The power company cut down a large maple tree close to a power line in my yard, and they cut it up into pieces for firewood. The large trunk pieces need spliting. The base ring is quite large and I would like to make a table from it. I was going to cut this ring down to about 3″ thick and then flatten it by hand planing. (later I would add legs). How do I keep this ring from spitting and checking until iit is dry enough to work and finish? Thanks for your help.