Preserving and using freshly cut wood

[Skeety]

Hi All,

Had an ornamental Cherry tree cut down a few days ago and would like to keep a few of the smaller 2" branches to dry out and then re-saw into pen blanks in the future.

Is this any good for turning? If so what should i do to treat it and how long should i leave it?

Cheers,

Jon.

 

[MikeG.]

Seal up the ends (undercoat, PVA, "Black Jack", gloss paint....whatever you've got), and get it stacked away out of this sun as quick as you can. Put it in the shade, but open to moving air, and stack it such that there is good airflow around all of the pile. This will mean separating layers with sticks. And yes, cherry is a lovely wood, well worth the trouble.

 

[Chris152]

Hi All,

Had an ornamental Cherry tree cut down a few days ago and would like to keep a few of the smaller 2" branches to dry out and then re-saw into pen blanks in the future.

Is this any good for turning? If so what should i do to treat it and how long should i leave it?

Cheers,

Jon.

Best to season them without the pith or they can split easily, so I'd go for some of the bigger pieces (4"?) and cut/ split to lose the pith and still allow enough excess to let you to reduce to the blank size you need. Then store as per Mike's comment.

 

[CHJ]

If you only want it for pen blanks I would plank it asap to 20-25mm thickness and stack with spacers, felled at this time of year it's going to move a lot due to sap levels but at least you should be able to salvage pen blanks out of the resultant twisted planks with minimum splitting

Sample:-

At 50mm diameter though you may only be able to get useful stock by sawing/splitting straight down the middle, expect it to crack/split down the central pith line as it dries.

 

[Mac123]

I love turning with cherry, and it's equally wonderful for general woodworking...finishes beautifully!

 

[Noggsy]

Smells amazing when cut as well.