staabilizing wood

[David Reed]

I have some rather large pieces of BLM burl which are several years old and well seasoned. I have a slab of BLM burl with some voids and inclusion seven feet long, 16 inches wide and 2.5 inches thick. I have this scheduled to become a table behind our sofa The have been stored in my barn which is dry but still rather humid. When dealing with not so large chunks, I have had no trouble with cracking. Larger pieces will crack when introduced into a dryer environment (aka heated living space). Any suggestions how to stabilize this wood as to minimize cracking and checking as it further dries and reaches equilibrium in larger sections? I have not used DNA soaking but if I understand correctly, this is to drive water from the cells to allow for a different drying rate. Would DNA soaks help to limit changing shape and opening up crack in large pieces? Any other thoughts?
Thanks
David

Attached are a couple rather marginal pics.

[James Phillips]

What is the moisture content now? If it is 6-7%, I would get a good coat of finish all around (top and bottom) and then not worry about it.

[David Reed]

Without a moisture meter, I do not know the moisture content. I do know it is considerably higher than it would become after moving into the house. I can minimize warping I think but I wish to minimize increases in the checking and cracking which has already begun to some extent and will otherwise progress if left to dry naturally. The majority of the cracking occurs around voids and inclusions and is unavoidable. I am merely looking for advice to minimize this if there is a way. Here are a couple of pics of the most severely affected areas. I am obviously dealing with a distressed piece of wood and additional distortions may have no real impact in the long run, but still looking to minimize the effect.
Thanks
David