recently cut cherry

[glencross]

have just cut down a cherry tree.
cut two slabs from bottom of trunk ; about 6 inches thick by about two feet diameter.

projected use is a couple of nice tables, probably three legged because of size.

questions: 1. do they need to dry out before I start work on them? if so, how long would this take? air drying probably too long, put in kiln????

2. would I have to remove bark or would this fall off if kiln dried?

my intention was to sand them down then apply several coats of poly.

all assistance gratefully received.

[Tom Miller]

It took me a moment to picture it -- your slabs are cut perpendicular to the grain, so that the table surface will be end grain, right?

The good news is that this piece will dry more quickly than a 6" thick slab cut with the grain. The bad news is that you may experience some major checking.

It seems like you would have less checking if you let it air dry, as opposed to kiln drying. Towards that end, sealing the end grain would help, too. But, given the whole thing is end grain, who knows. All that is WAG on my part, anyway.

But, I wouldn't try doing anything with it (machining, finishing, etc.) until it's dry. Do you want the bark off? It should be easy to remove once dry. If you want it on, you'd probably have to stabilize it somehow.

Regards,
Tom

[LCHIEN]

have just cut down a cherry tree.

Hi there, G.W.

Cannot tell a lie, eh?