Set up my first drying operation. I've got a smattering of boards I just had sawed up: some black walnut, white oak, hackberry, hard maple. I sealed the end grain with paint, and they've been drying for about two weeks. I spaced them with stickers, painted the end grain to prevent checking, but even so, some of the 8/4 and 12/4 boards are checking. Is there a way to slow down the checking, and when the wood is dry will I be able to use the boards that have checked for anything? I expected my first homemade drying operation to have a couple hitches but I'd really like to put all of the wood, checked or not, to good use. Thoughts?