Andy, how long do you think it will take a 6" to 8" diameter, 2ft long wild cherry log to dry using Anchor Seal. My neighbor's wild cherry lost the top in a wind and she wants it down...I'll be glad to oblige!
Depends on what you want to use it for, and what you consider "dry". For turning, you probably want it a bit more moist than for flat board use.
The anchorseal seals the end grain of the log. This prevents the wood on the ends from shrinking faster than the interior wood above it, which if not controlled, leads to splitting and checking (and wild black cherry is very prone to that) The high rate of moisture loss is because the wood loses water much faster through the cross-cut grains than the sides.
If you strip the bark off while it is still moist, the same splitting will occur on the sides. Best to wait to strip the bark until you cut it either into bowl blanks or boards, Until that time, you want to keep it off the ground (bugs love to get into it), and in the shade (the sun will cause it to dry too fast, even with the bark on).
With the bark on, it will retain the moisture for years.
If you are going to turn it on a lathe, coat all sides with anchorseal right after you have cut it into the turning blank, unless you are going to turn it relatively soon. After you turn it down some , it will need to dry in a controlled environment to prevent it splitting. As I am not a turner, I will leave the appropriate methodology to those that are.
If you are going to make small boards out of it, you will not have to seal the sides because the relatively thin thickness of the boards will allow the moisture to escape at a relatively even rate (providing it is stacked sheltered from rain and sun with spacers called "stickers" in between the boards). However, you won't get many boards out of that small a log.
Not an expert. Just based on my experience. I have three 5 footers (about 10" diameter) sitting in my yard now sealed with bark on that I got from the neighbor last week. Don't have a lot of hope for them tho because the tree was growing at a 45 degree angle to the ground, so probably is loaded with stress. Time will tell.
Go
PS. Andy's method of splitting with a froe is also very viable, because it also allows the wood to dry at an even rate if sheltered. (same as cutting it into boards). Again, it depends on what you are going to use it for. However, I can almost guarantee you that if you just square it up to a 5" x 5" square cant, and air cannot get to all sides evenly, the most exposed side(s) will split on wild black cherry. (I have a prime example right now that the wind blew off the cover and I didn't notice it for a week).