Drying black cherry

[oldwoodnewn09]

Hello,I'm new here and at this.I have a question.I just cut down a black cherry tree past Thurs.,I cut a 15' chunk out of the tree.It's about 12-13" across on one end and 10" on the other.Absolutely beautiful color,only about an 1 1/2" is sap wood the rest is red colored.Anyway,I was wanting to know what I needed to do to let this dry out correctly?As far as cutting it into 3 or 4" thick chunks for wood blanks,do I need to go ahead and cut them that thickness and let dry out individually or keep whole until dried?And the last question I have is,when do I apply the 'wax' and what would be the best kind(I'm uncertain what it's for just know they have it on blanks) ?Thank ya'll so much with any info ya'll can give me

[MDWine]

While I am at a bit of a loss for anything else, I know you want to cover the end grain AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!! It will begin to crack as it starts to dry out!! I hear you can use "Anchorseal" (from Woodcraft among others) or just plain latex paint!!

That's the first step, and will give you enough time to decide other ideas afterward!!!

HTH

[oldwoodnewn09]

K,Thanks

[Robert Gulley]

Hi!
The previous poster is correct - you want to paint the ends as soon as you can with a sealent - either anchorseal or a thinned down latex paint, glue, etc. This is to drastically slow down the drying process through the endgrain. Don't worry about the sides - they will be fine.
As for cutting up the wood, you have to choose what you want to do as far as turning it wet or dry. If you want to turn it while it is still green, leave the piece whole until you are ready to turn a piece or two - this will keep more moisture in. If you want to turn it after it has dried, then you can cut it into sections, apply sealent to the endgrain, and place the wood in such a way that air can circulate around each piece. Keep in mind that unless you use some artificial means of drying the wood such as a kiln, the wood will take about 1 year per inch of thickness to dry.
Personally I like to turn the wood while it is green into roughed-out shapes, approximating what I want for each piece's final design, but leaving about a one inch wall thickness for bowls and the like. After rough turning I use the wet shavings as insulation for the bowl as it is placed in a real paper bag (not plastic). Check the shavings once a week or so for a few weeks spritzing them with water and placing the shavings and the bowl in a dry paper bag. This allows the moisture to come out of the bowl fairly evenly which hopefully will prevent cracking. After a few weeks of this you should be able to take the bowl out and set in in a well ventilated place where the temperature and humidity stays fairly constant, and let the pieces dried for 3-6 months. Once dry you re-mount the wood and turn it round once more, then complete the piece.

Hope some of this helps -