Wild cherry question.

[JWMALONE]

Hey Guys, a friend of mine bought some property and is going to clear out the back yard area. It has some wild cherry on it. Not sure the exact size yet probably 4-6 inches in diameter. What should I do with it as far as bark and splitting. Should I split and debark or leave it whole, debug it, seal and leave it to dry, in the shop of course.

[vinemaplebows]

Not all cherries are equal in usability, is this black cherry?

[Msturm]

My philosophy with free wood is try and see.

You may get a gem. you may get firewood. Consider it an experiment we can all learn from. If you get a couple nice straight pieces seal one and let it dry. take another down to rough dimensions and let it dry for a couple months. You might get a shooter out of the first one that will have you all excited for the second! Or you may have a bow that goes boom. we all need a little excitement in our lives. Good luck!

Msturm

[JWMALONE]

Yes, it is black cherry.

[PEARL DRUMS]

I'd suggest saving it for your smoker. If you decide to make a bow then you need to make it VERY long and/or VERY wide. Ever notice they are the first trees to snap off or blow over when the winds come?

[PatM]

Black Cherry does that? Huh.  I've seen so many giants up here that must have weathered a thousand storms.

  It does raise the question why trees vary so wildly in strength and most of them are trying to do the same thing.

[PEARL DRUMS]

It does around here. Could be soil content, could be how exposed they are, could be anything. But they are always the first to snap off and often times its a clean shear and not a splintered break like most other woods.

[Mo_coon-catcher]

I played with trying to get some black cherry bows going in an elb style. The only one that held together was 1 3/4” wide, 80” long and only drew 50# at 30#. For similar dimensions I started by trying for 100# draw. But they kept exploding as I dropped the weight until I got to 50#. I had just made one that drew 50# at 27” that was 70” long and 1.5” wide. It was paper backed and held together for a little bit but also snapped after a couple hundred arrows.
So I agree with using it in your smoker or cut it into cores for trilams.

Kyle

[PatM]

It does around here. Could be soil content, could be how exposed they are, could be anything. But they are always the first to snap off and often times its a clean shear and not a splintered break like most other woods.

 I'll have to have a closer look and see what's typical up here as far as location and how they hold up in the open.

 It definitely does seem to be ERC of hardwoods when it comes to bows.   You'll hear glowing reports if it's backed at least with rawhide and better yet, Maple or Hickory.

[osage outlaw]

They uproot easily on our property during storms.     I wonder how it would perform with a sinew backing?

[Springbuck]

My philosophy with free wood is try and see.
Msturm

Amen, brother!

I would cut and halve small trunks like that (sometimes you only get one good half on a sapling) seal the ends and let it dry a while, unless you want to get using it right away.  Quick-drying sapling staves or roughed out bows of ANY species results in lots of excessive reflex, twist, and side-lean warping, so you may want to restrain them while they dry by clamping, or binding them in pairs or small bundles.

Then get to testing it.  Dry some splints out, check the SW.G., do some bend and break tests, etc...

[Badger]

  I make a lot of cherry elbs, I back them with oak, ash, or maple as a rule. I like them because they have the dimensions of a heavier bow and looks nice as elbs. I seldom go over about 60#. Most that I make are between 66" and 72" long.

[BowEd]

I made a few black cherry bows from under 10" diameter trees.Mostly ALB type.64" long mostly.Tillered very well.What I found is that it does'nt like really stressful designs in general.I've sinewed them too.Chrysalling can occur overall.Other than that it is sweet shooting wood for a bow,and last many years.
I've seen quite a few very large and old black cherry trees north of me in a heavily wooded area.Some almost 3' across.Very healthy.Some around me though too not very big and out in the open looking pretty bad & some pretty darn good too of the size trunk you said.
When they get really big the loggers here value them for furniture and veneer.A high dollar tree.
Like said by some here.I'd make it long enough and wide enough without a whole lot of backset,and around 45 to 55 pounds.I'd make a bow from it.See how you like it.You can always burn it later if it fails.

[Jackpineboyz]

The ones that hold together from other bowyers I know are excellent.  They are heart breakers though.  Supposed to be tension weak and blow up easily, but are also known for chrysalling which implies compression weak to me.  The ones I've seen hold together though are definetly fast and sweet.  Heart or sapwood shouldn't matter but I have a piece drying that I'm cutting down to the heartwood which is prettiest within a thin maple backing, 2" wide afb. Hopefully will be working with it at the wisconsin bow jamboree in april for my dads first bow build.

From other woodworking I don't think it is a compression/tension thing.  Cherry is known to chip out and I think it is more of lack of "staying together power".  Not sure what the word is but the extreme opposite would be ironwood or elm which even when split through with a wedge just won't let go of its self.