Drying Wild Cherry Limb ?

[Flute Maker]

I found a wild cherry limb while walking.It had a nice twist in it like some make walking sticks out of.It is 2" to 3" in dia.I cut it at least a foot longer than needed on both ends. I sealed the ends with anchor seal and was wondering what else to do to try to prevent it from splitting. (Hopefullly)

Shoulds I leave the bark on?? Should I wrap it in plastic???

 

[aplpickr]

Talk to the BIG woodworker in the sky, REAL HARD!

 

[Raymond]

We had several Yoshino Cherry Trees that we planted when we bought our current house - we planted 7, today only one is left alive. We had a fungus called 'black root' descent on our neighborhood and the majority of the non-native trees and shrubs died out. I took about 6 limbs 2-4 thick and cut them about 4 feet long, sealed the ends and put them up in my garage to dry. Over the following 4 years, 5 split and cracked is such a way that they were not really usable for anything. I had one that survived without splitting and cracking and I used that to make a french style rolling pin for my SIL.

Only time will tell if you have done all you can. You are lucky in that you may have caught the downed limb in the right season. Can you take a MC reading and see what the MC is right now?