Question
What is the best wood to use for stickers, to prevent sticker stain? I hear poplar works very well.
Forum Responses
(Sawing and Drying Forum)
From Contributor Y:
Poplar should work well for most species. Whatever you use, they should be dry, about 1" square (I use 1/18", since that is the most common thickness I cut). Species like maple with light colored wood are less forgiving. I space stickers about 20" apart to avoid sagging.
The end goal though is to have straight lumber. Sticker spacing is a function of the weight load and how critical the straightness is. Line up the stickers vertically so that there is continuous vertical support. Make the bed as flat as possible. The temptation is to cut them square. I suppose that once a table-saw rip fence is setup this is easy enough to do. The end goal though is to have straight lumber. So, bear in mind that unless you can cut them exactly square, they will be rectangular. If they are rectangular, it may be better to make them obviously rectangular so that there is no confusion when building the pile - 3/4" seems to be a common size and 1" seems fine too. One inch will be more rigid, and offer better air flow, but a given pile will be bigger. When using a fan for drying, I'm not sure on the difference in electricity requirements. A larger space reduces air resistance, which makes it easier to get higher air velocity (common target of 400 ft/min, or 2 m/s), but this also represents greater surface area, so more air flow is needed. The difference in fan energy I'm guessing is negligible.
