# Super simple wood rack.



## Charlie2 (Jun 4, 2014)

Hats off and a bow to the person that came up with this ! I was skeptical, figuring the vertical posts would tip over, so to amplify the problem I didn't use any wedges to make the verticals actually vertical. I'm going to fix that now that I can see the concept works.

   Three concrete blocks, six of HD's landscaping timbers (which were bought during their $1.50 ea black Friday sale)

   I wish I could give credit to the person that came up with this, they are on this site, but I'd never be able to find the post again, it's really cool , thanks!

   Jagg, I'm sorry but can you please rotate the photo?


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## Applesister (Jun 4, 2014)

A sideways photo is better than none at all. Ive been trying since I joined and my phone just doesnt have the software. All these cinderblock wood racks look unbalanced and tippy but I tried them. They are very stable on gravel. I love the air gap under the rack. You dont lose that bottom layer of wood to wet grass and termites and crap. I modified mine by wedging the uprights and then tying them off with my electric fence wire. I used sapling poles instead of landscape timbers, making my venture into trying this rack completely free. Cinderblocks are hanging out here. If you are really daring you might squeeze 1/2 cord on the 3 cinderblock length.    Mine are holding up really well. Restacked twice(2 seasons).  I dont know whos idea it was but it utilizes some free materials that most people have laying around. I use what I have of whats laying around. They have my vote.


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## Charlie2 (Jun 4, 2014)

Yes, it surprisingly stable and so fast to make. I just went out and squared things up with some wedges, this stack is 52" high. I'm going to do as you do and tie the top of the posts together but it may not be required. This stack is three and a half pallets, double row piled as high as I could.  I too like how high it is off the ground.

  Well! I rotated it, but mercy it took awhile to find it. I think I have about four different places the pictures can go!


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## WiscWoody (Jun 4, 2014)

I've been making these 10' long racks lately. I stack wood on them up to 5 1/2' and I have to shim them with whatever I have as I am on a slope. I no longer use the steel brackets you see in the picture as they cost around $14 per rack. If I use all treated 2x4's to build one they cost me $10 each. More than yours I know. Each one holds near two face cord.


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## aimee750 (Jun 4, 2014)

I make mine 16' long with 5 blocks and 8 timbers.  Cheaper than making two 8' ones.  I might make the next ones 24', if they will fit where I want them.


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## tsquini (Jun 5, 2014)

I have got it down to 3- cinder blocks and 4- 2x4x8. Each rack 8' long cost $14. That makes 1 cord for every 3 racks.


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## Charlie2 (Jun 5, 2014)

I'll try that today aimee. How high do you go?

  How high are you going tsquini? It's going to take more than three the way I'm doing it.


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## tsquini (Jun 5, 2014)

The ends are 2x4x8 cut in half. They are 3'4" stacking height. I stack 2 rows above to make 4". The photo you will see I use landscaping timbers too if I can find them cheap.


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## Grisu (Jun 5, 2014)

Not sure if really someone on this site came up with it. The first time I saw those racks mentioned here, there was a link to this site: http://www.instructables.com/id/No-tools-firewood-rack/

I am still using pallets and criss-crossed "bookends" but thinking about giving those racks a try since the pallets are not really high enough to get the lower rows dried out.


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## Jags (Jun 5, 2014)

Charlie2 said:


> Jagg, I'm sorry but can you please rotate the photo?



As requested:


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## Charlie2 (Jun 5, 2014)

WiscWoody said:


> View attachment 133950
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    Woody sorry for the delayed response.   Your system is great! But what I wanted people to see was the way this person was able to stack wood without having to use ANY tools. It is no more than a five minute job and can completely be moved in the same amount of time.  I'm going to try the 16' long version aimee is using, but I'm not sure setting it up will be as fast on unlevel terrain. Jagg could make a 100' version, no problems. (Thanks Jagg for rotating the photo)


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## billb3 (Jun 6, 2014)

when you use  a 8 foot long  2x4 for the horizontal another block in the middle can help support the 2x4 to stop it from bowing and spilling the stack.





that would be an awful lot of blocks and sticks for 10 cords though
so I only use the blocks and sticks for small batches of firewood of this and/or that I cut through the year.


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## Charlie2 (Jun 6, 2014)

Tried aimee's 16' long version and it's every bit as stable. That's a cord, ten pallets worth. I was looking for a copper head to be somewhere in the pallets, but only saw a scorpion, (BTW it won't be reproducing).

I put this last photo in just for the record.

    billb3,  I'm a southern boy, I was happy as hell to go out in the woods and cut firewood, then put it in the stove and burn it. It was a simple life, there wasn't much magic, just throw it in the stove and set fire to it. It worked for forty five years, then I found this site, a place where folks burned wood, seriously burned wood, amounts of which I never dreamed. So I've learned I don't know much about burning wood after all. So when I post something, it's probably going to be something everyone here already knows.   I just thought it might be useful for some other newbies like myself.


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## Osagebndr (Jun 6, 2014)

I do mine a couple ways but mostly pallets. I get most of the material free on the job site or Craigslist . Got 3000  cinder block a guy just wanted cleaned up and hauled off for free a few months ago! Here's a pic of one of my stacks.


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## billb3 (Jun 8, 2014)

Charlie2 said:


> Tried aimee's 16' long version and it's every bit as stable. That's a cord, ten pallets worth. I was looking for a copper head to be somewhere in the pallets, but only saw a scorpion, (BTW it won't be reproducing).
> 
> I put this last photo in just for the record.
> 
> billb3,  I'm a southern boy, I was happy as hell to go out in the woods and cut firewood, then put it in the stove and burn it. It was a simple life, there wasn't much magic, just throw it in the stove and set fire to it. It worked for forty five years, then I found this site, a place where folks burned wood, seriously burned wood, amounts of which I never dreamed. So I've learned I don't know much about burning wood after all. So when I post something, it's probably going to be something everyone here already knows.   I just thought it might be useful for some other newbies like myself.


Doesn't have to be newbies. My first block and stick stacks I used landscape timbers thinking a 2x4 would break/bend/bow. Seem to work fine. I've used pine saplings for sticks, too. They're even cheaper than a 2x4.  Must be a frugal yankee thing.


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## mass_burner (Jun 13, 2014)

ok, i setup 1 "no tools wood rack". its 8'. so how high can i go with this. i'm up about 6' of wet red oak. can i go higher?


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## mass_burner (Jun 24, 2014)

mass_burner said:


> ok, i setup 1 "no tools wood rack". its 8'. so how high can i go with this. i'm up about 6' of wet red oak. can i go higher?



doh! one of my NTWR's fell over. it was a little over 5' high. it was slightly windy day, nothing big. anyway to easliy reinforce these?


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## Have maul will travel (Jun 24, 2014)

You could try creating 2 or more parallel racks at the same time.  At about every 2.5 feet high foot high throw in some long 3 inch diameter branches, saplings, or 2x4's about every 4-6 feet to tie the stacks together and cross brace the end posts to each other.  I stack three ranks 8' high in the shed and have pretty good luck with this method, I wouldn't recommend  8' though unless you really need it (my circumstances do) as it requires much more attention to the stacking process, and failure can be dangerous.


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## mass_burner (Jun 24, 2014)

Have maul will travel said:


> You could try creating 2 or more parallel racks at the same time.  At about every 2.5 feet high foot high throw in some long 3 inch diameter branches, saplings, or 2x4's about every 4-6 feet to tie the stacks together and cross brace the end posts to each other.  I stack three ranks 8' high in the shed and have pretty good luck with this method, I wouldn't recommend  8' though unless you really need it (my circumstances do) as it requires much more attention to the stacking process, and failure can be dangerous.



no room for parallel racks, I have 2 end-to-end.


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## Applesister (Jun 24, 2014)

I set mine up in a gravel driveway and I set them next to each other. Cinderblocks 5" apart. I tied off the tops with electric fence wire. The outside uprights are wired to each other. I cover my stacks with galvinized roofing so the wire acts as a further support. The fence wire acts like a bow wire as well. If you set the cinderblocks side by side they seem to sort of support each other. Stacking wood single row is tricky no matter how you do it.


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## tsquini (Jun 24, 2014)

mass_burner said:


> doh! one of my NTWR's fell over. it was a little over 5' high. it was slightly windy day, nothing big. anyway to easliy reinforce these?


5'  high stacks is a lot of surface area for the wind to push on. In the past I have tried to stack higher 5'+ to hold more wood in a small area. height and gravity are good friends.  Together they always make my stack lean and sometimes push it over. I find 4' is a good stable height even when stacked in a single row.


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## Charlie2 (Jun 24, 2014)

I've found on this extremely "location" and "personality" diversified web site,---we ain't all the same. Not the same soil, not the same wind, heat or rain. Not the same at declaring "that's good enough" when building something.---Ya'll know what I'm talking.---So I'm just going to say, four foot high and since I don't want to restack I'll probably cut some saplings and jam them into the ground, put them at a 45 degree angle against the stack.  ---Sorry it didn't work well for you.


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## mass_burner (Jun 25, 2014)

Charlie2 said:


> I've found on this extremely "location" and "personality" diversified web site,---we ain't all the same. Not the same soil, not the same wind, heat or rain. Not the same at declaring "that's good enough" when building something.---Ya'll know what I'm talking.---So I'm just going to say, four foot high and since I don't want to restack I'll probably cut some saplings and jam them into the ground, put them at a 45 degree angle against the stack.  ---Sorry it didn't work well for you.



not a big problem, the top 2-3' fell over not the whole thing. took about 20 minutes to restack. seems more steady now. i'll try to work out something simple to brace them.


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## woodsman416 (Jun 25, 2014)

I did mine out of 2 10' 4x4s, 2 8' 2x4s and 3 cinderblocks.


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## mass_burner (Jul 5, 2014)

tsquini said:


> 5'  high stacks is a lot of surface area for the wind to push on. In the past I have tried to stack higher 5'+ to hold more wood in a small area. height and gravity are good friends.  Together they always make my stack lean and sometimes push it over. I find 4' is a good stable height even when stacked in a single row.


the stack that fell over is now leaning forward after Arthur came through. It has a tree/brush line behind it, so I figured best to bias it forward, didn't reckon in Arthur. I need more rack space anyway so I guess I'll move a few feet off the top.


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## tsquini (Jul 5, 2014)

mass_burner said:


> the stack that fell over is now leaning forward after Arthur came through. It has a tree/brush line behind it, so I figured best to bias it forward, didn't reckon in Arthur. I need more rack space anyway so I guess I'll move a few feet off the top.


We got some much needed rain and a little wind up here on the north shore.  It looked like Boston and South felt more of the effects of Arthur.


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## jimdrea (Jul 5, 2014)

WiscWoody said:


> View attachment 133950
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I make mine exactly the same. Mine 8 feet by 5 1/2 . The wood costs ten dollars and the box of 3 1/2 wood screws cost 7 dollars.  I have six of them curing for winter.


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## rdust (Jul 5, 2014)

Been stacking on cinder blocks since the first stack I ever made.  I crib the ends on all but a few stacks, I had some T posts from a garden that is no longer so I used those on some of the stacks.


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## rdust (Jul 5, 2014)

Dug up a picture of my first stack when I started in 2009 besides for keeping a "face" cord around for the fireplace.  Ends are terrible and it looks like I was splitting kindling!  Makes a big difference when you're splitting for 4 years out or 6 months out.    I started out stacking in 24' rows which is a cord, now I have some stacks that are 48' long.


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## billb3 (Jul 6, 2014)

7.5 inches of rain down here Buzzards Bay.
Not much for wind.
Any time I try stacking5 or  6 feet high I'm picking some up or knocking back a lean.
I stop at 4 feet now.
Wind/not so stable ground/drying wood/frost heave. Whatever.
I have two 36 foot long rows of pallets and had to start them just so to avoid trees and rocks sticking out of the ground.


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## WiscWoody (Jul 6, 2014)

Charlie2 said:


> I've found on this extremely "location" and "personality" diversified web site,---we ain't all the same. Not the same soil, not the same wind, heat or rain. Not the same at declaring "that's good enough" when building something.---Ya'll know what I'm talking.---So I'm just going to say, four foot high and since I don't want to restack I'll probably cut some saplings and jam them into the ground, put them at a 45 degree angle against the stack.  ---Sorry it didn't work well for you.


As you can see in my picture to the left my stacks are tall since I lack room for my three year supply. I need to start using 45 degree wood to help stabilize them not so much from the wind here but we've had a lot of rain this year and the ground has softened to a point where some of the racks are leaning and one at the end went down altogether and two next to that one lost some splits also.


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