block orientation onn place like furnacs

i have been trying to get my blocks to orientation basic-ed on the direction that the player is facing when

just like furnaces   

i have been looking at the furnaces code  IC2 code and forestry's code    but i still cant understand how to do it

and when i try the furnaces code  it just places  either  grass, dirt, cobble or plank

help would be grateful

also quickly    is it possible to add subscript to metadata items

thanks

P.s  there was something else i was going to ask  so i may add to here if i remember