How long does it take to seaon cherry? I got a line on some free cherry that has been piled up for 2 years. It has not been split so I don't know if that would keep it from seasoning. Some of the rounds are 24".
seasoning cherry wood
- Thread starter rb_in_va
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wdchuck
Addicted to ArboristSite
Had some 30"+ cherry not long ago, 20" long rounds sat for a year before splitting in march/april, stack was in the shade 80% of the time but by november it was stacked in the basement and was fine for december burning. I do split my stuff thicker , 6x6 to 9x9, the load door opening is 11x11 on the wood furnace.
Woodsrover
ArboristSite Operative
I'm burning a lot of black cherry this year. Doesn't seem to take any less or more time than my oak or maple. Blocked and stacked under the edge of the barn for 6 months or so then split and stacked under the barn for another 6 months. I would think those blocks sitting for two years would be good to go.
jim
jim
Mkarlson
ArboristSite Operative
I've cut and split alot of cherry in the summer, junish to august and it would burn nicely in late october and november. Cherry left in rounds for over a year and ends are showing the drying cracks will split so easy...I do all the straight pieces with a axe cause its faster then using the splitter. Maybe its not faster dont know I havent ever timed it, but makes me feel more like a man especially when there are people around to impress. :biggrinbounce2:
Well I don't have a maul or a splitter so I guess I'll just be impressing everyone.:hmm3grin2orange:
WoodBurner44
ArboristSite Lurker
Cherry, Birch and other tight-barked woods tend to decay under the bark if not split. Cutting when the sap is down (ie. in winter) helps to minimize this problem. I have cut and stacked some wild cherry in summer and the un-split limb wood decays before it dries enough to burn.
I had posted a similiar thread about this on August 20th. Locate it and you may have some more answers to your question.
firebuckeye
ArboristSite Lurker
I am currently splitting what I was told was black cherry. However it is a pain in the but to split. Its kind of stringy and will not split straight. An ideas why that would be. I also split some 24" walnut and now that was a piece of cake compared to this cherry. Can you give me some insight please on what I need to do.
Woodsrover
ArboristSite Operative
Cherry can be a little twisty but it's not that stringy...Not the stuff I've been splitting anyway. You don't have a picture, do you?
jim
jim
firebuckeye
ArboristSite Lurker
Never posted a picture before.... I will try. Maybe not twisty but wont split straight and its a bit ch
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Got it.
http://arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=35929
My real question is if cherry will season in 2 years before it is split.
Woodsrover
ArboristSite Operative
Yup, looks like cherry to me. Knotty stuff though! Not fun. I pitch stuff like that over the bank.
Rob, I would think it seasoned in two years blocked but not split. It starts checking pretty quick if you keep it out of the rain.
Jim
Rob, I would think it seasoned in two years blocked but not split. It starts checking pretty quick if you keep it out of the rain.
Jim
My real question is if cherry will season in 2 years before it is split.[/QUOTE]
I'm sure that it's very dry, but like some of the others stated it could rot out on you lying around in unsplit rounds. You'll know as soon as you handle it and try to burn it. Good luck with it!
I'm sure that it's very dry, but like some of the others stated it could rot out on you lying around in unsplit rounds. You'll know as soon as you handle it and try to burn it. Good luck with it!
Just got the wood home, and split a few chunks. Some pieces are a little punky on the outside, but I just spit it till I get to good stuff. I was under the impression that wood was stacked and dry, but it was just chucked out of the way and some pieces were on the ground. Nice smelling wood! Does it smell that good when it burns?
Yes, it's very aromatic when it burns. Since you can still smell an aroma, that tells me that there is still some moisture in it. But my experience with Cherry is that it isn't loaded with moisture; it's a "medium" wood as far as wetness/dryness goes, so it should dry out fairly fast for you. Good luck!
Mkarlson
ArboristSite Operative
it does have a nice aroma while it burns main reason I love using it for campfires. Also not bad for smoking flavor.
SmokinDodge
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I don't know if it was just the one tree I got a hold of but I removed a Wild Cherry tree for a friend from town that had been standing dead two/three years. There is no way a man could split that stuff by hand unless you had all day to split half a cord. I even tried the splitter but it was so knotty I ended up with very odd ball porcupine pieces. The grain would twist about 120 degrees in one 20" stick of wood, that also made for very interesting splitting. The 041 Super got a work out on the rest of it ripping fries until it was all "split" 
I've been curious to try to smoke some meat with it, is it worth while?
I've been curious to try to smoke some meat with it, is it worth while?
I don't know if it was just the one tree I got a hold of but I removed a Wild Cherry tree for a friend from town that had been standing dead two/three years. There is no way a man could split that stuff by hand unless you had all day to split half a cord. I even tried the splitter but it was so knotty I ended up with very odd ball porcupine pieces. The grain would twist about 120 degrees in one 20" stick of wood, that also made for very interesting splitting. The 041 Super got a work out on the rest of it ripping fries until it was all "split"
I've been curious to try to smoke some meat with it, is it worth while?
I just split some more of it last night. The stuff that didn't have knots split very nicely with an axe. It is very twisty though.
