Use Cross-Stacked Wood On Ends?

[velvetfoot]

Yeah, okay, I've got all these questions because the split wood is piling up from my "processing" that grapple load and I'm running out of space.
Is cross-stacking wood on the ends of the pile a good way of keeping things together?
I've done that on one small (old) pile and it seems to work.
I've used the metal fencing poles, but I'm not that crazy about them, especially if the cross-stack ends would work.

 

[eba1225]

velvetfoot,

I definately think the cross stacking is the way to go. I did two ends with the metal stakes and it started to get a little hairy, pushout of pole, when I reached 4 ft in height, so I tore it down and cross stacked and have no concerns, and I am at 6ft tall with no pushout.

Erik

 

[velvetfoot]

Thanks Erik. I'm going to try that route. Not that it's much of a factor in my case, but I think it's more aesthetic.

 

[Eric Johnson]

Do you guys use the polypropylene rope to hold it all together?

Something like this........

Here's the Wiki

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/wiki/Stack_Firewood_1/

 

[velvetfoot]

More of the hassle factor.
I'm going to try the cross-stack ends, and see if it stays vertical.

 

[Rhone]

I wouldn't do the criss-cross method if you're on a hill. I've been burning wood for over two decades and can't recall ever having a problem using the criss-cross ends when my piles were on level ground. I moved to a house where my piles are on a slight incline and most of them fall down... if not within an hour within a week of stacking, more often than not. Something about the heating/cooling cycle it seemed to fall always around 11pm, I'd hear a huge thunderous boom and the sounds of wood clinking down my damn hill. I ended up using poly rope every few feet up at the ends to tie the end pieces and I let it lay in the pile, as I stacked pieces on top of the rope it secured the end pieces from falling. It did work, as the criss-cross end did yet slip once again and looked like a physics experiment gone bad but it held and didn't go tumbling down the incline either. This year, I tried to attempt the criss-cross a few more times with a severe pitch into the pile to compensate for the hill and didn't want to bother with the rope and twice again it all came tumbling down with a thunderous boom and the clinking sounds of wood going down my damn incline. I was so pissed off I skipped the end all together and just stacked it low and it rises towards the middle. Next year I'll do something about, weld up some angle irons or something.

 

[Highbeam]

I've always used the cross stacked ends to hold up rows. In the attached photo the rows are 58' long and begun on the left side with a single cross stack. Then just add on until you get to the other end and build another cross stack. My piles are only 4 feet tall but I have some 7 footers done the same way. I never knew there was a better way. Book ends.

 

[velvetfoot]

I hate re-stacking too.

 

[velvetfoot]

That's a beautiful picture, Highbeam-nice country.

There's a natural 'angle of repose' of the wood when it's removed from the end for burning.
Stuff like a sign post, rope, etc, just adds to the clutter.
My ground is reasonably level, maybe sloping a little to the side of the stack.
I've learned to check very often if things are level as I'm building it, shimming and readjusting where necessary.

 

[BrotherBart]

You need to visit Switzerland velvetfoot. I swear they have Masters Degree programs in wood stacking there.

 

[DiscoInferno]

I did a whole pile cross-stacked this year for the first time. It worked out really well, because the wood lengths were all over the place but were relatively square and uniform in thickness. So instead of ragged air gaps between two rows, I have a 11.5'x5.5'x40" "brick" of wood. It's extremely stable, since all the wood is interlocked (the ends are supported, but they don't need to be). Bit of a pain to put together, I'll admit, but it's for two years from now. It looks kind of neat also. I did a second, much smaller pile on a single free-standing pallet, it's only 3' high but I could go up 6' and it would still be completely stable.

My question is what is the typical stacking density loss of cross-stacked vs. parallel stacked? I think in my case it was a wash, but with more wedge-shaped and uniform-length wood it might be significant.

 

[babalu87]

Eric thats a good idea. Have you ever tried nylon rope? It would last almost forever but has less stretch than poly-pro ,I dont know if that would be good or bad?
I cross stack the ends and go up to 5 feet tall. I wish I could get a 7 foot stake in the ground, the nickname of this area of town is Rock Village! Want to talk work, ask me about my garden some time

 

[BrotherBart]

Eric thats a good idea. Have you ever tried nylon rope? It would last almost forever but has less stretch than poly-pro ,I dont know if that would be good or bad?
I cross stack the ends and go up to 5 feet tall. I wish I could get a 7 foot stake in the ground, the nickname of this area of town is Rock Village! Want to talk work, ask me about my garden some time

I use the poly rope too. 400 feet at Harbor Freight on sale for ten bucks a few years ago. As far as getting the stakes in the ground they don't have be more than a couple of inches in the dirt. I use king size bed frame rails. Long story but a local mattress rip-off joint went bankrupt and when I went to buy mattresses at the auction I bought the entire frame inventory for five bucks. A truck load of angle iron.

I just poke the frame rails in the ground a few inches and lay the rope end to end on half of the stack and tie it to the rails on the ends. Then finish the stack. A cord to a stack. Currently doing 64 inchs high. I could go higher but don't see the need. Never had a stack come down yet.

 

[jpl1nh]

I'm all about the criss cross ends. My Granddad was a damned yankee, and that' just how its done! But seriously folks, as long as you use splits with good flat edges, make sure they are stable on the pile, not prone to rolling before you go on to the next layer, it works great and looks beautiful too. Might as well get some nice aesthetics with all the wood right?