How to keep the stacked wood straight?

[Pintony]

Hello Group,
What is the prefered way to make sure my stacked wood is straight so it does not fall?
I'm new to wood burning-collecting. when I'm stacking my plie is leaning towards the side I'm stacking from...
How high should I stack my wood? As a kid my dad was always on me about stacking better but gave little advise about what to do to make my stacking more efficient.
Next year I will build a wood shed for now I'm stacking in my lean-to. on top of treated 4x4s from my sons fort-clubhouse that I dismanteled a few years ago.
Whats the best way to stack?

 

[cnice_37]

Don't ask Whitespider, he'll have you out there with a chalk line and level.... :hmm3grin2orange:

 

[greendohn]

Hello Group,
What is the prefered way to make sure my stacked wood is straight so it does not fall?
I'm new to wood burning-collecting. when I'm stacking my plie is leaning towards the side I'm stacking from...
How high should I stack my wood? As a kid my dad was always on me about stacking better but gave little advise about what to do to make my stacking more efficient.
Next year I will build a wood shed for now I'm stacking in my lean-to. on top of treated 4x4s from my sons fort-clubhouse that I dismanteled a few years ago.
Whats the best way to stack?

is that push mower used to chip your wood trash into mulch??:hmm3grin2orange:just kiddin'. i used to struggle with my wood piles leaning to and fro. falling over and all that. I guess stacking your wood proper comes from practice. you might try some wood racks made from 2x4 or something. good luck

 

[Steve NW WI]

Practice makes perfect my friend. I'm still practicing, but I've only lost one stack in the last 5 years or so, and that was some gnarly stuff that just wouldn't stack well, and I tried to get it all in one row, over 6' high.

Dad was a master stacker, mine don't look as good as his used to, but they're getting there. Soon, I'll be an old codger with perfect stacks like Spidey, and a few other members here that are stacking pros.

Stop once in a while, admire what you've got going on, and if you see some leaning spots, find some tapered splits and put them to use straightening things up. If stacking outdoors, 2 rows together leaned in on each other a little bit makes a nice stable row. Just don't lean em too much or the back row will try to attack ya when you take wood off the front row.

I'm off to cut some wood, and if I have time before work, I'll finish stacking the "pretty" 16" oak I have laying out back and get a pic of those stacks. I'm kinda proud of em. My normal stacks cut anywhere from 16-24" don't look near as neat.

 

[stihlrookie]

Start with a level surface, shim it if you need. Give yourself a bit of room between each row when you start stacking, say 2" or so. This will allow you to adjust pieces front to back if the stack seems to be going awry. I do this and then occaisionally push one piece against your other stack to kind of tie it all together. I have never used a level but a 4 footer could be used to ensure the stack is plumb, which I believe is the issue you are refering to. Check that and adjust as needed.

 

[OhioGregg]

I usually try to use wood that is "squarer" shaped on the ends of a stack. Helps to build a little stouter stack, less prone to falling. Works for me.

Gregg,

 

[Biker Dude]

Every piece of wood is tapered and I just stack so the taper alternates as I build a stack. If a piece doesn't look right I turn it 180 degrees and if it still looks wrong I put it somewhere else in the stack. When the stack is complete I check it with my 6' level on the vertical and tap the pieces inward until the stack is straight. I'm pretty anal about stacking though.

 

[doogiegh]

stacks

I don't have any good advice on stacking, but me does think that garage is going to need a gallon of white paint real soon, if you don't want it to turn into firewood as well....

 

[stihlrookie]

Every piece of wood is tapered and I just stack so the taper alternates as I build a stack. If a piece doesn't look right I turn it 180 degrees and if it still looks wrong I put it somewhere else in the stack. When the stack is complete I check it with my 6' level on the vertical and tap the pieces inward until the stack is straight. I'm pretty anal about stacking though.

+1 on the tapping in of pieces, I like the sound it makes too. Only works though if you have space between rows, lots of folks just keep stacking rows right next to each other and can't figure out why their stacks are so out of plumb.

OhioGregg,
Watch out with the square pieces for endstacks. I did this earlier this year, stacks looked almost identical to yours, unfortunately as the stack settled it pushed against my end stack and caused the square splits to just roll out and my stack blew out on the end. Lesson learned for me, I stick to using halves or wedge shaped splits for my endstacks. That first stack in your pic, third row of wood up on the endstack looks just like the problem area I had.

 

[Steve NW WI]

I like something to stack against on the ends. Crisscrossing takes too long. For outdoor/dirt floor stackers, steel T posts work good. They don't drive into concrete well though Cheap firewood brackets and 2x4s do work though, make your own brackets if you're handy.

 

[Hedgerow]

Every piece of wood is tapered and I just stack so the taper alternates as I build a stack. If a piece doesn't look right I turn it 180 degrees and if it still looks wrong I put it somewhere else in the stack. When the stack is complete I check it with my 6' level on the vertical and tap the pieces inward until the stack is straight. I'm pretty anal about stacking though.

I'm anal too...

:hmm3grin2orange:

 

[Guido Salvage]

When cutting wood, I mark off each cut with a 10' stick. Having each piece the same length allows me to have each row the same width and aids me it taking them up straight. Like Gregg, I cross stack at the front end and have woven wire on the back of the shed that I stack against, which holds the wood and allows air circulation.

 

[Chris-PA]

Wood stacks are a reflection of your personality. As far as function, if they don't fall over and they keep the wood off the ground, well that's pretty much all they need to do. As I drive around I keep an eye out for various ways people stack - one of my favorites was a guy who had all sorts of meandering stacks that ran from tree to tree around his (not level) property. There were prop poles along the sides to keep them up.

On my porches I like them to be straight and neat, but recently I make a lot of temporary stacks at the edges of the woods. I just split it and stack it in-place, and move it later. These stacks are quite haphazard, laid out on branches I find laying about. Often they're butted up to a suitable tree on one end. All-in-all I like the effect, and it gets me moving around so I can work in different areas. I'm not real hung up on square.

 

[Hedgerow]

Wood stacks are a reflection of your personality. As far as function, if they don't fall over and they keep the wood off the ground, well that's pretty much all they need to do. As I drive around I keep an eye out for various ways people stack - one of my favorites was a guy who had all sorts of meandering stacks that ran from tree to tree around his (not level) property. There were prop poles along the sides to keep them up.

On my porches I like them to be straight and neat, but recently I make a lot of temporary stacks at the edges of the woods. I just split it and stack it in-place, and move it later. These stacks are quite haphazard, laid out on branches I find laying about. Often they're butted up to a suitable tree on one end. All-in-all I like the effect, and it gets me moving around so I can work in different areas. I'm not real hung up on square.

What do these stacks say to you? Weird fella with too much time on his hands? :msp_confused:

 

[Kevin in Ohio]

If your setting up a place for dedicated storage I would stack against the walls like your doing. Just make sure it can take the stress/load. Be aware that stacking against posts and siding invites the bugs to work on it. As others have said, pick out the nice split stuff for end ricks and lean it in if anything. You can use rounds in a pinch but you have to lock them in and there easy to roll apart.

I try to avoid ricking as it takes more time to do but you have to do it sometimes. We normally stack 8 ft high(my reach)

When I set up my boiler house I used concrete block for sidewalls and put rebar every other core and filled them all with concrete. No ricking needed there and termites don't phase it.

 

[Chris-PA]

What do these stacks say to you? Weird fella with too much time on his hands? :msp_confused:

LOL - in a job I had when I was younger, there was a guy who's desk was always perfect. On his desk blotter there was a row of perfectly sharpened pencils all perfectly lined up end to end (yes, this was before PCs on desks). When I would walk by and he wasn't there I would turn one, just one, ever so slightly.

 

[J.W Younger]

Most of my stacks dry more on one side and will srink faster and lean that direction. Wedge and install small cookies cut in various thickness as needed.

 

[Steve NW WI]

What do these stacks say to you? Weird fella with too much time on his hands? :msp_confused:

No, it's a fella without enough toys to fill his shed. Mine's just full of junk, but here's my shot at a purty wood pile none the less. Look close and you'll see a fence post every 8 1/2 feet to keep 1/3 or (the F word) cords separate. (8'6" to allow for some shrinkage as it dries, also stacked to about 52" high for the same reason.

 

[beerman6]

What do these stacks say to you? Weird fella with too much time on his hands? :msp_confused:

yes! :hmm3grin2orange:

My wood comes from tree service companies=all shapes and sizes,mostly the crap they dont want to deal with.

We do stack it in the shed and it looks fine from the road...

 

[Chris-PA]

No, it's a fella without enough toys to fill his shed. Mine's just full of junk, but here's my shot at a purty wood pile none the less. Look close and you'll see a fence post every 8 1/2 feet to keep 1/3 or (the F word) cords separate. (8'6" to allow for some shrinkage as it dries, also stacked to about 52" high for the same reason.

Must we discuss shrinkage?