Cherry Tree ??

[dannylj]

           This is my first attempt to post a photo on the site. I need to verify that this is wild cherry tree. This is in North Louisiana. I am familiar with small wild cherry trees but this is about 30" at the base and my son is going to take it down. It has leaves like a cherry and small berries forming. I would like to cut it up into stock size planks and let it dry. Does anyone have an opinion?  Thanks  Danny

[Stophel]

Looks like one to me.

http://www.woodmagic.vt.edu/kids/woodid/Cherry.htm

http://www.forestry.ky.gov/seedling/Tree+Species+Information.htm

[Birddog6]

Looks like wild Cherry to me.  Best thing to do is cut it as close to the ground as you can as the best wood
will be at the base usually.   As soon as you cut it, seal the ends of the logs right then, or some will
start cracking overnight. Same with any log, sooner you seal it the better.  Then go back & reseal
it 2-3 times is what I do,.  I use a log sealer like the lumber guys use, but you can use a oil base paint,
and again REPEATED coats & on Thick.  If you have any knots, paint them too.
I try to cut the planks at least 2' longer than I want. That way if I do get a bad crack, I can work around it.
 I usually cut my slabs at least 2 3/4" thick and some of them 3" thick so I have plenty to work with..  
When you stack it, I buy a bundle of firing strips & cut them the width of the planks. Put one on the end &
then one every foot, down to the end again. Next layer of firing strips right over the others, same thing. Last
plank I stack 4 x 8 x 16" solid concrete cap blocks the entire length to weight it down. If it is a 8' plank
them I put 15 blocks on it & just a small space in between each one.
Stack under a roof. Spray with termite spray As You Are Stacking It , [and again each year as it sits.
In  3 years it will be ready for ya to use normally as you can figure on 1" drying in depth, per year, 3" thick
= 3 years.  Course this depends on humidity & climate & wood type & density, etc.  But that is a general
old timers rule.

[Skychief]

Cherry for sure.   Good luck with your project!

[dannylj]

Thanks for the confirmations. There actually are 2 of these trees and both are larger than any La. cherry tree I've ever seen. The one I photoed has a bad place on it as shown but is large enough planks can be cut for 20' up. I will have to cut them up with a chain saw. I just wanted to be sure they were worth fooling with.  Thanks   Danny

[Jerry V Lape]

The tree is cherry from the appearance of the bark and leaves.  But that vine at the bottom looks like Poison Ivy to me so be sure to wash well afterward.   I also think you will find that rotted area extendeds further inside than out and might make it nothing but firewood.  I do hope you get some good blanks out of it. 

[Kermit]

When you stack and sticker the planks, be sure the stickers are dry. I use lath from the lumberyard. I unstack and restack the pile every couple of months, moving the stickers so they are not in the same location on the slabs. I once had a friend offer me some claro walnut that his dad had cut and stickered undercover, and there was rot where every sticker contacted the walnut. It didn't totally ruin the wood, but by the time I surfaced it to get rid of the rot, the thickness went from 3.25 inches down to just under 2 inches. Lesson learned. I now restack periodically to be on the safe side.

[dogcreek]

The photo isn't real clear, but it appears to be a cherry tree. I hope you get some good stock wood from it.

[woodsrunner]

It is American Black Cherry (Prunus serotina) as pointed out. I've cut thousands upon thousands of tons of this.......and sent it to the pulp & paper mills to make paper! The hardwood lumber industry turns their noses up at any Black Cherry that grows in the Deep Southern States. Problem is that Cherry readily takes up trace elements and minerals from the soil and stores these in the wood cell structure producing what the industry calls "mineral stain". Black, brown, purplish streaks will show up randomly in the wood. You may not see it in a sawn board, but run the board through a planer and all of a sudden it appears!Doesn't show up in northern Cherry to any degree. Personally I like the streaks. I've cut and panelled my office, our master bedroom and the entrance foyer with it, and everyone who sees it thinks it's beautiful! I wouldn't hesitate a second to use it for stock blanks even with heavy mineral stain. I wouldn't use it with a New England Fowler, but on a Southern piece-rifle or fowler-I would in a heartbeat!

[Stophel]

The biggest problem with cherry is the variation in hardness.  It can range from being nearly as hard as sugar maple (rarely), to being nearly as soft as yellow poplar.  Unfortunately, it seems that it tends to often be found at the lower end of that spectrum...

[The other DWS]

its my understanding that a lot of the wood's hardness depends on its growing environment.  Cherry grown in a more humid climate will have fatter growth rings and probably will exhibit a softer structure.  I have used upper midwestern wild/Black cherry on a number of stocks and its working qualities are about like better grade walnut with a fine tight grain.  When properly stained and finished it very closely approaches the appearance of the European walnut commonly used on imported 18th cent muskets. I used it exclusively for stocking re-enactor's muskets for that reason.

However as mentioned drying is critical.  Wild/black cherry will rot VERY quickly.  We used to cut a lot on my dad's property for firewood, 3 or 4 years on a wood pile was about all it could take, and those were covered woodpiles

[bob243]

What is the minimum usable diamerter for the tree to be usable for a stock?