Processing of newly cut tree

[George Pagliarulo]

This Higan Cherry tree is old and dying so I am going to have this removed. It is a grafted tree, I don’t know what the root stock is but I am going to have it cut at the lines and save the trunk for bowl blanks. The trunk is ~24” in diameter and ~5’ between the cut lines.
Once the tree is down, what is the best way to process the wood? Should I leave it whole, paint the ends and cut rounds as I can use them, or should I cut it into rounds when it is down and paint the ends?

 

[Brian Gustin]

I'd probably save the whole durn tree myself - Even the small branches can be useful for turning projects (Natural edge birdhouse ornaments, little twigs to make flowers, smaller twigs for embellishments, middle size blanks for boxes, jam chucks, etc, etc.) But if I had the whole tree, I'd probably at least split the trunk down the pith and process the crotch wood first into blanks - and then end seal everything under 28 inches long, keeping the bigger branch wood logs whole would be fine if you can manhandle the logs well enough - you'd lose about 6 to 8 inches of either end of the log to cracking/checking even if they were split through the pith... So I'd start with processing the crotch wood into rough turned bowls (or whatever they are intended for) as soon as humanly possible and then get them sealed and bagged for a year's drying time before I worried about anything else - It's hard to cut out the pith in a crotch like that so to make the most of the flame and grain patterns, I'd want to process as much as I could into roughed out bowls before they had a chance to seriously crack. Once the cracking starts in crotches it's difficult to get them cut into blanks after that without some huge amounts of waste, I'd think.

 

[Hugh]

A lot depends on how fast you expect to rough out the bowls.
If you are going to get to it and start right away......I would leave the logs as long as I could. Paint the ends. Start roughing out.
Do you have a nice place in the shade to store the wood until you get it roughed out?
Get too it and rough out as quickly as you can.
Look at the tree.....where is the best bowl in the tree. Go for that one first. Then work down to the last bowl.
Work quickly. Going to be a lot of work. But, you will have a lot of nice roughed out bowls if you get to it.

 

[Rusty Nesmith]

Cut the pieces in half and cut out the pith. That will buy you a month or so. But you will still need to rough turn then. I would cut them in half, wax the ends and start rough turning them right away.

 

[Richard Coers]

There are an infinite number of articles and ways to harvest hardwood on Google. My greatest advice is to process quickly. Cherry likes to start cracking as soon as it hits the ground. The graft section will produce the most unique grain of the whole tree.

 

[Dean Center]

If you have an interest in using the crotch grain to its maximum effect, I would leave the center branch a little longer. I also assume you will cut all 3 branches off perpendicular to the wood axis and not exactly at the angles you show.

As mentioned, that's a wonderful tree and the branches would also produce usable wood. For cherry, anything over about 6-8" would be worth processing into blanks, were I in your shoes.

 

[hockenbery]

Should keep you busy for a while.

Like @Dean Center said if you are interested in the crotch figure, your cut line will ruin it

With crotches you have to be watchful for bark inclusions. Some crotches are unusable because if bark inclusions
I like to cut a nice Y for my crotches.

If the left side is a crotch opening up at the red arrow I’d cut on the blue line and expect the fester to be up an down from the blue arrow
Suggested cut and a few power point.


I cut in half for two heart NE bowl blanks. Cutting a 1.5-2” thick slab on either side of the saw cut in the photo will give you a platter blank. Platter blanks I seal the end grain sticker them and let them dry a year or two.

 

[Don Stephan]

You won't know how muich useable wood is in the tree until you begin making cuts. The base of the three sub-trunks may be where grafting occurred. There may be some decay there extending down into the main trunk. The left side of the main trunk may have decay.

The wood may behave very differently from black cherry.

No way of knowing in advance whether bowl blanks in the main trunk and/or the branches will tend to crack when drying. I was asked to make once turned bowls from the main trunk (below the grafts) of a weeping cherry tree and every bowl developed some cracks requiring tinted epoxy.

 

[Curt Fuller]

You've received a lot of good advice on what to do with the wood. My advice would be to process as much as you can. These ornamental cherry trees have beautiful wood that turns like butter.

 

[Randy Anderson]

Only thing I'll add is to say that not everything is a bowl. With that much stock there's plenty of opportunity for some small and large hollow forms. You can always split the log later if you decide on a bowl. Not so easy to put it back together. I always leave my gathered stock pieces in log form, about 20-30% longer than the dia and seal the ends. Often longer if I can manage it. Yes, I get some end checking but almost always enough material to cut away it away. Good to have the option of bowl or hollow form when you get ready.

I've turned a lot of black cherry and recently picked up some Japanese cherry. Never turned the type you have.

 

[Dave Hulett]

good luck.. If I lived closer I'd be over to help you!

 

[George Pagliarulo]

Thanks for all the great suggestions. There is no way I’m going to be able to turn this much wood in a timely manner. The tree is located on Cape Cod which can be fairly humid. Once it is cut and treated, I have a few options for storing the wood while it is waiting to be turned.
I can store it in an unheated garage or outside under a raised porch over a walkout basement. Both areas are protected from the weather and sun but I’m thinking the garage is best because there would be much less air movement, slowing any drying of the wood.