# More black cherry...



## Karl_TN (Apr 17, 2018)

Last night a road construction crew allowed me to pick up a trailer load of black cherry wood they were going to run through the grinder. Seems the cherry tree wasn't worth hauling to a saw mill because of the way it branched out into two trunks, but the main trunk was still pretty much solid between 24" to 30" in diameter. Thankfully one of my teenage sons came along to help load those heavy logs.

My hope to get some very large woodturning blanks assuming I can get processed and sealed before it cracks. Still nothing gets wasted since scraps & cracked pieces become BBQ smoking wood, and the wood shavings go to the chicken coup. Love that cherry smell.


Trailer loaded with cherry logs like these below:

Reactions: Like 4 | EyeCandy! 3 | Way Cool 4


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## FranklinWorkshops (Apr 17, 2018)

I agree with you about the aroma of fresh cut cherry. Very sweet. I would suggest splitting the logs in half and seal quickly. Those buggers are going to lose water and start checking. That's a very nice tree. 

As an aside, there is a very old house (mid 1700's) near us and it has about 20 very large black walnut trees that were planted many years ago. The new owner is re-doing the stone work on the house and had one of the trees near the house taken down. The tree company left the primary log on the ground for many days and I assumed it was going to the mill. This sucker was 30-35 inches in diameter and looked solid from the butt end. Alas, yesterday they cut it into firewood lengths. Sickening. That log was at least 20 ft long and had several crotches. I don't need the walnut but it is a terrible waste. I keep telling myself that it probably had metal in it but there were no noticeable black stains on the butt cut like you normally see.

Reactions: Sincere 1


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## Karl_TN (Apr 17, 2018)

@FranklinWorkshops, Larry that sure is a terrible waste,but firewood length logs are great for woodturners. Consider asking the owner if he wouldn't mind sharing the walnut with a local turning club for making 'Beads Of Courage' boxes for kids undergoing cancer treatment. http://www.beadsofcourage.org/pages/woodturners.html

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


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## FranklinWorkshops (Apr 17, 2018)

@Karl_TN
Good idea but too late. They were loading the sections in a dump truck when I drove by. Had to use a front end loader since they were so heavy. I know several turners here do work with local tree-trimming businesses so these sections may still end up in bowls.


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## David Van Asperen (Apr 18, 2018)

Karl,
Looks fantastic


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## barry richardson (Apr 18, 2018)

Great fix d! Looks like minimal sapwood too...


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## Karl_TN (Apr 20, 2018)

Some bad news and some good news.

Bad news first... Found ring check in the outer 1/3 TO 1/4 of the log. Could be damage from prior storm, or damage when tree was pushed over by the road crew. Probably the latter if I had to guess.

Ring check area is the white stain leaking out in the upper right.


 

Good news... There's still a lot of heart wood left for turning blocks. One large block I cut last night weighed 107 pounds.

Reactions: Like 2 | Way Cool 1


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## FranklinWorkshops (Apr 20, 2018)

That's nice. Lots of work invested by you to get those cut.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Karl_TN (Apr 20, 2018)

Another reason why many woodturners like myself don't need a gym membership. Those log sections weigh more than I do until they're broken down.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## woodtickgreg (Apr 21, 2018)

That's awesome Karl, nice haul and worth the effort. Did you chainsaw mill them or just freehand chainsaw cut them? Get em sealed asap!

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Karl_TN (Apr 21, 2018)

These are being cut free hand along the grain which is much quicker end grain cutting with the mill. Thus, I mostly use the chainsaw mill for longer straight boards, and free the hand cut the turning blocks. Some of those blocks are getting recut on my band saw in order to remove any visible cracks or ring checking that I missed when chainsawing at dusk. Sealed with either melted wax or Anchorseal.

Reactions: Like 1 | Way Cool 1


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