Thread: Storing/Drying slabs?

Always keen to see photos of CS mills.

good on ya mate.

put stickers between the slabs 2 "x 1/2" boards that span the entire slab about every 600mm. stack the slabs in as taller stack that is safe as the weight of the top ones will keep the bottom ones form warping.

seal the ends with paint/ grain sealer.

you could also use a clamp system to keep the slabs from warping. there are pics here somewhere of bobl's setup. but im sure hell be along shortly.

Originally Posted by weisyboy

. . . . . but im sure hell be along shortly.

Here I am, but you already said all I was gunna say.

You've also triggered in my mind a new source of stickers.

I usually use ~45 x ~19 mm pine for stickers which I cut from stuff I scavenge from builders skips. I never thought of using anything thinner than this.

I while ago I bought a new BS and it came in a crate covered in 3 x 1/2" boards. I put them aside and was even going to throw them away but now I think they will do as stickers.

Cheers

For stickers I generally use 1" as I find you can always fit 1" in on the side of logs when milling, doesn't matter if they have a bit of sap either and you go through so many of the little blighters even if you don't throw 'em away. I keep 'em all lying around the place and always cut them especially when cutting things like 6x2's 5x2's 4x2's, just on the outside I rip out 1x2's until ai get to where I want the board. This way if/when I get heaps I can also sell them for survey pegs too, if I'm not using them for stickers


G man as for your original question, stack your slabs so the log is 'built' back together, between each slab run rows of sticks (stickers) anything can be used really, as long as it's the same thickness as the other stickers in that layer. Keep the stickers directly above and below each other in every layer, if you stagger them, you run the risk of 'bending' your slabs and they may dry with a wave in them.

Once you get to a height you are happy with use either ratchet straps, metal banding or like BOB use a system of threaded bar and 4x3's to clamp the stack down - I'm sure Bob has a pic lying around.

Hope this helps, if you need more help feel free to ask, we all like talking - some more than others hey Carl?

Thanks for the guide fella's.
If I use ratchet straps to clamp them together with the stickers between each layer how many straps do I need to use? One at each sticker or 3-4 along a 2.4m slab?
Also, where is the best place to store them like this? Warm/cool, dry/humid, shade/sun?? and how long do they have to be stacked and clamped?

3 ratchets on a 2.4 stack would be fine, maybe 5-6 rows of stickers. For storing the biggest problem for slabs is the sun, keep the sun off them, don't worry about rain unless your'e in the UK how long to leave 'em - about 1 year per 1" of board thickness

Perfect, thanks Sigidi. I'll have to go out and buy some more ratchet straps but they are pretty cheaps these days.
I have sealed the ends with a mix using bondcrete and water. Its actually a "Diggers" copy of bondcrete and looks exactly like PVA wood glue. I had some in the shed that I used to seal a rendered wall before tiling.
Will that work OK or do I need a specific sealer?

g man the biggest concern for the end sealer is to limit how fast the moisture comes out to begin with, anything like old paint, PVA, wood glue type stuff will help to slow it down. When the moisture comes out too fast, too early, the microscopic timber cells tear apart causing cracks to occur. If you can get hold of some long, thin nail plates, like 300x35 from some hardware/framing places, you can also nail them to the ends of the middle few slabs to help hold the grain together. Although having said this, the middle few slabs almost always have a tendency to split right through the middle.

Hope it helps

Originally Posted by Sigidi

3 ratchets on a 2.4 stack would be fine, maybe 5-6 rows of stickers. For storing the biggest problem for slabs is the sun, keep the sun off them, don't worry about rain unless your'e in the UK how long to leave 'em - about 1 year per 1" of board thickness

yep - agree with all of this, especially keeping the sun off. If you are going to store them outside cover them with the covering across the ends and top and leave the sides open so air can get through the sticker gaps. Stack them two or three slabs wide and use heavy shade cloth or other cover to keep the sun off the top and ends. A bit of sun on the sides (esp. early morn or late evening sun) won't be too bad but definitley not all day. The cover can drape over the sides a bit. Ideally all under cover is better but with reasonable air flow.

Attachment 88668

Thanks guys, unfortunatly I dont have the luxury of extra shed space so they will have to go outside with a cover.
Why do the middle slabs tend to crack the worst? Wouldn't they dry slower being in the midde and having less exposure to the air??

Originally Posted by g_man

Why do the middle slabs tend to crack the worst? Wouldn't they dry slower being in the midde and having less exposure to the air??

The middle slabs contain the heart of the log, a conventional mill would cut out the heart and throw it away (or convert into chip/firewood/garden sleepers), the centre slabs retain the heart of the log and that is what will crack in the drying process.

Ahhhhh! Now I understand, thanks Kev..

Nice piccy Bob,

how'd you draw that? would have taken me way too long to draw, I would have rather gone and slabbed a log, stacked, stickered and strapped it then taken piccy's uploaded pics from camera to puter, reduced file size then posted them... might have even beaten myself drawing it

I find stickers thinner than 19mm do not provide enough air flow. I also try to keep them 19x19 so that there is less chance of sticker damage from wind blown rain. Wider stickers will retain the moisture for several days and this can bleech/stain the timber.
I also elevate my stacks by 450mm to allow air flow underneath. This prevents the refrigeration effect. (Cooler air trapped at the bottom of the stack).
You need good air flow through and around the stack in. Especially here where it is wet and cold for a large part of the year.

cheers
Steve