Stacking with no end posts aka= show me your stack!

LLigetfa, Nice stacks and nice wood shed! I wish I could cut uniform, smallish, straight stuff like that, but I have to cut wherever I can and often it is not in mature timber where trees grow straight and tall without any limbs, like the stuff I see in your pics. So my splits are seldom that straight and uniform. Oh well, its all BTUs I guess. I just love neat stacks and it is tougher to get them with the kind of wood I usually have to cut.

He gets log form so they are a little more uniform I think. With scrounging I get some really knarley stuff sometimes. Once in a while I get some great stuff but it helps to have straight stuff definitely! Here is some of my messes... Obviously the lighter colors were later and better wood for stacking...

I go 10' high with your no post leaned in method and have never had the ends fail. It is stacked on asphalt and concrete though, I wonder how much ground heave contributes to toppling.

I stack that way and hate it. This year when I start stacking I have to figure out an easier way. :lol: I try to use squares or rectangles and have my best luck using those. When I'm stacking I just toss the best looking pieces into a separate pile and use those for the ends. As others have said if you stack from the middle out it doesn't put too much pressure on the ends.

Spring 2010

Ground heave can and does have a big effect on the wood stacks. One more reason why I limit the height of the stacks. I hate re-stacking.


rdust, those are some great looking piles of wood.

OH - I see now. Well the one with the stone looks nicely cribbed and stable to me.

You said downhill side of the stack and pitch 1/15, maybe this is an issue. All of my stacks are on level ground. If the ground is not level, maybe this could cause the stack to pressure the downhill side and it may need a brace rather then a cribbed end?

I wouldn't get concerned about appearance using posts..... looks fine and works.

My stacks are on level ground, on pallets - 2 rows of 16 inch splits with uglies and shorts inbetween. Ends are cribbed and I stack it high. Never had one fall and it seasons just fine this way. My side yard gets full sun and lots of wind on the hill.

I am in NJ too. Can you get a truck right up to your stacks? If so, what is your address?? :-/

my ground is definately not level. i stack goin up hill all the time. havent had a problem yet. hard to see in this pic but it goes up about the middle of the stack

Here's mine







Billy

This morning we had some fresh snow, real peaceful looking so I grabbed the camara and took a couple shots of my Stacks to show a few different things...

The first gives a view of the cross stacked ends with no bracing. Stacked on pallets (40" wide, 4' long) I do 2 rows and fill the middle with shorties and uglies. If I have a long row, at times I will cross stack in the middle...usually because thats about the cut off point for the wood I'm stacking at the time.

The second photo shows a Holz Hausen .... a different approach to stacking

The third picture is a work in progress but here I am using an old pallet braced on the end of the rows. I through together a couple of these last year with the idea that it would provide a real stable end to the stacks (mostly cause I was bored and wanted to build something). They do help but with a good cross stack really are not needed.

The last picture shows a few things... another stack with a pallet braced end... stack covered with metal which came from an above the ground pool that a friend and I took down - works real nice to cover my pallet wide stacks .... and it also shows my saw buck that I banged together with scrap lumber a couple years ago.

I tend not to build the ends first as filling in between them could put pressure against them. If you stack as much of the middle first so that it stands on its own, the cribbed ends don't see as much force.

I tend to set aside crib candidates when I'm stacking the middle as I never have enough select crib pieces at the start to do them first.

I agree, usually I do as you do. In this case, the left side is being used now and the right side is new splits that will sit there for a few years before meeting the fire. With the pallet bracing I'm not concerned about the stack tipping over.

I stick posts in the ground, oak, popple, pine, whatever, then stack between. They last several years.
No need for the cross stacking at the ends. Works for me. YMMV

I want to see the picture of you on a 10 ft step ladder driving those posts in with a big ole sledge

My farmer neighbor has an 3PT attachment that drives fenceposts but in the case of PD, there are clues that he used an auger.

That'd be a hoot! It's much easier to use a post hole digger (manual labor kind) though, so that's what i did.
I can have a hole dug in less than 5 minutes.

Ok, here's my first 4'+ stack. A touch bit over half a cord there. I haven't had any formal training on stacking (such as that received from The University of Experience). What I did was build a short crib at the ends and then pile wood in the middle...when the pile started nearing the height of the short crib I'd add a couple more layers to the crib and then continue piling in the middle. As the crib got higher I gradually "leaned" it into the stack. Anyhow, it hasn't fallen...but it hasn't been 24 hours yet, either! :lol:

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n153/intheswamp00/FW010611CTurner_20110108_7647Medium.jpg

That is a pretty good idea. It doesn't look out of place either, like steel fence posts. I look at and admire my stacks all year and hate dismantling them to burn, so I like them to look good too and the log/post ends I think I could get used to. Sure would be easier than stacking ends. Thanks PapaDave.

Here are my stacks, its all free standing, nothing fancy, i find it takes way longer to stack this way though. Havent had any fall over yet, only stacked 4 feet high.

I'm having wood envy. Take that as you will.

I pushed it with this one and it eventually fell over, but a fun pic

man oh man just when I think I have my shi- together then I look at these pics and realize I dont have enough stacked or cut and sure aint as pretty LOL

I am mostly embarrased to show my stacks in comparison to these.

Excellent tip.

Depends on your needs. How much do you burn?
Doesn't have to pretty, as long as you get it c/s/s. I prefer function over form, especially for expendables. Mine are only somewhat straight because I HATE redoing things, and don't want them falling over.
Couple years ago, my stacks were 6' tall, but I've since reduced that to 5' (because they were leaning precariously to the south), and added another section lengthwise to make up for it.