Greetings all! I bought a piece of hackberry because all the experts say it is forgiving and easy to work. it had about a 15 degree twist in one limb, and after roughing it our, I heated it gently to straighten it. once it was hot enough, I saw that the rings had separated. (.3mm wide and 2 inch long, about in the middle of the length of the limb, on the edge.) I am assuming that it makes the stave unusable, but I am checking to see if there is anything I can do to save it, and more importantly, how to avoid this in the future. I am guessing it is inherent in the specific piece wood, as the rings ripple and undulate like a rocky stream. I know that is an indication of disease in lodgepole and many other gymnosperms, but have never handled hackberry before this. Just recently however I pruned a hackberry for my unkle down in denver and it is now obvious that the tree my stave came from had been very sick for many years, likely dead and wet for a while too.
Thank you.
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