Sergents cherry

[procell]

I think I have identified the mystery logs I was given a few weeks ago. They are sergent cherry. The heartwood is very pink and the sapwood is a lovely peachy orange. The only problem is it seems to split very easily as it dries.
This is a piece I cut from a log about 2 weeks ago. I did not seal the ends at all just to see what would happen.
The other half I have wet turned to a bowl with 1" walls and is in a plastic bag with damp shavings. This has split but nowhere near as bad as the one in the pic.

Am I wasting my time with this wood or is there a way to dry it without it splitting all over the place. I did remove a section from the center of the log to get rid of the pith but not sure if i took enough.

 

[chipmunk]

Hi Procell,
Seal it ASAP - you may be able to salvage some of it but if you don't you'll probably be left with just a few scraps between the splits.

I've never heard of Sergeant's cherry but ordinary cherry is prone to splitting too.
HTH
Jon

 

[finneyb]

Try turning a thin end grain bowl from the uncracked green wood as Michael O'Donnell does it may not crack if all the walls are the same thickness, including the foot. See http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/customer-med ... images_dav - look on the back cover of the book using the additional images to see the bowl.

The bowl wall is 2-3mm thick. Use a light periodically on the inside to ensure wall thickness is constant. Work down the bowl in stages sanding as you go - there is no turning back the bowl is too thin. If the bowl is drying as you turn spray water on it - watch the electrics.

Brian

 

[procell]

Sergents cherry is the tree that you often see by the side of roads in towns. It has lots of pink blossom in early spring.
Thanks for the tip finney. I will chop off another section and give it a try. I am only new to this so it will be a learning experience to turn something so thin

 

[CHJ]

If the logs are big enough, slabbing them at 25-50mm thick might get you better drying experience. (seal end grain)
Hopefully they will just cup a little rather than splitting.
Better a nice Cherry Platter, small plate, coasters etc. than split into pen blanks.

 

[KimG]

I have found with Holly at least (another tricky one to dry) that sealing the end grain as soon as possible after felling really helps, if you don't, once the splitting starts it is difficult to arrest, e.g., I had left some out without sealing, it started to split, the logs were quite long though, so I chopped a couple of inches off the end and it appeared green and free of splits, I sealed that with Chestnut wax sealer two coats, but after a few weeks it had split again, I may have been able to prevent it by roughing it out, but there is only so much I can deal with and some has to fall by the wayside. Logs I treated early though are holding up well.

So, the message is, if you get some small logs that are fresh cut, seal them as soon as you can, PVA glue seems to be a favourite.

 

[procell]

Thanks for the suggestions. I sealed the end grain using knotting as soon as I got them and it seems to be doing the job at the moment. I will try some as 1" slabs also. How close should I cut it to the pith? I have noticed that the pith has sunken about 1/4" down on some of the bigger logs.

At the end of the day If I only get small blocks that can be glued together to make sectioned turnings or as pen blanks it will not be a total waste.

 

[bellringer]

you need to cut thought the pith

 

[CHJ]

...... I will try some as 1" slabs also. How close should I cut it to the pith? .......

Ideally you need to cut as per:-

But not always practical and cutting through the pith is the best you can do, giving two reasonable thickness slabs either side to make the most of the wood.
Slabs cut through the pith usually warp (curve) a little more.

 

[procell]

Thanks Chaz that confirms what i was thinking. The two side pieces I could always use for segmented work.