Making lumber from cherry tree
 

My cherry tree has not put out any twigs or leaves for 2 seasons in a row.
It is dead. I would like to make some lumber, or, maybe cut it into chunks
to make turnings. The trunk is about 18" in diameter and 9 feet tall. I do
happened to have acreage and a backhoe. Decades ago I read that you are
supposed to bury the trunk for something like 3-4 years.
All suggestions appreciated. BTW, tree is in the Northwest. Lots of rain.

Ivan Vegvary

On Tue, 27 Sep 2005 06:20:12 GMT, "Ivan Vegvary"
wrote:

My cherry tree has not put out any twigs or leaves for 2 seasons in a row.
It is dead. I would like to make some lumber, or, maybe cut it into chunks
to make turnings. The trunk is about 18" in diameter and 9 feet tall. I do
happened to have acreage and a backhoe. Decades ago I read that you are
supposed to bury the trunk for something like 3-4 years.
All suggestions appreciated. BTW, tree is in the Northwest. Lots of rain.

Ivan Vegvary




don't bury it.

find a competent sawyer in your area. woodmizer offers a location
service- you might call them.
1.800.553.0182

Where in the Northwest? I am in Eugene, and love cherry. If the tree
has been standing dead for two years, it may have started checking
beyond the point of being useful. The only way to know for sure is to
cut into it. Do use the backhoe to push the tree over, which will pull
up the root ball, this is easier than digging it out after you have cut
it down. Our local cherry doesn't have as much color as the eastern
cherry, being much lighter in color, but it does darken up into a very
nice color. A domestic tree usually has more sap wood, and less heart
wood because of watering and fertilizers, than a wild tree does.
Any cuts should be end sealed immediatly after cutting.
robo hippy

If the trunk is good for lumber, do not push it over w/ the
backhoe--that kind of tension will ruin much if not most of the trunk
wood. Cut it leaving 2' or so above the ground so you can wrap chains
around the stump and easily uproot it w/ the backhoe.

H