john lucas
I had very good luck with a large Bradford Pear that was cut down at my mothers house. I could not get down there so I had them wrap the ends in plastic and put it in the back of their garage. I went there several times but didn't have my trailer so it was a year before I finally got it home. Then it sat in my shed that has a concrete floor for another year or longer. I finally go around to cutting it up and virtually all of it was useful. It still has some moisture so I twice turn bowls but turn hollow vessels thin and they don't seem to warp very much. I have also milled a bunch of it into flat boards for my hand mirrors. There is some warp in those and small splits at the ends but still very usable.