Kiln drying wild cherry??

McClellan Made Blades

Well-Known Member
Hey Dawgs,
Quick question, is it possible to kiln dry wild cherry to use for handles? The grain looks interesting with the heart of the tree looking awesome, the heart area is not huge. I want to kiln dry part of it the other part I'm going to cut it to a manageable size them stack it where it can dry naturally. I have one tree down, and another tree that has to come down. On the first one it has a dead limb that is still very solid with an interesting grain to it, if anyone knows the best way to kiln dry this please let me know, I have a fairly large kiln, that I use for heat treating knives, it should work fine for kiln drying this wood, at least a little but of it. I want to get some of this ready to work on, so I can see if it will be good enough for knife handles, Thanks Rex
 
It can be kiln dried like any other lumber. I have kiln dried rough cut lumber in my shed waiting to be planed down and cut and built into a couple of end tables for my wife. End cuts will become knife handles.
 
140 Degrees 7-10 days, check with meter, below 12%. If 12% or higher cook longer. Get it between 8-10%. Take out. After 3 days check with your meter, higher tha 12% back in it goes. If it drys quickly but quickly so back above 12% drop temp to 130.

Clear as mud now?
 
140 Degrees 7-10 days, check with meter, below 12%. If 12% or higher cook longer. Get it between 8-10%. Take out. After 3 days check with your meter, higher tha 12% back in it goes. If it drys quickly but quickly so back above 12% drop temp to 130.

Clear as mud now?

Thats about the best info I've gotten, the only info I've gotten but still if that'll work I'll give it a go. Where is the best place to get a moisture meter? I've seen them, just don't remember where.

Another thing, I'm cutting most of this up into manageable blocks before I dry it, wouldn't that cut down on the drying time? 140 degrees for 7 days straight would make for a hefty power bill. Wouldn't smaller blocks dry faster? I don't plan on drying all of it like that, I have one whole tree, and then another tree that I should be able to get some usable blocks from, it's a dead tree, but the wood on the inside looks solid. Wouldn't this be similar to spalted maple? I would have all of that stabilized, I do believe cherry is a hard wood, there looks to be some very interesting figure in this stuff especially in the heart of it. That stuff is gorgeous, dark with a lot of movement. There are more crotches in these tress than on a football field! I'm looking forward to seeing what they will look like, the outer band, is almost white on some of it, while the closer you get to the center it gets a touch darker. I may build a solar kiln, I live in Alabama, the 2 things we don't lack is heat and humidity, the humidity might be a problem, but in a solar kiln, the heat could cook a turkey! Thanks for your help, I may do one batch to make sure it's worth the effort, Thanks Rex
 
The Mini Ligno moisture meters are pretty good for a pin type moisture meter and you can probably pick one up on ebay for under $100.00.
 
Rex,
Cut it oversized and let it dry naturally. Unless you really want to build that kiln. Thats my 2 cents. The moisture meter is a great idea, and ligno mat is a good one.

Cherry smells good when you cut it too..... this was last weekend.

cherry004.jpg
 
Alabama, Well I'd almost bet that there is a lumber kiln within 50 miles of ya then. They could do it all at once and be cheaper than you running your's one day. Paint the end of your wood so it wont check and/or crack, latex outdoor paint works fine.

If you want to do a set of scales, a box and heat lamp does a pretty darn good job:)

Do throw any scraps away. Cherry is some of the very best smokin wood you'll ever taste
 
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Rex,
Cut it oversized and let it dry naturally. Unless you really want to build that kiln. Thats my 2 cents. The moisture meter is a great idea, and ligno mat is a good one.

Cherry smells good when you cut it too..... this was last weekend.

cherry004.jpg

Larry,
My Cherry does look anything like that, it might in the heart, but for the most part the outer band from the heart is almost white. It does have a lot of figure to it, and once it's dried it should be some pretty nice stuff. I know it's HARD! Keep in mind this is wild cherry, not like Bing cherry or some of the other varieties that are harvested. These produce a tiny berry, very sweet, it's mostly pit! I hated cutting it down but it keeps getting in the power line going to the shop, and it's right on my septic tank, only a matter of time before it cost me a bundle. I'll see if I can get a piece cleaned up and get a pic of it. With so much to do, it will be a few days, I'm going to look around here locally to see what it would cost to have it kiln dried after I get all of it cut down and cut up. I have another tree that has to come down, it's dead. The inside around the heart looks solid, I was thinking about getting some of that stabilized to see how it would look, wouldn't that be similar to spalted maple? Spalted maple is maple that has already started decomposing, if there is any of that dead tree that can be salvaged, it should be dry enough to work with. I have no idea what to call it if it is good stuff, "Dead Cherry", I don't think spalted would apply, I do know the dead stuff looks really good, some of what I've cut up so far is beautiful! Some pieces have eyes, where others have a lot of figure in the grain. Do you recommend a certain way to cut it up, to get the best grain pattern? I though about quatersawing it, but that is a lot of waste, and these aren't huge logs. But if that wil give me the best results, so be it! Let me know what you think would be the best way to cut it, thanks Larry, Rex
 
If you can pull the stump out of the ground, that can be a good place to find curly wood. I'd try to cut the pith out of any blocks you keep, and I wouldn't worry about maximum yield. Pick and choose just the best pieces and cut them generously oversized as you'll loose some to checking. Cherry tends to darken significantly.

Take care, Craig
 
Rex,
I guess I would focus on the crotch areas and then cut those oversized into slabs. The pic I posted is crotch cherry. I mean you could slab the whole thing, but I wouldn't unless you see some really great figure somewhere. Mostly the crotch area is where your gonna get your best figure, as far as cherry goes. Altho I do have some really outrageous "quilted cherry", but thats pretty rare I think. I would cut a few slabs and see what kind of figure you got and then go for the crotch if nothing else looks good. You can "sticker" the stuff if you cut it into boards, etc but otherwise I might cut it into bigger slabs and then seal it. Most of the stuff I have worked with has been really hard.

How to seal it? Lots of opinions on how to do that.
 
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Rex, I'm further South than you but it still would get real hot there in the summer.
I have a 8x12 wooden storage shed and I put green wood in the attic of the shed for the summer and that is all it takes.
Over sized blocks, I wrap real good in brown paper bag paper and put them up there also, don't take too long. But I usually forget and don't find them again for a couple of yrs.
I have some REAL nice Dogwood that I found up there the other day, been up there 'bout 4 yrs And a hole box of walnut.
Point is, In the deep south, an outdoor shed it a natural kiln, when closed up.
Jerry
 
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If you can pull the stump out of the ground, that can be a good place to find curly wood. I'd try to cut the pith out of any blocks you keep, and I wouldn't worry about maximum yield. Pick and choose just the best pieces and cut them generously oversized as you'll loose some to checking. Cherry tends to darken significantly.

Take care, Craig

Craig,
Most of this tree, while it is big, is small. This tree, at the base of the trunk up about 4 feet tall, is one solid piece, it then branches off in what looked like about 5 trees, I think these where separate trees that grafted together. I still have some bigger slabs to cut away from the trunk, BUT the wife wants to use the trunk to make a pic-nic table base, which means I won't be able to get to the really good material, OR the roots!!! Wishing I hadn't agreed to it now. On the bright side I have an awesome wife and this isn't much of a sacrifice, besides, in a few years she may decide she doesn't want the table there and the only way to move it is to cut it down, I'll get to it then! Once I get the final cuts from it I'm going to seal it with some latex paint, hopefully sealing out any bugs and water.

As far as yield goes, I've thrown away (meaning saved for the grill) more than half of what I've cut to keep. I want to kiln dry some of it, to make sure it will be worth putting up. There is some beautiful grain in it, with A LOT of figure, it's just that most of it in the white part, I don't think this is sap wood, but I could be wrong. The inner ring where the color is so small, if that was the only part of this tree that I could use then I'm in trouble! I don't care so much about maximum yield, the other blocks I have cut up that I'll be posting for sale of some different woods will show that. I cut them HUGE! This is another piece of wood, that I bought for my personal use, ready for a knife, unless you want to stabilize walnut.

Excuse my ignorance, but what is the pith? I'm thinking that is what we in the south call the "heart" or "heart wood". Probably not a Southern thing, I just want to learn as much as I possibly can, I love working with wood, I don't have that much experience cutting the trees down myself for use, but you have to start somewhere, right?

Thanks for the help, Craig, Rex
 
Rex do you have plan for a solar kiln?

Larry after you cut wood into blocks do you seal them in wax?



J.A.W.,
I saw plans for a solar kiln on the internet, although I do believe that if I put it up in my shop in a sealed container, (sealed from dust and grit, not air) I can put it in the loft and it should cook pretty good up there. I was thinking about doing more of it faster to see if it was worth keeping first. Thanks Rex
 
Hi Rex,

The pith, to me, is just that center 'vein' in a log. Drying cracks sometimes radiate from it and cross through the good stuff that you might have wanted.

You may as well jump right on that picnic table project this weekend;).

The honey do's never end, Craig
 
Hi Rex,

The pith, to me, is just that center 'vein' in a log. Drying cracks sometimes radiate from it and cross through the good stuff that you might have wanted.

You may as well jump right on that picnic table project this weekend;).

The honey do's never end, Craig



You know I told you guys how awesome my wife is, when I told my son that the possibility of better wood in the roots, he told Tina, (my wife), she then tells me she's changed her mind she doesn't want to turn it into a pic nic table, to go ahead and cut it down! So I have a lot more work ahead of me! I'm not going to get into any kind of hurry to cut the rest of it down, I have several knives I need to finish, and several other things to work on, then I'll tackle taking it down and digging it up. Rex
 
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