Cherry Purchasing Question

[Tim Cottle]

A guy who I get lumber from called me this morning, saying he cut down a cherry tree and got about 32 bd. ft. of lumber from it, it is all 4/4, and he want a $1.00 a board foot, Even though this is not that wide, I was thinking it would be good for some small projects. Do I really have anything to lose at this price?

I am new to buying lumber, but now that I picked up a R4511, LOML wants some things to come OUT of the garage.

[Dan Friedrichs]

It depends on where you are located (prices vary wildly), but $1/bdft for rough cherry is generally a very good price, assuming it is good quality.

[Ken Shoemaker]

Is it kiln dried or are you going to have to air dry it?

[Tim Cottle]

I will have to air dry it, though I am contemplating building a small kiln, since he will sell me all the green hardwood I want at a buck a board foot.

[Prashun Patel]

Look at the wood first. Cherry can be very sappy. Also, if the grain is swirly and switchy, I'd stay away from it. It can be a nightmare to make usable. DAMHIKT.

[Tony Shea]

Drying wood can sometimes be a pain. You sometimes run into trouble and end up with unusable wood depending of how you dry it and what kind of grain pattern it is. But for $32 you can't really go wrong.

[Ken Shoemaker]

Read up on air drying. Paint the ends to prevent checking. Good luck with it.

[Dave Gallaher]

I'm not sure you can beat that price. Air dry will work if it is stickered and stacked properly. There is a trade off vs finished lumber but it's nice to finish a project knowing that it was yours from the ground up. Look at any 100 year old table, how do you think it was dried?