everyone -

Got the logs milled last week that were the whole start of this thread. I have a ton of it now and need to post my pics of the stacks. I have some real nice 6/4 at 7.5' and then a bunch of 1.25" and 1" at about that same length.

Question:
I was not nearly preparred with enough stickers and have only stickered about 40-50% so far. I have done the 1" and 1.25" stuff first as I assume that is at most risk of twisting, etc if not stickered and weighted first. It is all in my garage right now. The remaining 1.25 and 6/4 is still unstickered. I have it all stacked on top of itself in a few stacks and weighted. Am I at risk if this stuff is not stickered right away? I'll get some pics as soon as I can. Thoughts, suggestions?

 

[oldsaw]

It will mold pretty quick, actually black mildew spots if you don't get it stickered pretty fast.

Worst case scenario, go down the nearest lumberyard and buy some 1x6 or 8 and rip them 3/4 square. Good stickers fast for not a whole lot of work or money.

Mark

 

[woodshop]

Hi everyone -

Got the logs milled last week that were the whole start of this thread. I have a ton of it now and need to post my pics of the stacks. I have some real nice 6/4 at 7.5' and then a bunch of 1.25" and 1" at about that same length.

Question:
I was not nearly preparred with enough stickers and have only stickered about 40-50% so far. I have done the 1" and 1.25" stuff first as I assume that is at most risk of twisting, etc if not stickered and weighted first. It is all in my garage right now. The remaining 1.25 and 6/4 is still unstickered. I have it all stacked on top of itself in a few stacks and weighted. Am I at risk if this stuff is not stickered right away? I'll get some pics as soon as I can. Thoughts, suggestions?

...well... depending on how cold it is where you are, you might be ok for a little while. I've had some cherry I milled a week ago, still sitting in a stack in driveway, looked at it the other day, no problems. It's too cold to mold and mildew here in PA, I suspect down in VA, same thing. But don't know. Oldsaw is right though in the summer heat that stuff will start to mold and mildew pronto, like the next day if not sooner depending on how humid it is.

 

[LostInTheWoods]

Guys, thanks. It has been highs only in the 50s since it was cut and stacked and will continue to be highs only in the high fourtys-low fiftys for the next several days where I live. You think I am ok??

Old Saw, thanks for the advice on the sticker material. I have actually been ripping a bunch of Bruce wood flooring that I grabbed out of the dumpster from one of the houses being built. Seems to work well. Not sure if the finished side of the flooring is an issue for the wood.

I'm gonna assume that I am ok with most any material I sticker with as long as i get the boards stickered soon (day after Thanksgiving most likely.) I stacked them because i was more concerned about cupping, bowing, etc. If I am better off keeping them separated, because of the mold issue, as opposed to having them weighted please me know your thoughts.

What do i do if I do start getting the black mold/mildew spots?

 

[woodshop]

I'm gonna assume that I am ok with most any material I sticker with as long as i get the boards stickered soon (day after Thanksgiving most likely.) I stacked them because i was more concerned about cupping, bowing, etc. If I am better off keeping them separated, because of the mold issue, as opposed to having them weighted please me know your thoughts.

What do i do if I do start getting the black mold/mildew spots?

Again, this time of year, I think you are fine with a pile of wet lumber sitting for few days, even till Friday as you say. I hate to admit this, but in cold weather, I have left piles of wet milled lumber sit for several WEEKS before stickering, and as long as it's all in a pile with nothing sticking out to dry fast, no ill effects.

I often get those black spots on my lumber when milling, they seem to appear almost instantly after I take the board off the cant (I'm talking only minutes). They are not mold or mildew, but I think just little bits of metal from the saw/blades etc oxidizing and turning black from the chemicals in the wood. Reason I think that is that I have gotten a black stain in the shape of the metal tool I left on a just milled oak board. I once left a wire brush laying on a cant, and came back next day that whole area under the brush had that same black stain. It doesn't go deep into the wood though, and one pass through the planer and it's gone. No big deal.

 

[LostInTheWoods]

Again, this time of year, I think you are fine with a pile of wet lumber sitting for few days, even till Friday as you say. I hate to admit this, but in cold weather, I have left piles of wet milled lumber sit for several WEEKS before stickering, and as long as it's all in a pile with nothing sticking out to dry fast

Thanks woodshop. Makes me feel a lot better. I put a significant amount of sweat equity in so far and don't want to goof anything up (at least not what i can control).

Also, thanks for the comment about not too much sticking out on the end of the stacked boards. It is pretty easy for me to restack, at least, I'll check that out for making sure the stacks are as uniform as possible.

Ironically, I am using some of the smaller logs that were not worth milling as weight on these tall narrow stacks. Seemed like a good idea since they are long, uniform (basically) and heavy. Cherry weighting down the cherry, thought you'd appreciate the irony.

Garage has that strong smell of wet cherry wood, big time.

Cheers

 

[woodshop]

Cherry weighting down the cherry, thought you'd appreciate the irony.
Garage has that strong smell of wet cherry wood, big time.

Weighing down wood with wood... more times than not lately, I've been using the larger planks, like the 12 inch wide 12/4's (120 lbs per 8 footer) on the top of the stack as the ONLY weight, forgoing my concrete slugs. So far, with the white oak I recently milled, no problems doing that. Keeping a eye on it to see though. As for your sweet cherry smell, when the wind is blowing right, I can't go out in my back yard without getting a whiff of the somewhat acidic smell of all that fresh white oak drying back there. That will last a few months. Trade ya?

 

[oldsaw]

I keep my wood in the garage since I tend to do only small batches. House keeps it pretty warm, so I need to think about mold/mildew year round.

The last batch of black spots I got were definitely mold/mildew. Left them together around room temperature for a week or two before I got them stickered. Had to leave town, other family "tragedies" kept me away.

Outside, wouldn't worry too much this time of year, even in VA.

Mark

 

[LostInTheWoods]

As for your sweet cherry smell, when the wind is blowing right, I can't go out in my back yard without getting a whiff of the somewhat acidic smell of all that fresh white oak drying back there. That will last a few months. Trade ya?

Yes, acidic is actually a really good way to describe it. I'm sure when it drys more that smell mellows and more wood comes though.

No dice on the trade, I am way too much of a newbie to have designs on what I would do with it. I'll say this though...you've been a ton of help on this process so far so if you are interested in some rough cut I would make you a good deal. As I've said, profit was not my motive in this project but I have put a lot of work and some money (milling was $350 alone) into all this.

Btw, meant to say good job on 1,000+ posts.

 

[LostInTheWoods]

Left them together around room temperature for a week or two before I got them stickered. Had to leave town, other family "tragedies" kept me away.

Outside, wouldn't worry too much this time of year, even in VA.

oldsaw, thanks for the follow up, i'll let you all know if i get any dark coloring in any way.

Speaking of family, with everyone coming over for turkey day i expect to get some of my investment in food back by taking it out in help with stickering the cherry and splittng a bunch of wood at the house!

 

[woodshop]

No dice on the trade, I am way too much of a newbie to have designs on what I would do with it. I'll say this though...you've been a ton of help on this process so far so if you are interested in some rough cut I would make you a good deal.

Nahh...you've got too much blood sweat and tears invested in that cherry to wanna sell it to anybody. I feel the same with most of the wood I mill. Got oak up to my ears, and as much as I like cherry and won't pass up one to mill, got lots of that now too. Trees on the top of my wanna mill list are black walnut, rock maple and redcedar. AS member near me just offered a 24 in walnut in trade for some other milling. After my craft shows next two weekends, gonna try and take him up on that. Thanks for the offer though.

Like most of us here I suspect... I NEED MORE WEEKENDS!!! Don't ya hate it when your job and family obligations get in the way of more important things in life like chainsaws, bar oil and milling wood????

 

[MikeInParadise]

Nice pics. I see several people in here using the aluminum ladders for the first cut. How do you secure it to the log?

I use some fender washers to attach a board to the bottom of the ladder. This allows the board to slide up and down. I then screw this into the log. Works for me!

 

[LostInTheWoods]

Like most of us here I suspect... I NEED MORE WEEKENDS!!! Don't ya hate it when your job and family obligations get in the way of more important things in life like chainsaws, bar oil and milling wood????

You said it. I may just be a newbie but I am getting bitten. I not only have a grage full of cherry (~400 bd ft rough cut) but I have fire woods logs from the forest in the drive way to saw and split. I find all this much more interesting work on the weekends then cleaning house or home decorating (we just moved). Heck, just this morning the Stihl catalog came in and I was telling my wife I needed a bigger saw. Don't "really" need a new one but I told her "All the guys on AS all have multiple saws in their signatures". Guess I'll just have to build up my collection starting with my humble MS 210.

 

[woodshop]

I use some fender washers to attach a board to the bottom of the ladder. This allows the board to slide up and down. I then screw this into the log. Works for me!

Good idea, I like simple solutions for things like that, but that also work well. Knowing me, I would have taken a more complicated approach, maybe a toggle clamp that tightens the ladder to the lumber crosspiece with a bolt that screws into a threaded insert in the lumber. But your solution takes 2 minutes. Good job.

 

[trax]

We need some pic's of the pile of boards

 

[woodshop]

I told her "All the guys on AS all have multiple saws in their signatures". Guess I'll just have to build up my collection starting with my humble MS 210.

I suspect that most of us started with ONE saw, probably a used one, probably NOT a 395XP or MS660 sized saw either. If you're not going to be milling lumber or cutting down 36 inch trees, in my opinion you only really NEED two saws, a small one and a medium sized firewood saw in the 60cc range like the MS361 or Husky 365. Now if you want to slice logs into lumber or be able to cut up huge trees... or if like lots of us you just like chainsaws and HAVE to have lots of them...different story. Get out your wallet. Oh yeah, don't forget to tell your kids that they won't be going to college.

 

[dustytools]

Good idea, I like simple solutions for things like that, but that also work well. Knowing me, I would have taken a more complicated approach, maybe a toggle clamp that tightens the ladder to the lumber crosspiece with a bolt that screws into a threaded insert in the lumber. But your solution takes 2 minutes. Good job.

I agree with Woodshop, nice ,simple approach. Now I gotta find me an aluminum ladder somewhere.

 

[oldsaw]

I suspect that most of us started with ONE saw, probably a used one, probably NOT a 395XP or MS660 sized saw either. If you're not going to be milling lumber or cutting down 36 inch trees, in my opinion you only really NEED two saws, a small one and a medium sized firewood saw in the 60cc range like the MS361 or Husky 365. Now if you want to slice logs into lumber or be able to cut up huge trees... or if like lots of us you just like chainsaws and HAVE to have lots of them...different story. Get out your wallet. Oh yeah, don't forget to tell your kids that they won't be going to college.

Absolutely spot on advice. I started out with a 60cc class saw, and then got a smaller one, 45cc class (Homie 150) from Dad for free...just needed work. If I didn't mill, I wouldn't have the 066 or the 3120...no real point to it.

Mark

 

[LostInTheWoods]

Here are the board pics!

Hey everyone, here are some pics of the milled stuff.

 

[oldsaw]

That's a nice stack of cherry. Nice work.

Mark