I prefer to keep the log as long as possible, but if I have to pick it up and move it, then I cut it into 'moveable' chunks. If I am ripping down the pith, almost always, there is a crack coming off the pith to start with, and I try to cut down that crack since stress relief has already started. Cutting a slab out of the center is nice on bigger pieces, say 18 inch plus diameter, but not worth the effort otherwise, and you get some nice quartersawn platter blanks. If you are cutting it all up into slabs, then I like to stand the slabs on end on plastic or a tarp. I do seal both ends, and double or triple seal the end sticking up in the air. I cover the pile with a couple layers of thick vynal tarps, and put weights all around the edges of the tarp. Summer is our dry season here in western Oregon, and if we get an 80+ degree day with 20 mph winds, unprotected pieces will shatter. I always cut slabs longer than they are wide, and figure an inch or so on the ground end, and 2 or more inches on the up in the air end, even with being sealed and covered. It is about the same amount of loss if you have a whole log. I am lucky to have a source for logs and he drops them off in my driveway, from a flat bed trailer, in about 10 foot lengths. I usually have a few friends over to help me move them under a tree and cover them with tarps. I can't move them all by myself any more.... though when I was younger......
robo hippy