Popular Woodworking 2007-04 № 161, страница 32

Careful stacking will help preserve these walnut boards for Popular should be aligned with each other vertically. The ends of these freshly Woodworking Publisher Steve Shanesy. The wood pile should start on a sawn cherry boards will be painted with a wax-based product to help flat base elevated off the ground. prevent end checks.

Keeping all of these supplies straight is something like the process of organizing tools. By balancing work flow, convenience and safety, you can come up with a quartermaster's plan for your shop. All you have to do is stick with it. But that's another issue.

Storing Lumber Outdoors Saves Space in the Shop

Many woodworkers keep a good deal of lumber on hand - not just enough for the current project but hundreds of board feet tucked away for future use. Maybe the wood was available at a great price, or the big cherry tree in a neighbor's front yard came down in a storm and you've paid to have it sawn into boards.

If you can spare the room, stocking lumber is an excellent approach. It's liberating to have a stack of rough lumber at the start of a project. Resting in those planks is a diversity of grain and range of color that opens many possibilities as a piece of furniture takes shape. You'll

have an easier time matching figure in adjacent boards when it really counts or finding a board of exactly the right width when you need it.

A big stack of lumber represents not only opportunity but also responsibility. If properly cared for, those boards will be sound and straight years down the road. I still have some walnut that came from a tree my father cut on the family's southern Maryland farm in 1949. Among the planks is one that's 11' long, 18" wide and 2¹/2" thick. I'm saving it for a table.

If, on the other hand, wood is improperly stored you'll have a king-sized headache but nothing you can make furniture with.

It's always better to keep lumber indoors where it's protected from harsh sunlight, rain, snow and insects, than outside. But lumber can successfully be stored outside, too, as long as you're careful about it.

Never store lumber on the ground. It will rot. Start with a sturdy, level foundation of 4x4s spaced 16" to 24" apart.

Take the time not only to level each 4x4 individually but also to arrange them so they are all in the same plane. The idea is to create a stable platform that's as flat as you can get it.

The space beneath the bottom layer of lumber and the ground will promote air circulation. If the lumber is just coming from a mill, that will also help it dry. And moving air will reduce the risk of mold. It's also a good idea to put a layer of polyethylene plastic or tarpaper on the ground beneath the 4x4s to keep moisture from migrating upward into the bottom layer of lumber.

Next are the stickers, the narrow pieces of lumber that are used to separate each row of lumber. It's better to use dry material for stickers to minimize the risk of mold. Keep them narrow to get the most air circulation possible; material that's 1" wide and ³/4" to 1" thick is more than adequate. Use a consistent thickness throughout each layer.

When you go to build the pile, the key is to align the stickers in the pile with one another, beginning with the

Popular Woodworking