Wild Cherry Balusters or Spindles

[rick91351]

I have a nice stand if some type of very tall, very straight slender wild cherry on my property.  I am wondering when the best time to harvest and dry it to make balusters or spindles for a loft banister.  Certainly late fall or winter when the sap has left I reason.  Then I read just when the buds in the spring are starting to swell the bark is the easiest to strip.  Then what would be the best way to store and dry it with the least amount of cracking.  I am looking at harvesting all that would caliper three inch to inch and a half.       

[Don_P]

First let's bust a myth. Sap doesn't go down in winter, it does stop flowing in hardwoods when the leaves drop. If a tree or cell embolizes, loses water column, it dies. The moisture content of some woods is actually higher in winter without leaf transpiration. Standing in front of the blade, I get sprayed winter and summer.

But... cutting in winter has some advantages. Drying conditions are slower and mold doesn't grow in the cold. This allows more gentle drying without stains forming. One problem with thick or heart included pieces is that as the outer shell dries it is shrinking around a still green and swollen core. The slower drying conditions in winter lessen the moisture gradient.  Do expect checking but this will lessen it as compared to high temperatures and low humidity. The bark does "slip" in spring as the cambium divides but you are heading into high heat/ low humidity and fungal jungle time. The hungry bugs also hatch out and bore into fresh green wood then.

Some turners claim that antifreeze lessens checking, glycols do dry very slowly so I can see that it might lower the gradient. PEG, another glycol, bulks cells with a waxy substance that lessens shrinkage. It does cause finishing problems.

I'd fall or winter cut, peel and dry it out of the sun. I'd rack the sticks crisscross with lots of airspace. If you see spots of mold put a fan on it, if it starts checking slow the airflow.