time to dry

[woodchipandy]

I am carving some spoons. Mostly from cherry. I have a stack of 2x6 just sawed up. I nearly finished one, and let it sit for a couple of weeks in my house; when I went to finish it I could bearly run a knife through it. My question is, how long before the rest of my stack of wood dry and thusly difficult to carve. Thank you for those that have more experience then I

[johncarves]

HOw long since tree was cut down? How wet was the wood when you brought it inside? How dry is your House?

Drying time is a very hard question to answer because there are so many variables. Cherry tends to dry fast and a couple of weeks on thin stock will do the trick.

I didn't look to see what area you live in, but if your air conditioner is running you are drying wood rapidly.

[woodchipandy]

Thanks for the reply John. I live in N. WI the cherry was green and sawn very recenty. We are heating now and the spoon was left on the counter after showing my wife. This is my first one. It was coming along great, but now I don't know if I can finish it. Just too hard now.

[dhjrcarver]

woodchipandy,
Cherry is really hard but a sharp knife and smaller shallow cuts will get the job done.Cherry finishes well and is worth spending the extra time on it. The other alternative would be jack hammer and dynomite to blast thru in a hurry.(LOL !)