How to bandsaw mill a small cherry log?

[SpiderDave]

Hiya fellas. I just cut down a wild cherry tree. I'm not 100% sure if it is considered wild or not, but they sprout up out here all the time from the birds and squirrels.  Small red/yellow cherries, like a rainier cherry but much smaller. The wood is orange and cream at the cut. I can add a pic later if need be?

I have a really nice looking stump standing that's about 4' tall, straight and I hate to waste it. It's 14-15" in diameter. Is it worth it? I was just going to flat saw the whole thing and wish for the best, but if it's just gona warp and twist, why bother? 

I'm having trouble being able to tell how big the pith is. It has a center area, but it's huge. And I can't tell the difference between the sapwood and heartwood either. Is this a waste of my time? I mean even if I can get some smaller pieces out of it to work with later, that'd be great. But I'm not sure how to cut it to get good pieces. I could get some quartersawn pieces out of it, but not much at all. I'm not sure how to cut it without wasting it. How much of the pith needs left out when I can't tell? same with the sapwood. I've milled other woods on my bandsaw, but this one I'm not familiar with at all. I could really use some help. Hot weather's here and I hate to see it start checking if there's a chance at harvesting something out of it. 

Got any advice here you'd be willing to offer? What would you do?  Thanks for reading.

[iclark]

Know anyone who turns? That can be some beautiful wood for peppermills and bowls. With that large a diameter trunk, you might even be able to do end-grain boxes for Beads for Courage.

Alternatively, 4' might be tall enough for green wood working for chairs using spokeshaves and drawknives. If 4' isn't big enough for the tall back verticals, you could do them in a contrasting wood and use the cherry for everything else.

If I understand correctly, the part closest to the ground is the most likely part of the tree to have curl. It might even be worth digging down a few inches around the tree so that you can cut it at ground level.

If you cannot tell where the pith is because the felling left too rough of a surface, you could start by ripping it down the length at roughly the center of the rings. Once you have it as 2 half-logs, doing a smoothing crosscut to get rid of the felling damage should make your life easier.

Seal the end grain as soon as possible if you are not taking the green wood working approach.

[SpiderDave]

Know anyone who turns? That can be some beautiful wood for peppermills and bowls. With that large a diameter trunk, you might even be able to do end-grain boxes for Beads for Courage.

Alternatively, 4' might be tall enough for green wood working for chairs using spokeshaves and drawknives. If 4' isn't big enough for the tall back verticals, you could do them in a contrasting wood and use the cherry for everything else.

If I understand correctly, the part closest to the ground is the most likely part of the tree to have curl. It might even be worth digging down a few inches around the tree so that you can cut it at ground level.

If you cannot tell where the pith is because the felling left too rough of a surface, you could start by ripping it down the length at roughly the center of the rings. Once you have it as 2 half-logs, doing a smoothing crosscut to get rid of the felling damage should make your life easier.

Seal the end grain as soon as possible if you are not taking the green wood working approach.

Thanks iclark!  In the woods I've worked with so far, the pith was obvious. But what looks like the pith to me here, takes up half of the log diameter. I'm a hobbyist at best here, just not sure where the pith starts and ends on cherry? The cuts are clean, I just have a hard time believing the pith is that large. It could just be the way the wood is, but I've never handled cherry before so I'm not sure at all. Ha! I've never milled logs this small either, so I'm having a hard time figuring out how to cut it without ending up with giant pringles chips.  I did rip one lengthwise and it was really nice. I still couldn't distinguish the pith, so maybe I'm blind. Ha! I do have a lathe, thanks, great ideas.  I did get those ends sealed up last night since I'm dragging my feet a bit on cutting it.

[thewalnutguy]

Hiya fellas. I just cut down a wild cherry tree. I'm not 100% sure if it is considered wild or not, but they sprout up out here all the time from the birds and squirrels.  Small red/yellow cherries, like a rainier cherry but much smaller. The wood is orange and cream at the cut. I can add a pic later if need be?

I have a really nice looking stump standing that's about 4' tall, straight and I hate to waste it. It's 14-15" in diameter. Is it worth it? I was just going to flat saw the whole thing and wish for the best, but if it's just gona warp and twist, why bother? 

I'm having trouble being able to tell how big the pith is. It has a center area, but it's huge. And I can't tell the difference between the sapwood and heartwood either. Is this a waste of my time? I mean even if I can get some smaller pieces out of it to work with later, that'd be great. But I'm not sure how to cut it to get good pieces. I could get some quartersawn pieces out of it, but not much at all. I'm not sure how to cut it without wasting it. How much of the pith needs left out when I can't tell? same with the sapwood. I've milled other woods on my bandsaw, but this one I'm not familiar with at all. I could really use some help. Hot weather's here and I hate to see it start checking if there's a chance at harvesting something out of it. 

Got any advice here you'd be willing to offer? What would you do?  Thanks for reading.

Black cherry is one of my favorite woods for furniture, I have it growing in my woods and leave the healthy trees alone but harvest any downed, dead, or damaged. 14" is certainly usable. With my bandmill I typically start  by cutting about 2" off of one side, with the log raised on one end to get the center roughly horizontal. I'll then proceed around the tree taking off like amounts from four sides, and then continue sawing the best face and don't worry about avoiding the pith. The ends of course need to be sealed, then the boards are stickered someplace out of the weather. I normally leave the material on the racks for at least a year before putting it in my kiln. When it's been dried I'll then remove the pith. I've not been terribly impressed by quarter sawn cherry, and with a 14" diameter log to start with you'd get little quarter-sawn.

[jteneyck]

I've cut black cherry and other cherry logs, too.  The pith on cherry is hard to see and doesn't seem to be all that large.  Like Dave, I don't worry about it much, though I do try avoid the center 2".  But if it ends up in a board I just rip it off before putting it on the drying rack.  I also agree that QS cherry is pretty darned boring looking, like walnut.  I much prefer plain sawn in both.  With a 15" log and a 2" sap ring you should get some boards from 6 to 10" wide, plenty good.  

There is about 35 bf in a 15" diameter log that's 4 ft long, but with a 2" sap ring you'll lose 15 bf.  Whether or not it's worth the effort for 20 bf of heartwood is your call.  Typical drying losses are around 20%, so now you're down to 16 BF.   Not sounding nearly as good as using it for bowls.  

John

[ianab]

Does sound like Prunus avium, It's a European species that's become naturalised in the US, and here in NZ. The wood doesn't have quite the same colour as your native Black Cherry, but can otherwise be treated and used the same. 

Like John says, it's not a huge log. But if your aim is just to "Make something out of your own log", then slice it up, set it up to dry on sticks and see what you end up with.