I've just been given acces to a very large - 18 - 24" dia. Bitter Cherry tree that was taken down here on the island. Haven't been to check it out yet - can't get there 'til this weekend. Thought I'd see if anyone has experience turning it. I've seen several on my hikes in the woods out here, but never one that size.
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Northwest Bitter Cherry - anyone turned?
- Thread starter JeffSmith
- Start date
If it's like any other fruit or ornamental fruit, waiting too long will result in heavy checking. Can't imagine any wood with cherry in the name would be trouble turning.
That's great Jeff, I see the bitter cheery trees are common in the PNW. Like Richard said should not be hard to turn. The only cherry wood I've turned is pen blanks. Can't wait to turn my first cherry Bowl! Happy turning.
Richard - I've got lots of experience with woods that crack and warp - Madrone is a native species up here, there's three small guys on our property...so I'm planning to roughout and boil. These are another native species in the Pacific Northwest - I've found several on hikes through the woods - just never seen one this large (at least as large as the neighbor who offered it says it is) or turned any. I have turned a little cherry, but it was black cherry I bought several years ago.
Just wanted to know what to expect before getting going.
Just wanted to know what to expect before getting going.
I was speaking more towards quickly processing the log, and very conservative storage conditions for the blanks.
planning a couple of marathon roughing and coring sessions, everything goes into the boiling pot as it comes off the lathe. Last bowl of the day, or one of the smaller cores, gets turned to final thickness and left to dry to assess what its going to do. Anything I can't rough in a reasonable amount of time goes into the wood trough and soaks until I can get to it.
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Jeff, My neighbor worked as a professional turner and woodworker in Fairbanks (100 miles this side of the Arctic Circle) for a couple decades before giving it all up to be a full-time sailor for 25 years. She said that it's an amazing wood, capable of astounding colors, wonderful to work with, and worth its weight in gold. My understanding is that they're reasonably small in central Alaska, but still fairly common.
Bitter cherry (Prunus emarginata) is not covered in The Wood Database, and a couple extensive and reliable forestry databases don't include the usual commentary on wood properties and uses. You'll just have to try it and let all of us know what you find out. In my experience, our 2 local chokecherry species (neither of which are bitter cherry) are not much like black cherry or sweet cherry, though they are very nice to turn, and split quickly as has been mentioned. (BTW, all plums and cherries are both part of the plant genus Prunus, in case I've confused anyone.)
Jeff,
It will be exciting to keep up with your progress on this one. I'm currently turning my first cherry...black cherry. Judging from some of the comments above, it is not as extreme as the effort you're about to make.
I think concerns about cracking are well founded - the stuff is volatile. Because I do large hollow-forms and have a full-time day job, I've found that the only way to keep the cracking down is to use pallet wrap after each session. And now that I'm hollowing I keep probably 10+ layers of plastic wrap.
Thanks for sharing and send pics
It will be exciting to keep up with your progress on this one. I'm currently turning my first cherry...black cherry. Judging from some of the comments above, it is not as extreme as the effort you're about to make.
I think concerns about cracking are well founded - the stuff is volatile. Because I do large hollow-forms and have a full-time day job, I've found that the only way to keep the cracking down is to use pallet wrap after each session. And now that I'm hollowing I keep probably 10+ layers of plastic wrap.
Thanks for sharing and send pics
I will send some picks. I got a look at the tree the other day. recently felled - about a week ago. it's about 24" diameter. Discussed how to cut it with the generous neighbor - since I'm off-island for a few days, I won't get a chance to cut into it until the weekend. colr does, indeed look like cherry, but short sections his arborist cut off already show radial cracks. The trunk section is about 15 feet long so I'm hoping to get it cut and roughed soon.
Unfortunately, the arborist that took it down for him pretty much destroyed the main crotch before I got a chance to stop him.
Unfortunately, the arborist that took it down for him pretty much destroyed the main crotch before I got a chance to stop him.
I live on Whidbey Island and a bitter cherry fell across my driveway last Tuesday. I've turned 5 or 6 bowls from it since then. For the most part it cuts nicely, although it can have a small amount of fuzz--particularly in the interior. Unlike the true cherries I've turned it doesn't scrape well at all and I've been finishing the bowls entirely with a gouge. The wood picks up metal stains easier than alder. Not only do I need to be careful about fingerprints, but there are numerous dark grey specs around the endgrain a day after I've turned a bowl. An oxalic acid wash remove all the specs.
There is a lot of tension in the wood (I sawed some into planks) and any rounds started splitting immediately. None of my bowls have cracked so far. I turned them green and left them to dry in my basement (which has a dehumidifier running).
There is a lot of tension in the wood (I sawed some into planks) and any rounds started splitting immediately. None of my bowls have cracked so far. I turned them green and left them to dry in my basement (which has a dehumidifier running).
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I've got one growing in the back yard that is probably 18 inches across and 40 ft tall.
The birds do love the berry.
I've worked it a little and my only suggestion is to treat it like Black Cherry (Prunius serotina) rather then Sweet Cherry (Prunus avium) , that is to say be more careful with the dust. Sweet cherry has no know issue but Black cherry is known to cause respiratory problems.
The birds do love the berry.
I've worked it a little and my only suggestion is to treat it like Black Cherry (Prunius serotina) rather then Sweet Cherry (Prunus avium) , that is to say be more careful with the dust. Sweet cherry has no know issue but Black cherry is known to cause respiratory problems.
Apologies for not keeping this information current. I was surprised to see additional comments today...I did get some of the Bitter Cherry after a bit. It's a relatively soft hardwood, color is close to cherry. Cuts easily, but has a tendency to be a little stringy or fuzzy. Open pores don't finish particularly well. Turns out this tree had actually fallen much earlier - possibly a couple of years earlier. It had broken near the ground at the trunk. Didn't see a clear reason for it to fail. Could have been blowdown. Up from the break there was a section with radial cracking that looked a lot like wind shake.
While I was off-island traveling, the owner needed to get the logs out the way of construction and cut up into sections for me. I've cut them into blanks, roughed most out and checking them while they dry on the shelf. Not that anxious to get back to them after turning a few to final from the blanks.
While I was off-island traveling, the owner needed to get the logs out the way of construction and cut up into sections for me. I've cut them into blanks, roughed most out and checking them while they dry on the shelf. Not that anxious to get back to them after turning a few to final from the blanks.