How would you recommend cutting up this trunk?

[Douglas Ladendorf]

Got some cherry from my sister in law and I need to cut it up into blanks. The main trunk branched out with many offshoots so it could be great figure or just problems. Looking for experienced input.
Thanks!

 

[robo hippy]

It looks like an ornamental cherry. There should be a graft line just under where all the branches come out. I don't mess with the top part. Just too much going on. Carefully cut as close to the branches as possible, you might get the graft line in a bowl. I don't know if you could end grain turn or hollow a bowl from the branchy side. There would be lots of knots.

robo hippy

 

[Douglas Ladendorf]

Is ornamental cherry worth turning? I didn't realize these were grafted. Is that a separation concern?

 

[Bill Boehme]

Cherry doesn't grow around here, but my experience with other related fruitwood, especially plum, is that it is very prone to splitting as it dries, especially around branches. A graft is solid strong wood that might have some interesting figure where the grafted wood joins the native rootstock. Often hybrids have weak rootstock so they are grafted onto locally adapted variety or even different types of fruit trees that are in the same family (apple, pear, plum, peach, apricot).

 

[robo hippy]

Cherry always is nice. I just love the smell as I am turning. The ornamental trees tend to have big growth rings because they are pampered with lots of water and fertilizers. Most that I have turned are pretty stringy, not at all like Black Cherry which is the highly prized furniture wood. It does like to crack when drying more than most other woods.

robo hippy

 

[Owen Lowe]

Cherry doesn't grow around here, but my experience with other related fruitwood, especially plum, is that it is very prone to splitting as it dries, especially around branches. A graft is solid strong wood that might have some interesting figure where the grafted wood joins the native rootstock. Often hybrids have weak rootstock so they are grafted onto locally adapted variety or even different types of fruit trees that are in the same family (apple, pear, plum, peach, apricot).

Cherry always is nice. I just love the smell as I am turning. The ornamental trees tend to have big growth rings because they are pampered with lots of water and fertilizers. Most that I have turned are pretty stringy, not at all like Black Cherry which is the highly prized furniture wood. It does like to crack when drying more than most other woods.

Funny... on Saturday while second-turning a piece, I discovered a grafted cherry bowl on the rough out shelf; boiled and shelved back in 2006. I don’t remember exactly where the wood came from but it was certainly a nice surprise seeing the graft line become obvious and realizing what I had.

As both Bill and Robo mention, cherry and most fruitwoods will almost always crack in the drying process unless extra care is taken. I have found that boiling is about the only thing that works for me. I boil the snot out of the roughed bowl for at least an hour and then let it slow-cool in the pot. I do this with any cherry, plum, or apple, plus Pacific madrone. I also agree with the very pleasant smell as it’s turned.

 

[Sergio Villa]

i do not know ornamental cherry but wild cherry alias black cherry is one marvelous wood to carve, turn and work with in general. It also dries very well. It has almost always around here a burl which have lots of bark inclusions but has a very nice pattern. The contrast between the red old wood and the almost white summer wood can be very pleasing.
Here is a twenty inch black I recently cored.
Regards

 

[Douglas Ladendorf]

Thanks all. I haven't tried to tackle the section with branches yet but did get the biggest piece cut in half and trimmed the corners off one side then coated with sealer. Will work on the rest this weekend.