I wonder what happen?
Last spring, when I was roughing 10-11” dia. cherry blanks I had water
spinning out of the wood. I coated them with Anchor Seal and let them to
dry. Now when finishing those blanks half of them are showing hairline
cracks. The other ash, birch and maple blanks that were done at the same
time are coming out without cracks.

Were the walls almost vertical? That seems the most vulnerable to checking
in my experience.

I don't coat, but do take care to spin the rough quickly at the last to
throw as much water as possible. I then allow them to dry with plenty of
air for several hours, until the surface water is gone before putting them
on the shelf where they as in close quarters. They don't misbehave for me.

Matter of fact, had my first crack in a rough in a long while this morning -
beech. First time turning it, may have left it too thick.

"Denis Marier" wrote in message
...
I wonder what happen?
Last spring, when I was roughing 10-11" dia. cherry blanks I had water
spinning out of the wood. I coated them with Anchor Seal and let them to
dry. Now when finishing those blanks half of them are showing hairline
cracks. The other ash, birch and maple blanks that were done at the same
time are coming out without cracks.

Denis, The cherry we use around here is difficult to dry without
cracking....But, I manage with the no breeze, no heat, no sun, and keep them
in a dark cool place, therory.... Give then 4 to 6 monthes and you should
have no problem....

OBTW, when I used to dry on the shelf in the garage, I found that there was
too much air movement in that setting, so I started putting them in a sealed
room where there could be no movement of air..... It seemed to
help........Cheer..... Ken from down the road.....

--
Ken & Debbie Bullock (Woodturners)

Woodturning videos at:
http://www.oneofakindwoodturnings.com
SKP # 82323



"Denis Marier" wrote in message
...
I wonder what happen?
Last spring, when I was roughing 10-11" dia. cherry blanks I had water
spinning out of the wood. I coated them with Anchor Seal and let them to
dry. Now when finishing those blanks half of them are showing hairline
cracks. The other ash, birch and maple blanks that were done at the same
time are coming out without cracks.

Fruit woods seem to be more sensitive. I think they hold more moisture and
therefore shrink more which causes higher stresses and more cracking. The
main thing is to slow drying as Ken Bullock mentioned.

I find cherry to differ greatly from tree to tree. The first four bowls I
ever roughed out from cherry all cracked. It gave me a bad opinion of
cherry. Since then I haven't had one crack. I usually just rough turn then
paper bag them in a cool place for 6 months, then take them out and shelve
them for at least another 6 months.
Tony Manella
ndd1"at"prolog.net (remove "at")
http://home.ptd.net/~ndd1/
Lehigh Valley Woodturners
http://www.lehighvalleywoodturners.org/

"Denis Marier" wrote in message
...
I wonder what happen?
Last spring, when I was roughing 10-11" dia. cherry blanks I had water
spinning out of the wood. I coated them with Anchor Seal and let them to
dry. Now when finishing those blanks half of them are showing hairline
cracks. The other ash, birch and maple blanks that were done at the same
time are coming out without cracks.

Gentlemen: And after all this time, too! Lets try this all together.
Repeat after me: "EL, DEE, DEE." *G*

Leif
"Denis Marier" wrote in message
...
I wonder what happen?
Last spring, when I was roughing 10-11" dia. cherry blanks I had water
spinning out of the wood. I coated them with Anchor Seal and let them to
dry. Now when finishing those blanks half of them are showing hairline
cracks. The other ash, birch and maple blanks that were done at the same
time are coming out without cracks.

Leif,

I swear, you must have an LDD fetish! I'd say there's something aberrant
about this affinity, but that would presume a greater acquaintance than I
can admit to having. Regardless, since you've always been so encouraging,
I'll support you on this one!

LLL DDDDDD DDDDDD
LLL DD DD DD DD
LLL DD DD DD DD
LLL DD DD DD DD
LLL DD DD DD DD
LLL DD DD DD DD
LLLLLLLLL DDDDDD DDDDDD

--
Ali T. Borahan
AliSails - Fine Wood Artistry & Custom Woodcrafts
Web URL: http://www.alisails.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-


"Leif Thorvaldson" wrote in message
...
Gentlemen: And after all this time, too! Lets try this all together.
Repeat after me: "EL, DEE, DEE." *G*

Leif
"Denis Marier" wrote in message
...
I wonder what happen?
Last spring, when I was roughing 10-11" dia. cherry blanks I had water
spinning out of the wood. I coated them with Anchor Seal and let them to
dry. Now when finishing those blanks half of them are showing hairline
cracks. The other ash, birch and maple blanks that were done at the same
time are coming out without cracks.

Thanks, Ali. I wouldn't call it a fetish, exactly, just trying to be
helpful to a guy who has a problem which is easily resolved. The others in
the thread gave him the drying, complicated method leading to only a
partial solution. This is only my attempt to give him a successful,
alternative and make the answers more fair and balanced. (Now where have I
heard that phrase before?) *G*

Leif
"Ali T. Borahan" wrote in message
news:bb4db.20609$sp2.15074@lakeread04...
Leif,

I swear, you must have an LDD fetish! I'd say there's something aberrant
about this affinity, but that would presume a greater acquaintance than I
can admit to having. Regardless, since you've always been so encouraging,
I'll support you on this one!

LLL DDDDDD DDDDDD
LLL DD DD DD DD
LLL DD DD DD DD
LLL DD DD DD DD
LLL DD DD DD DD
LLL DD DD DD DD
LLLLLLLLL DDDDDD DDDDDD

--
Ali T. Borahan
AliSails - Fine Wood Artistry & Custom Woodcrafts
Web URL: http://www.alisails.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
-


"Leif Thorvaldson" wrote in message
...
Gentlemen: And after all this time, too! Lets try this all together.
Repeat after me: "EL, DEE, DEE." *G*

Leif
"Denis Marier" wrote in message
...
I wonder what happen?
Last spring, when I was roughing 10-11" dia. cherry blanks I had water
spinning out of the wood. I coated them with Anchor Seal and let them
to
dry. Now when finishing those blanks half of them are showing hairline
cracks. The other ash, birch and maple blanks that were done at the
same
time are coming out without cracks.

Add-on question:
I'm being given a trunk of a tree that a farmer friend of mine refers to as
"wild cherry". It's over 20" diameter and 15' long.
There is no way I can rough-turn all of it in time to store it. Should I
only take what I can rough-turn, or is there a way I can preserve the other
sections for later use?
Regards,
Phil
"Denis Marier" wrote in message
...
I wonder what happen?
Last spring, when I was roughing 10-11" dia. cherry blanks I had water
spinning out of the wood. I coated them with Anchor Seal and let them to
dry. Now when finishing those blanks half of them are showing hairline
cracks. The other ash, birch and maple blanks that were done at the same
time are coming out without cracks.

If you leave it in the log, especially with winter coming, you will lose but
little. I generally cover the freshly cut end with a plastic bag between
sessions, though shavings, which you will have in abundance, will work
nicely. Good thing about cherry heartwood is that it does not seem
vulnerable to fresh decay, even in summer.

When ready, take about an inch and a half off the end, then your pieces for
turning, recover and repeat until the log is gone. Be especially aware of
heart splits when you chose your cuts, and cut away until the smallest
annual ring is about an inch or more in width on the rim to get best
results. After that, you're on your own. I don't coat, just keep low to the
floor in the cool basement until they are no longer clammy to the touch.

Within the limits of your design, you might want to avoid going too thick
(8-10% of diameter) or making the walls too vertical. Either seem to make
the blank more prone to pulling apart.

"Phil Anselm" wrote in message
...
Add-on question:
I'm being given a trunk of a tree that a farmer friend of mine refers to
as
"wild cherry". It's over 20" diameter and 15' long.
There is no way I can rough-turn all of it in time to store it. Should I
only take what I can rough-turn, or is there a way I can preserve the
other

Phil,

I would suggest taking the trunk in the longest sections possible.
(the whole 15' if you can manage) Cherry has an affection for
splitting at the ends, so use a generous coating of anchorseal (or
equivalent) at the cuts.
The longer your pieces are, the more time you'll have to rough good
wood.
Take the opportunity and don't fret if you lose some. Cherry is
wonderful to turn.

Mike

Thanks to all who responded. One more question, please. I can't physically
handle a log 20" by 15', so cutting it up is necessary. Weight, not length,
is my limitation. Would it be better to split the log lengthwise, and have
longer sections, or leave it "in the round", and store shorter sections
(each piece's length determined by the weight I can manage)?
Thanks again,
Phil
"Michael Marxer" wrote in message
om...
Phil,

I would suggest taking the trunk in the longest sections possible.
(the whole 15' if you can manage) Cherry has an affection for
splitting at the ends, so use a generous coating of anchorseal (or
equivalent) at the cuts.
The longer your pieces are, the more time you'll have to rough good
wood.
Take the opportunity and don't fret if you lose some. Cherry is
wonderful to turn.

Mike

"Phil Anselm" wrote:

Would it be better to split the log lengthwise, and have
longer sections

Yes. If you leave it round, it will definitely crack much more than if
it is half-round. And more length is better for reduced overall amount
of end-checking.

--
Cats, Coffee, Chocolate...vices to live by