cassy
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Woodworking advice re plum woodI have to take down a broken branch of a plum tree and I'd like to use the wood. I know nothing about working with wood but it's something I'd like to learn about, probably starting small at first, maybe carving and this seems like a good opportunity.
It would be great if anyone could tell me -
- is plum wood any good for a beginner? Is it difficult to work?
- what sort of thing would it be good for (I guess the grain of wood will affect whether it can be used for certain things)?
- what kind of pieces should I be looking to saw it up into? At it's thickest it is only about 4cm in diameter. Am I wasting my time?
- how should I store it and how long should I season it for?
- what sort of tools would you recommend and any tool suppliers?
- any advice on first things to try?
I didn't realise I had that many questions, sorry.
Thank you for reading  .
Edited because I stupidly confused plum with cherry.  
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Marts
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Plum is a pretty figured wood and is great for carving.
A spoon is a traditional thing to make when learning to carve. 4 cms thick should be fine. Split it in half and rough out the shape while it is green then put it aside for a while to season slowly. . This often helps avoid cracking. The central core is the bit that is most likely to cause splits so this is the bit you want to be removing.
Then round christmas time you can sit indoors and carve it out. Draw the shape you are aiming for on the wood as a guide when you're carving it. Finish it with sandpaper and treat it with food-grade oil - walnut works well, but sunflower is fine too.
One ingenious way i've used in the past to lessen the chance of cracking is to soak it in diluted washing-up liquid (this was discovered by a clever old wood turner in Canada IIRC)
There are lots of guides on the internet for spoon making - it is quite the bushcrafter right of passage.
Any fixed blade knife should be fine - make sure it is sharp though as this makes life alot easier. A nice cheap knife that is perfectly suitable is a frosts Mora, but to be honest a penknife is absolutely fine so long as you cut with control and remember that "non-locking" folders are exactly that - they close when pressure is applied in a certain direction.
Have fun 
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cassy
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That encouraging, thank you.
It will be good to give it a try without having to buy new tools. And good to know I can make use of the wood. Fantastic, ta!
Seasoning - should put it somewhere dry or does it need a bit of moisture to stop it drying out too quickly?
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bodrighy
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Fruit wood is lovely but prone to splitting. Ideally it is best to harvest in late autumn as there is less sap in the wood. If it is wide enough to split then do as Cass has suggected. Soaking gives all the wood the same moisrue content and so it should dry out evenly. If you have any old gloss paint, keep the logs as long as is practical and coat the ends with the paint so that any moisture is lost through the main part. The theory is that wood dries at the rate of a year for each inch diameter if done naturally. With turning I'd turn the wood roughly to an inch or so thick and leave unless I want it to warp and then I'd turn it as thin as nerves allow. For carving you cana't do this but split as Cassy suggests then coat the ends. Leave as long as possible so that if it does split you will still have decent lengths after cutting the splits off. Leave it where the air can get at it...open air but covered from rain etc.
Pete
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