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Thread: Foray into Green Woodworking! Acquired some Cherry logs. Project/Processing ideas?

  1. #1
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    Foray into Green Woodworking! Acquired some Cherry logs. Project/Processing ideas?

    As I was driving down my subdivision, I saw a bunch of nice looking wood on the side of the road.

    The guy was still out in the yard working, so I stopped and asked if I could take some of what he had cut down. He obliged, and asked if I was a woodworker. He was as well, and offered to leave me some logs from a cherry tree that he was cutting down.

    So, I will find myself with a variety of cuts from a few cherry trees; I've got cuts from both the limbs and the trunk in just about every diameter from 2" to 6" -- maybe a bit larger even.

    So, I guess my question is, what do I do with all of this?

    Any green woodworking projects that I might try?
    I'll definitely be making some wooden spoons out of the smaller bits. But what can I do with the larger pieces?
    Mallets? Bowls?
    Any other ideas?

    I could also attempt to split out (or saw? Yikes.) some boards. I know very little about this process, but I have at my disposal:
    - A hatchet, drawknife, a number of bow saws, and a bow saw blade suitable for a roubo-style frame saw, if I want to make one of those.
    I don't have access to a bandsaw, or other power tools.
    My pieces are a bit small to be split radially. From the limited research that I've done, it doesn't seem that you can split boards out in a "flat sawn" orientation in most cases, correct? I have heard that you can do the latter with some woods, but know nothing about how this applies to cherry.

    Also, as far as storing the logs, would it be sufficient to leave the bark on and seal the ends for anything that I'm not going to process right away?

    I know; these are quite open ended, and in some cases pretty elementary questions! I just jumped on the opportunity to pick up some free wood and gain some experience working, processing and drying green wood.

  2. #2
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    Have a lathe? Green wood turning is quite popular and cherry is one of the best. You may not get a lot of heart wood from those sizes but it should still be great. I personally like turning dry wood so I usually cut turning blanks from such logs and let them air dry.

    JKJ

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by John K Jordan View Post
    Have a lathe? Green wood turning is quite popular and cherry is one of the best. You may not get a lot of heart wood from those sizes but it should still be great. I personally like turning dry wood so I usually cut turning blanks from such logs and let them air dry.

    JKJ
    Hmmm... I haven't got a lathe, but that is a great idea! I've been wanting to try wood turning for sure. Perhaps I could build a small lathe of some description. Space is very limited for me, though - so, that would be the challenge.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Luke Dupont View Post
    Hmmm... I haven't got a lathe, but that is a great idea! I've been wanting to try wood turning for sure. Perhaps I could build a small lathe of some description. Space is very limited for me, though - so, that would be the challenge.
    A mini lathe like the Jet is fairly small. It can be put on a stand with wheels to roll it out of the way or simply be carried and set up on a workbench or table.

    JKJ

  5. #5
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    Luke,

    Congrats on rescuing some cherry from the mulch grinder/brush pile!

    I have attempted the "seal the ends leave the bark on branch approach" with some black cherry with disappointing results. I have since learned that branch wood specifically has more internal stresses than trunk wood. These stresses relieve in somewhat unpredictable ways as your wood is drying.

    I sealed the ends of all my cherry branch logs with paraffin but they still split from the pith down the entire length of the log in one massive check. They looked like a hot dog that is left too long on the grill.

    I've read (Woodwrights Companion, Roy Underhill) that you can drill out the pith of green logs to prevent them cracking. (though he used dogwood in his demonstration). I am not sure if cherry will act differently or not.

    YMMV
    Last edited by Jason Dean; 07-01-2016 at 6:21 PM. Reason: Correct Underhill book title

  6. #6
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    Home air-drying tips

    • Process logs in a timely fashion. If a tree has just been cut down, or there has been recent storm damage, it’s best to process the logs into lumber as quickly as possible; doing so will help to open up the wood and aid in drying, which can prevent rot or stain from marring the wood. Bark on whole logs can act as a natural moisture-barrier, and if left unsawn, can contribute to fungal decay and deterioration in some species. A hallmark of poorly processed, do-it-yourself lumber is the presence of spalted or partially rotted wood. http://www.wood-database.com/wood-ar...-wood-at-home/

  7. #7
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    Trying to hold the moisture in is one option the other is too let it out. There are many things you can rough out other than boards..

    If you have reasonably sized pieces you can hold the moisture level at more predictable levels by placing the pieces in plastic bags full of shavings, preferably from the wood you just processed. You need to let moisture out on occasion to keep the wood from mildewing or worse. Pieces of split or debarked wood tend to adjust faster which can actually be a good thing if you get the wood reasonably dry before it splits. In chair class I have been in, we typically took pieces we were working and stuck them in a drying kiln when they were not being worked. Not sure exactly why but it seems to work. I suspect that the large qty of wood the classes are working with keep the kiln at similar temperatures and moisture content. Once the greater part of the moisture is gone the wood will not split or move as much.

    I have a large red oak log I will be processing soon. I will split it into manageable pieces for chair parts, table legs... Smaller parts split/move less. I will rough out the pieces, dry them and then store them. May try to rig up some sort of temporary kiln. I am about to move and do not want to move a kiln. I have seen chair makers rough out spindles, pieces for legs, backs, arms, seats and finish them when they get ready to make a complete chair.

    You might be able to make legs for: chairs, tables, saw bench, work bench/table....I have been processing wood from my apple trees, ash, oak, maple... for tool handles, roughing them out and storing them until I need them. Six inches is a little small but you could make bowls or cups.....
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iGhbxqdgdg
    "Swedish Carving Techniques" by Wille Sundqvist
    "Green Woodworking" Drew Langsner
    "The Chairmaker's Workshop" Drew Langsner> The top three books are available at Country Workshops
    Chairmaker's Notebook" Peter Galbert> Lost Art Press
    Last edited by Mike Holbrook; 07-02-2016 at 11:02 PM.

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