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Author Topic: New try at drying/storage platforms.  (Read 10571 times)

Offline A.O.

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New try at drying/storage platforms.
« on: December 19, 2018, 01:27:45 PM »
So if you remember the platforms I made as take off tables/storage/drying platforms

These guys..




Well they work "ok" but they don't allow me to stack them up so I decided to take another approach and build a more traditional skid..








So I built three of these out of some smaller SYP logs I have. I have not tried them yet, so busy with Christmas stuff going on, but will give them a try after the holidays are over. The stickers I have mounted to the tops are 24" apart, ya think that will be ok"

And yes I'm still out here!! ;-)

Offline furu

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Re: New try at drying/storage platforms.
« Reply #1 on: December 19, 2018, 03:03:49 PM »
I am more of an 18 inch spread but I do a lot of 1 inch stuff.  The 24 inch should work unless the boards are so thin they sag inside the 24 in spread.
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Offline bandmiller2

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Re: New try at drying/storage platforms.
« Reply #2 on: December 19, 2018, 03:10:36 PM »
AO, those are dandy especially if you have a machine with forks. That spacing should be fine unless you or the wood is real fussy. Frank C.

Offline Tom the Sawyer

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Re: New try at drying/storage platforms.
« Reply #3 on: December 19, 2018, 04:04:59 PM »
I built a couple of lumber stacking pallets.  I built mine for 16" spacing since I mill a lot of hardwoods, and a lot of 4/4 or 5/4.  Building them was a bit of a hassle so I found a local pallet company that would build them to order, both 8' and 12' lengths.  I made them 44" wide to fit my pallet racking.  Worked out well so far.
Timberking B-20, log arch, F350 flatbed dump,
20' Trailer w/ log loading arch, Princeton forklift, Bobcat S250 w/ Frostbite grapple.  Nyle L200M kiln.

Offline A.O.

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Re: New try at drying/storage platforms.
« Reply #4 on: December 19, 2018, 04:26:10 PM »
AO, those are dandy especially if you have a machine with forks. That spacing should be fine unless you or the wood is real fussy. Frank C.

Yes I built them so I can handle them with the forks on my tractor..

Offline A.O.

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Re: New try at drying/storage platforms.
« Reply #5 on: December 19, 2018, 04:29:39 PM »
I built a couple of lumber stacking pallets.  I built mine for 16" spacing since I mill a lot of hardwoods, and a lot of 4/4 or 5/4.  Building them was a bit of a hassle so I found a local pallet company that would build them to order, both 8' and 12' lengths.  I made them 44" wide to fit my pallet racking.  Worked out well so far.

I (at least for now) cut only for my own use so I wouldn't ever need more than 8-12 of them I would think. So I can just build them as I go, a couple here and there as needed.

Offline terracefarmer

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Re: New try at drying/storage platforms.
« Reply #6 on: January 05, 2019, 05:07:22 AM »
We built ours out of 2x's that were not good enough for finishing lumber instead of cutting them up to throw into the furnace, we just used them for the tops, usually 2x6's or 2x8's, then screwed them to the cants we were also going to cut up to put in the owb, by using 2x's we don't need the strips below the cants, there's only top boards and the cants screwed together, mine are either 8 foot or 10 foot, with some hang over on each end of the pallet.    That way all my pallets with lumber on them can fit through my planer shed door, think the door is 12 foot wide, so it takes some wiggling with the skid steer to get the longer stuff in pallet, lumber and all.   Pretty simple and cheap, as they say make something useful out of nothing valuable, we must have made 40 by now this way, use the skid steer to move the loaded pallets around and stack lumber piles 14 feet tall to save space.   

For lids on my lumber piles we stack outside, I just built some longer, maybe 12-14 footers and somewhat wider and screwed old barn tin to them, that way we just use the skid steer and once the lumber piles are all stacked up outside, we use the skid steer to set the lids on, and if needed, use a ratchet strap to secure the lid and keep it in place so the wind won't blow it off.      All built out of stuff not good enough for anything else and the only out of pocket cost is the screws to screw them together.       

If they get damaged, we just unscrew them, cut up the materials and into the owb they go and then use the screws to build another one, the materials are free as they come off the mill and the tin was salvaged off old buildings before we tore them down.   

Offline A.O.

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Re: New try at drying/storage platforms.
« Reply #7 on: January 05, 2019, 08:35:44 AM »
We built ours out of 2x's that were not good enough for finishing lumber instead of cutting them up to throw into the furnace, we just used them for the tops, usually 2x6's or 2x8's, then screwed them to the cants we were also going to cut up to put in the owb, by using 2x's we don't need the strips below the cants, there's only top boards and the cants screwed together, mine are either 8 foot or 10 foot, with some hang over on each end of the pallet.    That way all my pallets with lumber on them can fit through my planer shed door, think the door is 12 foot wide, so it takes some wiggling with the skid steer to get the longer stuff in pallet, lumber and all.   Pretty simple and cheap, as they say make something useful out of nothing valuable, we must have made 40 by now this way, use the skid steer to move the loaded pallets around and stack lumber piles 14 feet tall to save space.   

For lids on my lumber piles we stack outside, I just built some longer, maybe 12-14 footers and somewhat wider and screwed old barn tin to them, that way we just use the skid steer and once the lumber piles are all stacked up outside, we use the skid steer to set the lids on, and if needed, use a ratchet strap to secure the lid and keep it in place so the wind won't blow it off.      All built out of stuff not good enough for anything else and the only out of pocket cost is the screws to screw them together.       

If they get damaged, we just unscrew them, cut up the materials and into the owb they go and then use the screws to build another one, the materials are free as they come off the mill and the tin was salvaged off old buildings before we tore them down.

My only thought on the no strips on the bottom is that it would make it harder to stack on a somewhat uneven surface.

Offline terracefarmer

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Re: New try at drying/storage platforms.
« Reply #8 on: January 05, 2019, 08:04:36 PM »
We just stack them either on cement floors [both in sheds and outside], or on top of other lumber piles, so we keep the piles level, no odd boards, only full layers and then stack them up, never had an issue yet.   

Offline A.O.

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Re: New try at drying/storage platforms.
« Reply #9 on: January 06, 2019, 07:19:47 AM »
We just stack them either on cement floors [both in sheds and outside], or on top of other lumber piles, so we keep the piles level, no odd boards, only full layers and then stack them up, never had an issue yet.

Yeah, concrete floors would be nice!

Offline Ox

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Re: New try at drying/storage platforms.
« Reply #10 on: January 06, 2019, 10:43:21 AM »
I'd love to have a flat, level concrete floor for stacking lumber.  It would be heaven. 

Almost.
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1989 GMC 3500 4x4 diesel dump and plow truck, 1964 Oliver 1600 Industrial with Parsons loader and backhoe, 1986 Zetor 5211, Cat's Claw sharpener, single tooth setter, homemade Linn Lumber 1900 style mill, old tools

Offline A.O.

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Re: New try at drying/storage platforms.
« Reply #11 on: January 06, 2019, 12:06:52 PM »
I'd love to have a flat, level concrete floor for stacking lumber.  It would be heaven. 

Almost.

If it had a roof, Heaven for sure Ox!!

Offline Tom the Sawyer

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Re: New try at drying/storage platforms.
« Reply #12 on: January 06, 2019, 03:32:09 PM »
I had the same needs for a suitable place to air dry, and don't have a lot of room.  Here is my version of a flat concrete surface and a roof.  It is also easy to remove or expand as the need arises.
Timberking B-20, log arch, F350 flatbed dump,
20' Trailer w/ log loading arch, Princeton forklift, Bobcat S250 w/ Frostbite grapple.  Nyle L200M kiln.

Offline Ox

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Re: New try at drying/storage platforms.
« Reply #13 on: January 07, 2019, 09:24:14 AM »
That there is something I've never seen.  And a darn good idea.  8)

Would you build more if you had to?  Anything you'd change next time?
K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple Stupid
Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without
1989 GMC 3500 4x4 diesel dump and plow truck, 1964 Oliver 1600 Industrial with Parsons loader and backhoe, 1986 Zetor 5211, Cat's Claw sharpener, single tooth setter, homemade Linn Lumber 1900 style mill, old tools

Offline Tom the Sawyer

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Re: New try at drying/storage platforms.
« Reply #14 on: January 07, 2019, 11:27:58 AM »
The rack as shown is 1 - 13' long section and 2 - 9' long sections (for 8' lumber), longer goes in the middle section.  I have additional cross members.  The longer section is rated for 6600 pounds per level, the shorter ones are 7800 pounds IIRC. The racking is 42" deep, my pallets are 44" deep and either 8' or 12' long, on 16" centers.  My forklift only lifts to 8' high so the supports are 10' tall.  The roof sections are 6' wide and bolted together so they can be repositioned as needed, and I can raise them up with forks on my tractor's FEL.

The concrete pad is 4' wide and 65' long (260 square feet), which gives me enough room to add two more 9' sections and another 13' section.  It is difficult to find concrete guys who want to work on a small job, unless they charge for a larger job.  I had bids over $12.50 p/sf.  A company that had done some other work for me sent their concrete sub over and he did it for $1500 ($5.77 p/sf).  The racking as shown (including a couple of beams not yet installed) was about $900 used.  I think the roof cost about $400 in lumber and metal, and the shade cloth was about $225.  It should hold 7-8000 bf, stickered, if I get close to that I'll probably add more sections).  Shade cloth is 30% on the north and east sides, 80% on the south and west sides.
Timberking B-20, log arch, F350 flatbed dump,
20' Trailer w/ log loading arch, Princeton forklift, Bobcat S250 w/ Frostbite grapple.  Nyle L200M kiln.

Offline Ox

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Re: New try at drying/storage platforms.
« Reply #15 on: January 08, 2019, 09:04:22 AM »
Thanks for the detailed rundown.  It answered a few questions I had about it.  It's a great idea and one that I might need to pursue in the future.
K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple Stupid
Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without
1989 GMC 3500 4x4 diesel dump and plow truck, 1964 Oliver 1600 Industrial with Parsons loader and backhoe, 1986 Zetor 5211, Cat's Claw sharpener, single tooth setter, homemade Linn Lumber 1900 style mill, old tools

Offline A.O.

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Re: New try at drying/storage platforms.
« Reply #16 on: January 09, 2019, 04:11:06 PM »
Very nice set up!