So, I'd like to try and build an end table...or something

[Scorpion]

We had a pretty nasty wind storm here back in April, which knocked down a mess of trees around the house. Unfortunately, those that got blown down were probably some of the nicer trees we had around our property. Quite a few very nice cherries were snapped literally in half.

Anyways, a pretty big maple got blown into the power lines behind the house, caused a transformer to short out and explode, necessitating the replacement of two poles. The power company limbed and bucked the tree up into logs, though they left a pretty interesting round that is about 10" thick and 20"-24" across. It has a fairly interesting shape, so I figured I'd give it a shot and try to make some kind of end table or coffee table.

A few pictures:

I had a few questions before I went ahead and did anything, and was hoping those much more experienced than I could help out.

1) The round is 10" thick now, and I'd like to have the table tops be maybe 2" finished. Should I saw the round into more usable thicknesses now when it is green, or wait til it dries some? I would assume cutting it now would be wisest, to help facilitate drying?

2) Is there something I should use to seal the top and bottom of the round to prevent splitting and cracking?

I'm probably forgetting some other questions, but any information that could help me is welcomed.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Sawyer Rob]

It WILL crack no matter what you do, but rough cutting it to size now and coating it with anchorseal to dry will give you your best chance of having the least amount of cracks.

It should be ready to use in a couple years...

Rob

 

[betterbuilt]

I've had good luck with butternut and walnut. I have a maple round that's about 30 inches in diameter and 4 inches thick, its doing fine. I put it in the barn where the moisture is kinda high so it wouldn't crack. After a year or so I put it in the shop and used it to cover my scrap wood bucket. I assumed the dry wood would suck the moisture out of it. It cracked the one time and that's where its at. seal it, paint it, or just let it dry. I would make sure you cut way more than you need and let them dry slow.

http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=124828&highlight=drying+cookies