# Cutting an old Cherry and bugs



## scottj963 (Jun 24, 2011)

My neighbor gave me an old Cherry tree. It had been dead for many years. There are deep cracks in it. I have tried turning a couple of pieces of it and lost about 2/3 of the wood due to cracks. I would like to cut some boards out of it. What is the best way to do it with the least amount of effort? I will be using a two man saw by myself - I don't have a chain saw or even a band saw.

The logs have been sitting in my barn for about 2 months and I have noticed small piles of sawdust with a hole in the middle going down into the log. One of the piles had a trail along one side like something crawled out of the hole and down the pile of sawdust. Any ideas on what kind of bug it is and how to get rid of it?


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Bugs and Red Flags*

Your wood is probably infested with powder post beatles. :thumbdown:
Don't bring in inside. You may not have access to a chainsaw, but if you are not "against" using one Harbor Freight has an electric model for $60.00. I don't have that exact one, but a Remington which is similar. 
http://www.harborfreight.com/14-inch-electric-chain-saw-67255.html
Unless you are Paul Bunyon and enjoy working a 2 man saw singlehandedly, it will be a lot of work for very questionable results (red flags). Cherry is pretty common in some areas so the "prize" may not be all it's "cracked up to be".:laughing:
Borrow a chainsaw, take the log to a sawmill and leave the bugs outside or "neutralize" them chemically. JMFA, Just My Free Advice


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

A picture would help us, but here are a couple links to help you ID the bugs.
http://www.upcrc.com/guides/wdamage/dwood.htm
http://www.entomology.wisc.edu/insectid/wood-attk.php
As far as killing bugs the best way is with heat (a kiln). They make chemicals like TimBor and Bora-Care, but I don't like working with ''poisoned'' wood.
It doesn't sound like you have any tools to process the wood into lumber, in your words-with the least amount of effort. Since you say it already has deep cracks in it, maybe splitting/riving some out will work for you. http://www.greenwoodworking.com/RivingArticle Cherry is a straight grained wood it does rive pretty easy.

Welcome to the forum (before I say this) It sounds like you have good intention, but some logs are just meant to be firewood not lumber. A several year dead-deeply checked-bug infested log with no real efficient way to process it into lumber ranks right up there as potential firewood. Like I said a picture(s) would help us, it may not be as bleak as your description. Best of luck whatever you decide to do.


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## scottj963 (Jun 24, 2011)

Thanks for the input. From the sites that Daren gave me, I am fairly certain that it is Powder Post Beatles. I’ll have to figure out what to do with them.
No, I am not against using a chain saw. Until I can get back to work, I just can’t afford one right now. In fact, I would prefer the chain saw over that two man saw. When I said the least amount of effort, I guess I really meant the fewest number of cuts. Should I make a cut to establish a flat edge then slice off slabs? Or should I cut right down the middle since this is questionable wood.
I am considering the riving, but not so sure how well that would work since the tree isn’t green and not too wet. I can feel some moisture near the center, but the rest feels dry.
I did make a few small boards from a Catalpa tree limb. I have them drying now so I don’t know what I will get out of them, but I thought I may be able to make a small keepsake box. I really like the grain and color of the Catalpa. Hope it stays that way when it dries. Daren, the "Guess What I Am Photo" on your website, is that Catalpa? The slab next to the figured boards look a lot like it, but I am still trying to learn about wood.
I’ll see if I can get a photo for you tomorrow, but not sure if I can. I am on dial up and have tried e-mailing pics but sometimes time out before it can upload. I’ll see if it goes faster on this website.

Again, thanks guys for your help.
Scott


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## scottj963 (Jun 24, 2011)

I found a way to make the pictures smaller so that I could upload them. If they come up in order, 1 and 2 are the same end. 3 is the opposite end and 4 shows the length.


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

scottj963 said:


> Daren, the "Guess What I Am Photo" on your website, is that Catalpa?


:no:

And as far as what you are showing in the pictures, well admittedly I am jaded since I run a sawmill and can pick and chose what logs to saw...


Daren said:


> It sounds like you have good intention, but some logs are just meant to be firewood not lumber.
> .


...Not that if you had a shop bandsaw you couldn't eke out a little usable wood for a couple small projects (after you deal with the Powder Post Beetle problem). Here I would chunk that up and use it for BBQ wood. I am going to cook a 1/2 a chicken over cherry mill scrap for supper tonight. :chef:

If someone else chimes in and encourages you to try to mill what you have there and gives good advice on how to go about it, go for it. I don't try to poo-poo anyone, just saying I wouldn't care to mess with them myself.


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## scottj963 (Jun 24, 2011)

Thanks Daren. I was kind of afraid it wouldn't be very good wood when I saw the cracks. The bugs just added to that feeling.


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