oops,

Aligning each sticker over your base support, and, over each other is a given.

But as for having supports every two feet. Again, this is standard practice where One Inch Boards are concerned, but, you are unlikely to find many shops doing this. I Never Have.

Twist is generally in a timber or it's Not. And, if it is, you can often see it (Spiral Grain).

Timbers are not boards, especially your heavier timbers. while a poor pile can act to ruin a run of 1 Inch Pine Boards, and a good pile can help to take some twist and curves out of a stack of boards, the same does not always apply to Timbers, particularly Hardwoods such as Oak.

If you think about it; A timber which will span 8 - 12 Feet in the finished frame certainly does not need to be supported every 2 Feet in the Stack.

As Way of Example;
* A pile of six foot Long, 5 Inch by 7 Inch Braces require only Two supports, Not Three,

* A Pile of Nine Foot Long, 8 Inch by 8 Inch Intermediate Posts requires only Two Supports, not Four.

* A Pile of Sisteen Foot Long, 12 Inch by 14 Inch Summers require only Three Supports, Not Eight.

If these Timbers cannot stay flat, and without twist under these conditions then there is something extremely wrong with the design, for here, in the Stacks, they must merely bear their OWN weight, while, in the Frame, they will be asked to bear MUCH greater Loads.

I would say that the concerns and objectives used when stacking Boards and Timbers can be very Different.

My Concerns when Piling Timbers are

* Moisture
* Stacking in Plane

My Objectives are

* Accessibility and Logistics -- Some Stacks need to be accessed Often ( Particularly in a Scribe Rule Shop, or, where the stacks are simply of Raw Materials) Some Piles will be of finished Materials awaiting shipping, and, thus are more long term. These need to be out of the way of the short-term stacks, and yet, not inaccesible when it comes time to transport them.

There are many ways of stacking Lumber. I agree.

However, a common practice is what is sketched out in these various responses.

* Level -- In Plane -- Supports (Bunks)
* Stickers Over the Bunks and in line with the ones below, and teh ones above
* End Grain sealed (When Possible)

The differences between How I (and Many Others) Stack our Timbers adn the Way Jim is suggesting boils down to the number of supports, and, why you would add them, or, Not.

I would say again, Jim provides an Excellent description of how to stack One Inch Lumber.

Tim Berube