How long did it take to learn how to stack wood correctly? How many times have we had to re-stack a pile because it, fell over, had older wood on the bottom, was sitting on the bare ground, had unsplit rounds that needed split, etc.... After 4 yrs of staking wood I now know how to do it!
How many times?
- Thread starter gzecc
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gzecc said:
I have a moron proof (thank god) wood shed. After 30 years I still don't know how to stack wood.
I'm a terrible stacker too, no matter how careful I am there's always a meltdown. Now the only wood I stack is a couple cords our campfire shoulders season wood junk wood so it's not too bad.
Did take awhile. Big improvement when, rather than just cutting pieces so-so, I now cut everything at 16" - stacks evenly. My woodshed is long, holds 16 - 16" wide x 6' high x 8' long rows. Have two woodsheds. The splits are stacked on 4x 4 landscape timbers. I burn one row at a time, going in a round robin fashion through the woodsheds. As I cut new wood, I simply restack the empty rows, starting with the row first emptied, so I'm always burning the wood that has been dried the longest.
I am a terrible stacker. The neighbors cats like to sit on the piles, and my dogs like to chase cats. My piles don't usually last too long.
Guess I must have had plenty of practice as a kid stacking wood (10-12 cords every year in an old wood furnace . . . way, way before EPA even thought about new standards) since I've never had any issues stacking wood and having it fall down . . . and with the exception of a couple of years when I had a woodshed (right after college, living in a camp) I've never needed anything except for wood to establish the woodstack (i.e. no 2 x 4s, pins, elaborate rack system, etc.)
That said . . . this being my first reintroduction to wood burning in my new (well over 10 years old to me now) house I don't have a woodshed . . . but this is pretty high on my "to do" list for next Spring since I know I'm not going to relish knocking the snow off the woodpile.
That said . . . this being my first reintroduction to wood burning in my new (well over 10 years old to me now) house I don't have a woodshed . . . but this is pretty high on my "to do" list for next Spring since I know I'm not going to relish knocking the snow off the woodpile.
Never have had one of my stacks fall over. I got plenty of practice stacking as a kid as well.
Of course I'm sure I just jinked myself. :roll:
Of course I'm sure I just jinked myself. :roll:
Like Tfin. I tried to do something artsy with an already standing small pile with 4 boxed corners and it fell over last weekend. I had that one coming. I'll re-stack it with my artsy design and am confident that it will be very stable.
I can't stack worth a darn either. I use pallets on the bottom and ends to keep stuff from going anywere. It's working so far. My biggest issue is probably that my wood is not all the same length.
SS
SS
I may not be able to stack with a darn but I'm a wood piling sumbasti...and if you looked at those piles from a couple hundred feet away most people would say...Holy Cow!
I've found best luck stacking a few rows in one stack, then doing a few rows in another stack, etc. Most of my issues were from the stacks moving when they dried out. If I stack them slowly the wood on the bottom dries and moves and the top rows are placed to compensate. I don't have leaning or falling issues now.
Matt
Matt
I had lots of practice when I was a kid, folks started burning wood when I was 5yo and have been burning ever since.
I can stack a pile free standing and not have more than a few that need to be picked back up. when its all said and done.
worst place of stacking I ever had was folks have an old windmall tri pod in the backyard and dad came up with the great idea of putting the extra wood pile in the tripod area of the windmall. talk about a pain go 6ft have a 120 corner not a 90 or just and end then stack the other side due this 3 times and then fill in the middle of it as best you can with stacked wood not just thrown in but stacked pretty and not to press out on the outside rows to tip the pile over went up 20 ft with this pile. Only did this 1 or 2 years as it was such a pain for stacking.
sublime out.
I can stack a pile free standing and not have more than a few that need to be picked back up. when its all said and done.
worst place of stacking I ever had was folks have an old windmall tri pod in the backyard and dad came up with the great idea of putting the extra wood pile in the tripod area of the windmall. talk about a pain go 6ft have a 120 corner not a 90 or just and end then stack the other side due this 3 times and then fill in the middle of it as best you can with stacked wood not just thrown in but stacked pretty and not to press out on the outside rows to tip the pile over went up 20 ft with this pile. Only did this 1 or 2 years as it was such a pain for stacking.
sublime out.
My neighbor had a big stack of fresh split green Oak and Maple. It was enlightening to just watch that pile shrink over about 3 months as it threw off lots of moisture. I'm thinking that my own method is going to be starting with big piles of splits that I'll stack after a few months drying. For some reason, I'm fairly good at stacking. I keep 'em at 4ft or less in height, though. I'll build a woodshed this fall or in the spring. I think the only thing I'd stack in a shed right away would be standing deadwood. Everything else can wait a while before going in there. In a woodshed, I figure I can stack it about as high as I can reach.
The biggest obstacle is finding a level surface to stack the wood on. Level ground, level pallet, level pile. Find large pieces with very flat sides and use them to start the pile. Now stack tightly to eliminate as much airspace as possible. This will ultimately keep the stack from leaning/moving/shifting.
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