sawing cherry do's and dont's

[gotasaw]

i got a job sawing cherry for some friends of mine that cleared a lot.I started sawing the other day and was wondering how close to the heart can i get and still get grade? Is it best to leave at least a 3x3 cant and if this is so , is there any value for these. Thanks Scott, O Does anyone know prices for green cherry? Thanks again

[Tom]

Gottasaw,
It's just my opinion, for what it's worth, but  you will be turning that cant frequently to remove the best face. If you aren't held to specific widths, then, you can get pretty close to the pith without putting any of the heart check in a board.   As far as the knots, etc., that will show up as you get to the middle of the cant, that will be to your or your customer's discretion as to when to stop.  It will vary depending on the log and where the log came from in the tree.   

Three inch stock is usually used for furniture legs.   You can also cut 1x3's to be used for trim.  Usually a craftsman can handle 3" stock with his table saw, so you should be concerned about multiples of 2 or 3 when judging width.  You should also envolve your customer in the productio of these boards too.  He might have his own ideas.  If he is depending on you to make the decision, at least let him know why you would recommend making those cuts.

[Bibbyman]

We saw a good bit of cherry - mostly smaller and rough logs, but also some really nice ones.

We will saw grade off the best face until we have the cant less than 7"x7" but greater than 6"x6" then we put the best face up or down (don't matter) and saw to the deck (horizontal band mill).   This will produce another board – maybe as many as 4 (4/4) that will be of as good a grade as the log will allow. 

Many times the heart is crooked and will appear in one end of one board and the other of the next.  This way some of one or both boards will be free of heart crack – maybe enough to still be of value.

Occasionally,  the heart crack will be all in one board.  It's usually discarded as it will probably have a lot of other defects too.