how to store cut cherry wood

[stuartyg]

hi i have cut down 4 old cherry trees to make way for my new store, small trees about 10 foot high,thought to be at least 60 years old,lovely multi coloured wood, i dont know anything about trees be look way to good to turn in to fire wood, what is the best way to dry out/store and how long before they would be any use for turning etc, chhers in advance stuart

[Woodworks]

Are you looking to plank them or rough out some chunks for turning? If planking up then place boards on level bearers off ground outside then place stickers (3/4 square strips) between the planks and then cover top to avoid direct sunlight and shed most of the rain. Also paint the ends to seal them, this helps avoid excess splitting caused by rapid drying of the end grain. The normal drying times for this is 1 year per inch plus an extra year so if 3" boards for turning 4 years drying time. You can do this in a shed but make sure it is very well ventilated as air movement is what is going to dry your wood. If you just want to make some bowls quickly I think there is technique were you rough turn when green and then leave to dry in bag of shavings then when dry you can finish the turning to the final shape. I have not done either of these but as a furniture maker have seen this done by others. Hopefully some of those that professionally dry wood will come along and give some more advice. Big Jay were are you?

[stuartyg]

ok thanks, thickest parts only 6" diam so i guess not worth cutting in to planks, i think it would be fine for bowls etc, is it fine to leave under trees off the ground, what sort of paint is best to paint end with,and stupid question but can leave to dry for too long,or longer the better, cheers stuart

[Woodworks]

Sorry Stuart I am not sure of what sort of pant you should use but I would guess that any waterproof paint would do the job. I don't think it possible to over air dry wood. I have some boards here that I have not used for 15-20 years and they are still fine but you might need to keep an eye out for woodworm as I think they like the sapwood on cherry. I am surprised non of the experts on here have posted it might be worth re posting these questions in the milling section of the forum.

[ucoulddoit]

Stuart

 

I usually apply two or three coats of PVA glue to seal the end grain. It is water based so is fine on wet/green wood and three coats can be applied over just a few hours.

 

It sounds to be a fairly small diameter log so it might dry OK if left in the round. But if a log isn't milled into planks, it is usually best to halve or quarter it along its length to reduce the risk of splits along the length as it dries. If left as a round log, it may develop one big crack along its length from the outside to the heart which means the wood either side of the crack would be useable. But some species will develop lots of small longitudinal cracks around the whole perimeter which extend into the heart which means there is very little useable wood. Not sure how cherry would behave. If the log has twisted grain the splits will follow the twist which again reduces the amount of useable wood.

 

A 6 inch diameter log cut in half along its length should be air dried in about 3 years.

 

Although it is a very small log, I'd still have a go at drying it. The first log I had milled about 27 years ago was a cherry tree about 12 inches diameter and although the planks twisted and warped horribly, I did manage to make a small coffee table which we still have. One mistake I made was milling it into lots of thin planks, some only 1/4 inch thick assuming they would be good for panels......(became firewood) Second tree milled about 10 years later was also a cherry and again, although the planks were thicker, they distorted a lot, but there was enough usable timber to make another small table. Eventually worked out how to convert and season logs with minimal waste and now have several tons of planks, slabs and blocks with lots of character which would be difficult to replace from a timber merchant

 

Andrew

[nick1854]

I agree with Andrew, give it a go. It is the best way to learn about cutting and seasoning wood and it is not a disaster if it goes wrong......and if it does try and work out why. With one of the first small logs I planked I did the opposite to Andrew and cut them too thick. With the benefit of hindsight I could have cut thinner boards and got more from the log. But in the end it didn't matter as I changed my plans for the wood and ended up with a really nice table. Milling and drying free wood is fun.

[muttley9050]

Completely agree, go for it, gloss paint or pva on the ends. paraffin wax is the traditional material used i believe, but a right faff. Cherry is a beautiful wood but have always found it to be very sussceptable to warping and moving. Bought one piece from a farmer milled into 8x8,he told me it was 6 years old, Thought id resaw into one 8x4 and two 8x2s, let if finish drying and make a table. Made first cut in middle and watched the two bits bend like bananas in front of my eyes. I cut them in half and still have them stacked. Will get round to the table one day. Happy milling.

james

[nick1854]

I have finally managed to upload a picture of the cherry table I made from timber I planked myself.

 

 

 

From memory the log was 15 inches in diameter and about 4 feet long. I ripped it down the pith with a hand ripsaw, and then planked the halves on a bandsaw with an 8" depth of cut. Most of these boards were quartersawn and about 1.5 inches thick. I stacked them to dry in a well ventilated shed and made the table 2 years later. The timber is really beautiful with all the colour variations of cherry and lots of ripple figure. It was really satisfying to see the whole process through from felling, planking, drying, making and finishing.

[ucoulddoit]

Lovely table. Was the tree from your garden? I'd be interested to see a picture of the hand saw you used.

 

Andrew

[nick1854]

Hi Andrew

 

The tree was growing on parish land in the village I live in. It was blown down during high winds, and I helped with the tidy up. Payment was a couple of lengths. It was far from a perfect straight trunk, but the timber had loads of character.

 

The saw I used was a hand ripsaw with 3.5 teeth per inch (looks like a panel saw but with different teeth). It came from a car boot sale for a few quid and after sharpening (easy because of the large teeth) was really effective. I wouldn't want to plank a whole log this way but it meant I could then use my bandsaw.

 

I will post a photo when I get the chance.