What do I do with this thing now?

[Jon Farley]

I don't have a lathe yet, but hopefully I will have a big one sometime soon. Anyway, I spent the better part of this afternoon yanking this root ball out of the ground, cleaning it off and trimming it. It is black cherry and for size reference, the saw has a 20" bar. I know very little about turning, but this seemed like something that might be useful down the road. My question is this - what do I do with it now in order to properly store/save it? And maybe a better question should be, did I do the right thing by saving it in the first place? Will it be usable?

[Bruce Shiverdecker]

First, before doing ANYTHING else, GET THE END GRAIN coated with something - Anchorseal, Parifin, Shellac and Wax, Several liberal coats of latex paint. This will slow the drying out through the ends and help keep then from "Checking"(Cracking).

That will make some VERY nice projects, later.

Bruce

[John Hart]

Yup....what Bruce said. And find a cool dark place to store it for the long haul. Looks to be an outstanding piece!:)

[Don Baer]

First, before doing ANYTHING else, GET THE END GRAIN coated with something - Anchorseal, Parifin, Shelac and Wax, Several liberal coats of latex paint. This will slow the drying out through the ends and help keep then from "Checking"(Cracking).

That will make some VERY nice projects, later.

Bruce

Then after you've done what Bruce said take it down to the local mail box store and ship it to me. I'll even pay the freight..:D

[William Bachtel]

Next thing you should do, is buy that lathe, and keep it out of sun, cool, dark place, I second that one. Did you have fun?