I have often thought that having your own tree cut, drying it, then working through it all to get the best of the best, is much like taking your own steer to the abbatoir to have butchered for the family's beef. I've done it several times in my life, and came to the conclusion that I'd much rather pick out what I want at the butcher shop than go through the hassle and risk of having a freezer full of tough steaks. It happens. That said, I admire anyone who goes to the effort to research the proper way to do it, and pulls it off. I have 6 or 7 curly maple longrifle blanks bolted together in my shop that have been air drying for at least 45 years. They were cut locally and given to me by a dear departed friend. I'll probably never use them.
SRH
