Hardwoods

[bannerd]

Hey all, I have some 33" dia cherry trees that I'm going to harvest when my 1620 arrives.  Should I cut these now and anchor lock them so they can dry or should I fell and cut them?

I don't have a kiln so I was thinking about air drying and then using a tarp to keep them covered.  MY only concern is the cupping and splitting, I've run into this issue with OAK and I don't want this to happen to these cherry logs.  My plan is to build a wine cellar in our basement which is going to take quite a bit of cherry hardwood.

With the oak I was able to get away with keeping them in a cool shaded part of the woods and under a tarp with some stickers.  That seems to work OK with very little splitting but I'm wondering what is the best way to eliminate it?

[farmfromkansas]

Think it is better to cut logs soon before cutting, but sometimes cutting them a while before milling works out ok.  Had a neighbor bring a locust log over, I had surgery and could not saw it, he came over a month or so ago and we sawed it and it was mostly ok.  Some cracks on the ends, but he was cutting off about a foot total. Ash is a wood that needs to be end sealed, and the bark sprayed with some tempo or other bug killer, so that the borers are controlled, or they will destroy your boards or logs.  I sawed some ash, stacked it in the shed with stickers, and the borers destroyed it, but did not treat it.  Treated some ash another time, sprayed the bark with malathion and the borers were gone when it was sawed, and none in the boards when it was dry. I know it is not cool to talk about bug killer, but ash with borers is just firewood.

[Larry]

I love big cherry!!!!!!!  The bigger the better and it is my favorite wood to work with.


Don't log them until you have your mill and fully understand how to use it.  Cherry that big is not something to learn on.

Anchor seal the logs 5 minutes after you buck them.  Apply a second coat a few hours later.  Don't saw with a lot of sap wood on one side with heart wood on the other or boards will cup.  Keep the grain balanced with the cathedral in the center.  Turn often (grade sawing).  Get the wide boards from your big logs as you will have less cupping.  Don't waste a scrap of it as its one of the best woods for wood turning.

[YellowHammer]

Not much to add other than don't through saw the pith.  In cherry, it is very bad.  

[Southside]

Dang Larry - just Dang...

[WDH]

I have found that cherry and oak pith crack the worst of any hardwoods that I have sawn, and I have sawn a scad of species. 

[bannerd]

Those are some nice slabs! 

I can't use insecticides or pesticides on my farm.  We're certified organic(NOFA) and we have a guy that test our soil regularly so we can keep this certification.  I wonder if borax mixed with a warm water would work.

Typically I don't see an issue with bugs if we can get the tree down and cut up within a few weeks.  At least keep them off the ground are that seems to be how borers get in there.

[samandothers]

banners,

Look at this thread.  https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=109485.0

It is on Solubor which appears to be an Age product.  Could you use this?

[Magicman]

When you are sawing Cherry logs always identify and saw parallel to the natural pith check....


 
and yes, all Cherry has pith check.


 
Another.


 
This board contains pith check for the entire length.  If it is not handled properly every board will crook and split from end to end like a banana.

[tacks Y]

This is interesting as I was told cherry will last a long time and be good if kept off the ground.

[bannerd]

banners,

Look at this thread.  https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=109485.0

It is on Solubor which appears to be an Age product.  Could you use this?

I'll have to bring this up at the next meeting, it has boron but I'm not sure about the other stuff.  We do spray diatomaceous earth with neem oil so that might be something to look into.  Straight neem oil on wood might destroy borers even diluted.

[Machinebuilder]

Those are some nice slabs!  

I can't use insecticides or pesticides on my farm.  We're certified organic(NOFA) and we have a guy that test our soil regularly so we can keep this certification.  I wonder if borax mixed with a warm water would work.

Typically I don't see an issue with bugs if we can get the tree down and cut up within a few weeks.  At least keep them off the ground are that seems to be how borers get in there.

Can you use BT?  If I recall its considered organic since its some kind of bacteria.
I know it kills various caterpillars and Japanese beetles in a garden..
I just wish I had a way to spray my 90' tall Catalpa tree that shades my house and deck, I'm tired of the catalpa moth caterpillar droppings most of the summer.

[Larry]

When you are sawing Cherry logs always identify and saw parallel to the natural pith check....

That method works well to get rid of the pith check, and get the widest boards possible with the least amount of effort.

The cons are most of the boards have a lot of rift sawn with flat sawn.  Not good for some craftsman.  Since the pith check dictates what face you can saw on and that means only two, the grade can suffer, sometimes terribly due to knots.

I try to saw with the crack at 45 degrees.  That gives me four faces to choose from.  Its surprising how easy it is to work around the crack.  Boards won't be as wide but they will show flat sawn and the grade will be higher 90% of the time.  Of course it will take more time to work around the log.

[Don P]

Yes, solubor (or any brand name of wettable DOT powder) is listed for organic if your soils report shows a boron deficiency, which it likely does. My planer shavings, from borated lumber, go in the walkways in the garden to break down and then into the beds, and have for years. Boron is a pretty mobile micronutrient and at least at my scale it is not a great amount so we always come back low on boron.

[Southside]

I used Sol-u-Bor as an organic approved soil additive for years before I ever heard of applying it to lumber.  It's simply 20% Boron.