[gooseflight]

I am very new to woodcarving. I have a large stump of wet maple. 2 1/2 ft diameter by 3 ft tall. My plan is to carve a small table out of the single piece. My concern is that the wood is wet and will split. What are ways to avoid this? should i cover it will a wet towel to slow the drying? As of now I'm very slowly removing the core. Does it make sense that that will be better than working from the outside in?

[Clifford_Parker]

Removing the core will help prevent cracking as the sapwood dries faster than the heartwood. Sealing the ends with Anchorseal, old paint, etc. will slow the drying process and help minimize cracking also.