Large Cookie

[Shad Schreiner]

I am about to acquire a large maple "cookie," about 4 feet in diameter. There is some rot in the middle which should make a neat design feature but my question lies in preservation/drying. I'd like to keep this 6-8" thick or so. I live in CO so humidity is very low. Should I paint the ends, or seal with something else to help avoid cracking while it dries? The plan is to make a table out of it at some point after it is dried out.

Thanks,
Shad