Re drying wood
 I'm no expert, but I will share my experiences...I would cut in the early
winter, when the sap has stopped running- less moisture to dry out.
Last winter, I just used some stale dated wood glue to coat the ends and
that worked pretty well on the honey locust I dried, but I have read that
any latex paint will also work.  I also rived the wood before stacking for
drying, cutting out the pith (center) which always cracks otherwise.  I
also dried a nice walnut log over 4 years, again coating the ends, cutting
out the center, stickering it in my garage for one year, then in my dry
basement for 3 more years (12/4 boards).  I had minimal checking over the
last few inches.
Claudio