How should I have them cut?

[Cliff Polubinsky]

I'm soon be the proud recipient of 3 cherry logs - about 18" or so wide and 6' - 8' long. And they're free . I've never had logs cut up before so I have no idea how many bf could be harvested nor the best thicknesses to have them cut. I'm thinking mostly 5/4 with a few 3"x3" thrown in for possible legs. Any suggestions from those more informed than me (which would be almost anyone)?

Cliff

[Kyle Kraft]

I'd probably do as you said except for the 3x3 stuff for legs. I think you'd get a more stable leg from a glue up of 3 boards. Cut them a bit oversize, glue up make a pass across the jointer then square them up and plane to final size.

[Stephen Edwards]

I'd go with the 5/4 on two of the logs. If you have a band saw suitable for resawing I would consider having at least a couple of the boards cut 2 1/2-3 inches or so thick. That gives you options should you decide that you do want some thick boards for whatever reason. You can always resaw them after they've dried, should you decide to do so.

I don't know much about kiln drying lumber. If you're going to air dry this lumber, be sure to seal the ends of the boards and properly sticker them so that air gets to all 4 sides of each board in the stack. Make sure that your stickers are the same thickness for each layer. You want the boards to dry as flat as possible. Some people put weight on top of the stack.

Enjoy your lumber!

[george wilson]

Also make sure your stickers are in line vertically with each other,or the weight of the wood above can bend the lower pieces into "S" curves,etc..Doing this is very important.That green wood is very heavy.

[Jim Kountz]

Definitely do the 3x3's if you have any intention whatsoever of doing any kind of legs. Glue ups are horrible for that situation and they always show no matter what you do. I just finished some cabriole legs and the test legs were from glue ups. The difference between the glue ups and the solid are night and day, there is no comparison.

[Cody Colston]

I like Stephen's suggestion of sawing 5/4 planks out of two logs and sawing the other into 12/4 planks.

I've about gotten to the point to where I don't even want to buy 4/4 boards any more. The options are must too limited and I'd rather re-saw thicker boards than do a stacked glue-up.

[Scott T Smith]

From a drying perspective, if you have them milled to 5/4 you should be ok air drying them over a 6 - 12 month timeframe (should drop to 16% or thereabouts).

If you air dry 12/4 stock, it will require several years to dry; when you resaw them you may experience some post- resaw warpage if the center and the shell are at significantly different MC%.

Your best bet from a yield perspective may be to mill to 5/4, and purchase any thicker stock that you need that has already been KD. I would highly recommend that you ask your sawyer to mill for "grade" rather than for "yield". You will end up with a little less lumber overall, but it will have a higher percentage of FAS and #1.

Ditto the others comments re stickers; I'd recommend stickering on 12" - 16" centers. Be sure to use dry stickers.

[Frank Drew]

Cliff,

For woods like cherry and walnut I think you get the best looking and widest boards by having them sawn through-and-through (flitch cut), leaving the wany (natural) edge; strip the bark, though. You can have most of the log sawn into 5/4 and the section closest the center 12/4 and even 16/4, for leg stock. I agree with Jim on using solid stock for clear finished legs.

Scott's right, though, that thick stock takes a long time to dry, but at the end of that time you'll have special stuff for special projects.

[Cliff Polubinsky]

The sawyer I'm using can also kiln dry the lumber so waiting years for the thicker stock won't be a problem. Which is good, since I don't have that much room for wood storage (nor the patience/desire to wait that long). And on the 12/4, is there any advantage to leave it in planks rather than cutting it to 3x3's to make it easier for the wood to equalize?

And Jim, for your cabriole legs, did you start with full 12/4 or was it actually narrower? If I need to end with 12/4 after drying I'll need to cut thicker.

Thanks for all your advice.

Cliff

[Frank Drew]

Cliff,

I'd leave the thick stock as planks rather than sawing them into squares, because in drying they could lose their squareness (they can become somewhat diamond shaped) and you could easily lose a quarter inch or more of dimension in re-squaring them.

[Jim Kountz]

The sawyer I'm using can also kiln dry the lumber so waiting years for the thicker stock won't be a problem. Which is good, since I don't have that much room for wood storage (nor the patience/desire to wait that long). And on the 12/4, is there any advantage to leave it in planks rather than cutting it to 3x3's to make it easier for the wood to equalize?

And Jim, for your cabriole legs, did you start with full 12/4 or was it actually narrower? If I need to end with 12/4 after drying I'll need to cut thicker.

Thanks for all your advice.

Cliff

Mine called for 2 3/4 sq. blanks but some will take larger depending on the curve of the leg. You may want to go a little larger if possible.

[Scott T Smith]

The sawyer I'm using can also kiln dry the lumber so waiting years for the thicker stock won't be a problem.

Cliff

Cliff, when we kiln dry we use "schedules" to guide the drying process. These schedules are based upon the species, the thickness, and the initial moisture content of the wood. 5/4 Cherry can be safely dried at a rate of 7% MC reduction per day, in a DH kiln (the most common type of kiln for a small operation).

8/4 Cherry's daily drying rate is 3%. 12/4 would be around 1%. Thus, you're looking at 3 months or so in a kiln - with similar species and thickness, for drying your 12/4 stock. This can be extremely expensive.

Many kiln operators air dry thick boards until they are below 25% MC, and then put them in the kiln to finish them off.

A type of kiln called an "RF Vacume Kiln" will dry thicker material much faster, but they are not common and very expensive to operate.

You might want to seek the counsel of your miller/kiln operator before making your final decision.

On a separate note, I like Franks's suggestion re flitch sawing and milling the center flitch thick for your 12/4 boards.

Regards,

Scott