Is Cherry super hard? Trouble with big Cherry

[Blueox4]

My son in law dropped of 4 big Cherry logs yesterday and I thought I’d buck them up so I fired up my Dolmar 6100 with a new 20” bar and chain and it wouldn’t touch them! I mean hard as a rock. I go over to some maple right next to it and rip through it like butter. My question is, these logs are 24” in diameter easy. Are big Cherry known to be that hard? Any ideas on what I need to get through it saw or chain wise? Never ran into this.

 

[johneh]

Never had a problem bucking Cherry
Love to burn it and use it to make furniture
Not Supper Hard

 

[Blueox4]

I’m going out with another saw today and just see. These were by a lake and maybe frozen. My so. In law said maybe wait till spring and they thaw out but these are not wet and were on property next to the lake.

 

[CentralVAWoodHeat]

Cherry is typically easy to cut and split.

 

[jaoneill]

My son in law dropped of 4 big Cherry logs yesterday and I thought I’d buck them up so I fired up my Dolmar 6100 with a new 20” bar and chain and it wouldn’t touch them! I mean hard as a rock. I go over to some maple right next to it and rip through it like butter. My question is, these logs are 24” in diameter easy. Are big Cherry known to be that hard? Any ideas on what I need to get through it saw or chain wise? Never ran into this.

Check your chain; with its coarse bark there is a good possibility the bark is contaminated with sand. If so it would dull the saw in a hurry.

 

[thewoodlands]

My son in law dropped of 4 big Cherry logs yesterday and I thought I’d buck them up so I fired up my Dolmar 6100 with a new 20” bar and chain and it wouldn’t touch them! I mean hard as a rock. I go over to some maple right next to it and rip through it like butter. My question is, these logs are 24” in diameter easy. Are big Cherry known to be that hard? Any ideas on what I need to get through it saw or chain wise? Never ran into this.

I've cut some big cherry in the spring and winter but never had a problem, are your rakers set at the correct height?

 

[brenndatomu]

Check your chain

That's my guess...chain on backwards.
Cherry is not that hard at all.

 

[hickoryhoarder]

I've never cut black cherry, but it is the easiest of all woods to split (ash is also easy, once seasoned). I use it to help neighbors learn to use a maul. It's very rewarding -- they can split the very first piece they hit in the middle. Other cherry could be different.

 

[weatherguy]

He said it ripped through maple he had to doubt its the saw or chain. Maybe its not cherry, got a pic?

 

[Woodsplitter67]

My son in law dropped of 4 big Cherry logs yesterday and I thought I’d buck them up so I fired up my Dolmar 6100 with a new 20” bar and chain and it wouldn’t touch them! I mean hard as a rock. I go over to some maple right next to it and rip through it like butter. My question is, these logs are 24” in diameter easy. Are big Cherry known to be that hard? Any ideas on what I need to get through it saw or chain wise? Never ran into this.

take a pick of the cherry.. bark and end grain.. it may mot be cherry.. iv cut alot of cherry over the years and haven't had an issue cutting it up.. the only issue was the 36in rounds were a little hard to split.. the splitter went through them but it worked to do it.. i just worked on some cherry... 20in stuff

 

[Tar12]

I have also cut a lot of cherry over the years...it was always easy to cut and split and season..

 

[WoodBurnerInWI]

Cherry has always been one of my favorite firewood's to process. Some particularity tough cherry trees I remember dealing with were forest trees that grew very tall but were crooked so the grain was crazy tight. Cutting them they never wanted to fall where you wanted them to and you can probably imagine how much fun it was splitting them (not!!). Yard trees of course are notorious for having twisted grains and can present problems with both cutting them up and especially splitting. I recently got done processing around a cord of ash, all yard trees, I mainly split by hand and those trees were nightmares to deal with. Very dense grain on those splits plus some crazy knots, my guess when they're dried they'll burn for days!!

 

[Sawset]

Is cherry super hard? Whats up. Even "hard" woods cut. Sharpen the chain, set the depth, lay on some power, dry white oak cuts "hard", but it still cuts, and at a pretty good clip. Black cherry doesn't dry down hard, or dense, or become difficult, and in the end cuts fairly easy. Does size make that different, on cherry? Hmm. Most of the cherry here is 20" or less. Larger, standing dead, old wood vs young, dead vs live, deadfall for years vs upright, the stuff gets softer, not harder with time.

 

[Osage]

Have cut a lot of standing dead hedge. Have a sharp chain and saw rips through it. Can't imagine cherry being tough to cut.
Being frozen would not make any difference.

 

[Touch0Gray]

The only wood that I have ever come across in my area that is hard enough to really notice a problem in cutting is iron wood (eastern hophornbeam). It earns its common name. Apparently it does not even float. It really doesn't get that big since the annual rings are so close you can hardly count them. Cherry is pretty soft, I have quite a bit of it, although I did have one tree with some barbed wire in it. THAT slowed me down!

 

[hickoryhoarder]

The only wood that I have ever come across in my area that is hard enough to really notice a problem in cutting is iron wood (eastern hophornbeam). It earns its common name. Apparently it does not even float. It really doesn't get that big since the annual rings are so close you can hardly count them. Cherry is pretty soft, I have quite a bit of it, although I did have one tree with some barbed wire in it. THAT slowed me down!

Ironwood definitely earns its nickname.

 

[BigJ273]

Just cut some cherry this morn. Cut like butter. Although I have run into a species of cherry in the past that was hard as a rock.

 

[weatherguy]

Just cut some cherry this morn. Cut like butter. Although I have run into a species of cherry in the past that was hard as a rock.

Maybe it was petrified, saw some logs in California that were literally rock.

 

[Touch0Gray]

Ironwood definitely earns its nickname.

Almost never gets over 8 or 10 inches here... EVER! 4 inches is a good size, frankly, it is my absolute favorite firewood! (given that most wood releases the same btu per pound from what I have read and heard) I have actually gotten sparks when a chain hits it.