Ash

[Bloodhound]

Last august i cut an ash 6 inch diameter, same night i skinned it split it and glued the tips then put them in the barn at my cabin. Just retreived them and the ends look great but tiny cracks all over the back. This is how i treat maple and hickory, does ash need to be handled differently?

[AH]

I would seal the backs too.

[Pat B]

I seal the back of any stave I'm working on or storing. I use shellac and it can be easily remover when needed but it is cheap insurance. You can fill the checks with super glue and you should be OK.

[DarkSoul]

Did you split the log into halves or quarters? I think quarter splits should not crack on the back. If it did, the humidity might have been very low, at some point in time.
In my opinion, but not experience, ash, hickory and maple can all be treated the same when it comes to drying.

[bow101]

Is it ok to back a maple board with Ash..?       

[dwardo]

Ash should be easier to season due to its relatively low native mc. Must have got dry too fast. Done this with some lovely elm my self and wasn't happy. I have sealed the back of every stave since or left the bark on till mid way through seasoning.

[AH]

Is it ok to back a maple board with Ash..?       

you could....unless there's grain violation on the maple I'm not really sure why you would back it?