Advice needed on how to keep cherry from checking

[Michael Mason]

I seem to have terrible luck when drying cherry bowls. Here is my process. After tree is felled, I Anchorseal. Then cut the blanks and rough out. After rough out, I Anchorseal the whole blank and wrap in newspaper. Let dry for a few months and return and finish. This is how I do all my bowls and have little to no problem with Walnut or Maple. I have probably done 200-250 like this with good results. However, out of every 10 cherry rough outs, I would be lucky to get 3 or 4 with no cracks. My heated basement shop is pretty dry, that's why I have to Anchorseal and wrap in paper.

Does anybody have any advise other than using DNA to have a lower mortality rate on cherry? Thanks

[Roger Chandler]

Perhaps 2 coats of anchorseal instead of one........and keep them in the absolute coolest place with the least air flow in your basement..........this extra coat of AS on the cherry might make a difference, all other things being equal. Something you could try to see if it works or not in your situation.

Another thing you could try with the cherry, is this...........after the AS, then put the rough out in a heavy, multi-layer paper sack.........then staple it closed. Some grocery stores have some multi-layer, but you could look for a local paper bag supplier............usually they sell to restaurants & such, but you could buy some as well. Then store in the coolest place as mentioned above...........good luck!

[charlie knighton]

you might try an unheated place , outside, no sun, shade, might use tarps with open at each end, keep off ground, summer in sc may be a problem

[Wally Dickerman]

When roughing out, round over all sharp corners. Because the wood is so thin there that's where most cracks start. Turn off all sapwood. Because sapwood on cherry dries faster than heartwood it cracks. The cracks carry on into the heartwood.

[Michael Mason]

Thanks for the suggestions. I took down a nice cherry tree this afternoon, so I have plenty of wood to try all the suggestions to see where I have the best luck.

[Lee Hoffman]

On really difficult woods like olive, eucalyptus, cork oak, and the fruit woods...I would suggest that you "double bag" the turnings. By double bagging, you subject the turnings to two different progressive drying environments which negate the effects of temperature, drafts, etc. however, be mindful that it will take longer to dry to finish condition. This proceedure has worked for me and perhaps it will work for you... GL

[Leo Van Der Loo]

As was suggested, make sure you have blanks without any splits/checks, turn in one go and then bag in thick brown paper bag, store that in a COOL place with no sun draft or heating, like a garage or unheated garage basement.

Also turn with a recess rather than a tenon, that reduces the bottom and the bigger difference between wall and bottom, this is what I have used for many years and have very few splitting in any type of wood, HTH.

Here all the roughouts from a smaller Apple log, no splits.

277490

[Mike Cruz]

Are you getting the cracks after returning, or are you getting them from the Anchorseal drying? If the former, I'd say it is because you aren't letting the blanks dry long enough. Anchorseal doesn't dry wood faster than it normally would. Actually, it slows down the drying time, thereby reducing cracking. A 1" thick roughout can easily take 6 months to dry. When I am using the Anchorseal method to dry, I don't wrap in anything. And it still takes 4-6 months easily to dry out a blank. If it is the latter, then the blanks are drying too quickly.

[Steve Trauthwein]

AS the end grain only and then put in thick paper bag with some of the wet shavings. Cool place.

[Mike Cruz]

Steve, putting it in a bag with its own shavings is a great way to spalt it, too (if the wood and shavings are wet)...

[Paul Kennedy]

Steve, I suggest you try putting the sealant on the end grain only. As the end grain loses moisture faster this may allow the wood to dry more evenly. Pk

[Michael Mason]

The cracks are during the AS drying. When I unwrap them, most are cracked. It is just with cherry though.

[Reed Gray]

The fruit woods do tend to be a bit more difficult to dry without cracking. You do not want dry and warm. The weather is not too extreme where you are. Putting them in a corner on the floor in the garage might be perfect. You do not want heat or wind on them. The bagging method can lead to molding, as can putting them in with wet shavings. I have had several bad cases of spots on the wood that would not sand out. Wally's comment about rounding over the edge is also pretty huge. The sharp edge, which can slice you to the bone in a second, is also vulnerable. It is a spot where you can't keep an even wall thickness, so rounding it over 1/8 inch round over at least, helps even things up. Mike Mahoney uses his wine cellar for storing his rough turned bowl blanks.

robo hippy

[Dale Bonertz]

Some good advice thus far but if you have to dry them in the basement you may want to try this. A friend of mine has to dry his in the basement where it is dry and warm. As a matter of fact he has to dry them about 5 to 8 feet from the furnace. He will anchorseal the entire blank. Put 1 x 2 stickers on the floor and stack the blanks upside down (tenon can go down also as long as it is big enough to handle a load) so they don't get to wobbly. Put the next blank on top of the other with a stickers separating them so air can get around them. Depending on the size and stacking he will go three to four feet high. Slide a big leaf or construction garbage bag over them and cut a hole in the top of it once over the blanks. Air will draw in from the bottom and escape from the top. Essentially you are creating a kiln. After three or four months put them on your drying rack to finish drying. Periodically watch for mold starting and if it is let more air in the bottom and open the top a bit more.

[John Keeton]

I do very few bowls, but for whatever it is worth, this last spring I roughed out four walnut bowls. Then, Anchorsealed the exterior only and put them on the floor of my shop under my bench. They all have done well and are nearly dry. Later in the summer, a friend called with an offer on some ornamental cherry. I roughed four more bowls, and again Anchorsealed the exterior and did the same - on the concrete floor of the shop. None have yet cracked, though it is much too early to know if that will ultimately be the case. I don't have enough experience with drying bowl roughouts to venture an opinion, but at least to this point, I have had 100% success with sealing only the exterior of the roughouts. My shop remains heated through the winter, but only to about 55*, or so. It is insulated, so in the summer, it doesn't get overly hot inside. Of course, when I am in the shop, the windows are open. It would seem extreme changes in temperature could be detrimental.

[Michael Poorman]

Michael,

I've had really good luck with DNA drying. So far every piece I've DNA soaked as dried without any cracking. Yes, this includes cherry.

[Mike Beach]

What is DNA drying?

Michael,

I've had really good luck with DNA drying. So far every piece I've DNA soaked as dried without any cracking. Yes, this includes cherry.

[Reed Gray]

Another thing in the 'experimental' book thing would be to take one of those room humidifiers and place it under a stack of bowls, making a convection chimney and see if the steaming helps. Not as energy consuming as boiling.....

robo hippy

[Mike Cruz]

Mike, DNA is Denatured Alcohol. You get a liquid proof (won't leak/air tight) container and fill it with DNA. Take a roughout, and soak it in the DNA for a couple of days. Take the roughout out of the DNA, and wrap it in a paper bag (like a birthday present). Then cut a hole in the paper bag that exposes the inside/center of the bowl. Let it sit like this for about 2 weeks. Then remove the turning from the paper bag and let it sit for another 2 weeks. You'll get few if any cracks and can re-turn one month after roughing out...pretty quick turn around (as compared to AnchorSeal). But DNA is expensive...about $15 a gallon at the BORG. There are places you can get it cheaper by the 5 gallon bucket though...

[robert baccus]

After fighting cracks for 30 years I have little trouble with them--excluding warp on figured wood. However, I have never turned a normal sized piece of cherry without cracking. I have used every method here and a few others that friends suggested. I am convinced our southern cherry is a different subspecies than the yanks have. Darker in color and it cracks religeously for every turner around here. I admire the pieces shown on the creek and envy their cherry. I am sure I have heard it cracking as it was falling. PS A nice stranger dropped off a load of cherry today--just right sizes--8-12". Now what???

[robert baccus]

After fighting cracks for 30 years I have concluded It is almost impossible to avoid cracks here in the deep south on cherry. I've tried every idea and several more besides. I am convinced that out southern cherry is a subspecies of cherry and I admire the beautiful whole pieces shown here on the creek. Our red cedar also has the same characteristics it seems. I have heard both cracking on the way down when felling--that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Endseals have eliminated most of the curing problems of years ago.

[Steve Busey]

Let dry for a few months and return and finish.

Are you weighing or using a moisture meter before final turning? I got some freshly cut cherry in Nov 2012 and it took a lot more than a "few months" before it stopped losing weight - almost a year. I'm just wondering if those bowls that crack on you are wetter than the ones that don't....

[Peter Lamb]

Well I guess it is time to plug Cedarcide's Turners Choice though expensive. I work in Blufton SC and my favorite local is cherry.
From stump to finished bowls up to 11.5 "x5" in 10=15 days. Soak rough turned bowl, 1/10 diameter in thicknees through out,
for 24-48 hours in the juice and at least four days to dry out then return.The juice does not effect the finish. Not only no cracks
but also very little warp,as little as a 1/16" on an 11 inch bowl.I have been using the juice for close to ten years.

[Stan Smith]

FYI. I've never turned any cherry bowls so I can't help there. I did recently buy some dark cherry for some peppermills. It was 12" L x 3'x3". The ends were sealed but I don't know what the sealant was--maybe AS. I think there was still moisture in the wood, too. I cut a piece off and didn't seal it. It checked the same day, but not too bad. I'm wondering if cherry is more prone to checking than some other woods such as walnut?