That sucks, I try routinely walk by my stacks & try to shove them back with my shoulders if I think they are leaning. Stacking a second time is the chits.
This time of year always makes me nervous...my largest stack runs E/W and the north side doesn't get much sun, so the frost tends to come out on that side much later...that and the wood on the south side tends to dry a little faster...between the two issues, the stack can get to leaning to the south pretty good...I try to walk it with the hand sledge to knock it straight(er) once a week or so until summer comes.
Sort of reminds me I havent inspected my stacks for leaning in quite some time. I’ve used the shoulder technique. I’ve used the snowplow technique. Right now I have one of those small cast iron soil tampers out there somewhere. Really no other good use for it so,,,,,
Great idea...I have one made from a 1" steel plate at work...I bet that would be the perfect use for it...might hafta sign that out for a bit...
This stack pretty much runs the same way. Add to it the ground settling just enough and the slight downward bank behind it and you get a "splitalanche." I just checked it the day before, and everything looked good. Guess not, lol.
That does suck. I sometimes use a split and hammer and try to straighten up the stack if I see it start to wander. Haven't had too much issue since I've gotten away from Apple. It was a pain to stack.
The awesomeness continues. This stack is kentucky coffee tree. It fell on my house in july of 2019. I split and stacked it that fall. It was pretty heavy. Was planning on burning it 21-22. Just checked an avg size split that was in middle of stack w/ MM...30%. Checked another...31%. Stack gets good sun and wind. Might need 2 more years. Time to restack it somewhere else and check fall of 23.
I hate when that happens. I have a bad habit of stacking too tall. I noticed my recent stack of basswood on the trail in my woods partly toppled. Stacked against a tree. Did the bigfoot yell "TIMBER"?
I tie both sides of my stacks together with 1” diameter branches that go across. They are positioned about 1/3 of the way up and every 18-24” along the stack. Knock on wood, but since I started doing that, I haven’t lost one..
I have a method which seems to be working rather well for me. I have stacks which are still damm near perfectly straight years after I originally stacked them. First off, the longer you cut your rounds the more stable the row will be. I cut mine 21" give or take an inch or so. I stack on two pallets and since I started doing that a few years ago my rows have stayed pretty much straight. I chalk it up to both pallets act as load spreaders to more evenly disperse the load. Who knows the reason for sure, but I noticed a difference. There are also two things I don't ever do. I don't put small rounds near the bottom and I don't put any shorter pieces near the bottom. I put all rounds and shorter pieces near the top of the stack. I also throw all the smaller ~<5" rounds I don't split in a separate pile when I do my gathering in winter and then when splitting/stacking later in Spring I use them as fillers on the top before I top cover. This way I always have smaller pieces with every load I bring into the basement. Seeing I stack quite tall, 5'3" to 5'5" tall on top of the double pallets (the whole thing measures 6'+ from the ground), I also take my time when stacking. One piece at a time and I'm always paying attention to both vertical and horizontal "trueness" of the row. Some of my rows get to 35' long, so I have to pay attention. I'm so OCD about stacking I will not let others help me, as the rows never end up straight and always end up leaning after a few years. The way I see it, I'd rather spend the time being "anal" vs having to re-stack the row because it fell over. Here's an example from splitting last year's haul:
I seem to be going higher and higher. My main stack is also a privacy fence of sorts too. I go about 6' then put a couple splits in the middle, on top in an effort to create a peak for the rubber covering so the water doesn't lay on top (for mosquitos to breed). It seems to help with my stack wondering and leaning, at least so far.
After the second time i had a major blow over i figured it was just time to stack longer and quit with the higher stuff. Havent had a problem in years now.
Add that to my list of "not to do's" when stacking. I also did that early on and also learned early on the stacks don't do well long term. Makes sense, as you are stacking against something which is growing....and moving. In my case, my few rows between trees had a slight curve to them also, so that made it even worse.
I try to avoid it when possible but this was stacked in my woods left to dry. Limited room in storage too
