Nichael Cramer wrote:

"What wood be a useful way to dry out a freshly cut sapling?"

I've never made many sticks at a time, and fewer still with natural shafts, but
I've made a few in most decades since the sixties. My favorites right now with
natural have shafts sent to me by Scott Grandstaff after I injured my knee, so I
don't know that much about cutting and seasoning them. I do have some
suggestions, though.
Making country sticks is a big hobby in England, and there are a number of books
about it. I have two separate ones co-written by Andrew Jones and Clive George,
and one by Leo Gowan. These are an excellent resource, though rather heavy on
information on fancy-carved handles.

Gowan says that the country wisdom is that the best time to cut a stick is when
you see it, before someone else gets it. That aside, both say the winter when
the sap is down is best. I'd say cut lots of potential stick blanks, figure that
if you are lucky one in ten might turn into a good stick. The books talk about
seasoning them in bundles. Select from your blanks, don't get too attached to a
particular stick that catches your fancy when living.

If you are planning to work the wood down, don't use a sapling; use straight-
grained knot-free wood from a plank or log.  If you start from a sapling, figure
on keeping the natural surface as much as possible. Leave the bark on when you
dry it: it adds character, and if it isn't attractive you can remove it later,
and Gowan says that leaving it on helps to prevent splits. Cut your blanks a
foot or so too long at each end if you can, largely to give yourseld choice in
which part of the blank to use. You'll be better able to decide just which run
of the stick to use in the quiet contemplation of your shop than among the
distractions of the field. Some saplings are said to have large root balls that
make good handles, so digging that up may be an option. Also consider taking
thin branch wood with a chunk of the thicker branch it comes from, for different
styles of handle. Sealing the ends certainly won't do any harm, especially if
you are trying to use a small branch with part of the big branch attached. Don't
worry if the stick is gently curved, even on a relatively short radius, it is
amazing how much it can be straightened out once yo start working on it. On the
other hand, sudden kinks, sharp bends, or doglegs are likely to prove
intractable, though they might prove attractive if you want to get **really**
rustic. When you trim off side twigs for seasoning leave a half inch or so in
place, so that cracks that start in the twigs are less likely to run down into
the shaft.

The books suggest that the usual inch per year of thickness is the right minimum
drying time for sticks. Summer-cut wood somewhat longer; and I assume standing
dead shafts will be ready sooner, maybe even right away. In practice, if you get
into stick making you are likely to have most blanks around for a lot more than
a year before you get around to them. Dry in an open shed or barn, not indoors.
Jones and George says "Stickmakers are divided as to whether bundles should be
laid on the ground or stacked vertically; best of all, I believe, is to suspend
the bundles from the roof beams. This lets the air get to them, avoids any risk
of the sticks bending and prevents any ground damp from affecting them."

Dry weight is a pretty good pointer to wood strength. If you are in doubt about
a dry blank put your weight on it; what do you have to lose?  If it bends too
much or breaks, it wasn't suitable for a stick anyway.
If there is one difference between my for-style stickmaking when I was young and
my more recent stickmaking, aided by books, it is that I now know how to
straighten shafts (nothing arcane, just heat and moisture and allowing to cool
in straight restraint) and I'm aware of just how much straightening can be done.
It really increases the number of acceptable blanks available.
Tom ConroyBerkeley