On Tuesday, April 25, 2017 at 5:01:23 PM UTC-5, Gramps' shop wrote:
I came into 5 slabs of nicely splayed wormy Willow, freshly cut a month ago. I see coffee tables in their future. Slabs are 2 to 3 inches thick. Will be stored in dry basement. I am thinking 18 months before they are ready to be worked. Any thoughts?

Larry

Plenty of info out there on drying, and you have a great start here. If you are going to air dry, make sure you have the wood "stickered" to speed drying and keep it from molding, and every 90 days or so turn it move it around in your pile. Plenty of air circulation is a good thing!

As mentioned, I would take a piece of that wood and dry it in my microwave, then try some wood working tests on it. The willow we have down here in S.. Texas can get quite large, but the wood is soft and very fibrous. When I was turning a lot I traded for some of that stuff, and while the grain was pretty, the tear out was ferocious. Even with sharp tools and quality sandpaper, the surface remained fibrous and I never could get it smooth.

Robert