CHERRY WOOD IN ROUNDS

[ryanp]

Hello:

I have some cherry wood in rounds.  I am going cut some slabs from it.

How long do I need for the wood to sit before I can start working it and sanding it?  

[krtwood]

Make sure you seal the ends and "sticker" the slabs, put 1" strips of wood between the slabs so the air can get everywhere evenly.  Weight down the top and/or strap clamp the whole thing together to reduce the amount of warping.  Drying time will depend on how wet they are when you are starting and what the humidity and air circulation where you are drying them is like.  If it's outdoors it will take much longer than in a dry interior space with good air movement.

[ryanp]

Seal the ends?  Are you wanting me to use a spray seal or a wood clear sealer? 

[Brendon_t]

The answer to your question has many answers. I would  reccomend buying a moisture meter. You don't need top of the line.

Cut your slabs, then properly stack , sticker, and weigh of secure them down. After a few months begin to take monthly readings on multiple boards at multiple locations. Record your readings. When the readings stop dropping, compare those readings to a few readings of  known dry, like density wood in your shop. When they match and hold, you should be good to go.

Just now, ryanp said:

Seal the ends?  Are you wanting me to use a spray seal or a wood clear sealer? 

Latex paint works but there are commercially available products like anchorseal. 

[ryanp]

If I do not let the wood dry first and and start working with it then would this be a bad thing and the wood can crack? 

[Keggers]

9 minutes ago, ryanp said:

If I do not let the wood dry first and and start working with it then would this be a bad thing and the wood can crack? 

The wood will certainly crack.

[Brendon_t]

18 minutes ago, ryanp said:

If I do not let the wood dry first and and start working with it then would this be a bad thing and the wood can crack? 

if it's wet, it will very likely crack, warp, bow, and shrink. It won't sand worth a damn, planning will tear out huge chunks and joinery will most likey fail due to the shrinking warping wet issue.

[Eric.]

If you cut rounds they'll most likely crack and crumble to pieces regardless of what you do to them.  Wood does not like being cut and dried in that shape, end of story.  It's all end grain and loses moisture way too fast, and because it's all short grain it has no structural integrity so it falls apart.

I would recommend you forget the whole thing and cut your logs into long grain slabs.

If that's what you're doing already...I don't really know what you mean by "rounds."

[wdwerker]

If left in log form it will crack worse even if you seal the endgrain and take years to dry . Saw into planks thicker than you want the finished boards. You could easily loose 1/2" to 1" of thickness by the time it dries and is flattened & planed. For smaller pieces you can weigh them on a digital scale weekly and when the weight is stable for several weeks it might be dry enough to use. Seal those ends SOON !

[BonPacific]

1 hour ago, Brendon_t said:

Latex paint works but there are commercially available products like anchorseal. 

With all things, your mileage will vary. I haven't had luck with Latex paint, but Anchorseal gets rave reviews. I have used the Rockler house-brand sealant, and it's working great so far.

[Brendon_t]

21 minutes ago, BonPacific said:

With all things, your mileage will vary. I haven't had luck with Latex paint, but Anchorseal gets rave reviews. I have used the Rockler house-brand sealant, and it's working great so far.

I have had luck with latex paint once and gotten burnt once. Where it worked, I applied 3 coats on back to back days very thick.

[Merlau]

i have used latex paint in a pinch but prefer anchorseal. like others have said dont wait to long to do it and when cut sticker well

[Marmotjr]

16 hours ago, ryanp said:

If I do not let the wood dry first and and start working with it then would this be a bad thing and the wood can crack? 

It's the pottery equivalent of not firing the clay.   Imagine trying to drink from a clay coffee cup that was never baked in a kiln.  Except for just being gooey, it will split down three sides, the handle will push through the cup, it will change 6 different colors, it will absorb that first cup of coffee so anything after that will taste like crappy coffee, and it will reach over and break the pencil holder next to it in half for just being too close. 

[Martin-IT]

If the moisture is over 20%, it may attract bugs.

Once cut, remove the barks, as critters loves to stay in it.

Wet wood, not only will crack, twist, but will also, shrinks in every dimension (width, thickness and length).

Moisture from the sawdust, will stick everywhere and happily rust all cast iron surface.

Go to a borg, buy exterior grade 'mis-colored'  paint and paint the end, it will reduce the likelyhood of crack.

If you stack it outside, starts the stack 12" off the ground and put a nylon sheating under the stack to prevent moisture from coming off the ground into the stack.

Do not stack more than 4' wide, as the middle part may not get enough ventilation.

Do not use 'wet' cutoff as sticker, they will create mildew stain on the wood.

I have air dried, cherry, maple, birch, butternut, ...and cherry is less likely to have sticker stain than maple or pine.

I have a few 1000s bf that I air dried outside, then I bring inside a barn after a year outside (overlapping the Summer).

Put a tarp which overlap on each side by a few feet (like a tent).

Put the best board in the center of vertical stack.

If you have only a few boards and some room inside, bringing it in a heated home in the winter will greatly speed up the drying process.

In most area, don't expect must drying in the Winter, most it depends where you live.