Jaager

Here is my take on this subject:
Swiss pear - is usually Pyrus communis - it has about 2 inch fruit, but it is often used as root stock and fruiting varieties are grafted to it.
The "Swiss" part is (I believe) a treatment done to the dried wood - steaming(?) to get a uniform color.
 
Most any fruit food will provide excellent working stock.  With the thicknesses that we use friutwood stability is not a problem.
Nice color, hard, no pores,  relatively little contrast in grain,  bends well  - tight grain =  all the traits we are after.
 
The furniture cherry wood is Prunus serotina (Black cherry).  It has ornamental value, and because birds like the fruit, is often found in fence rows, but the friut is small.  It is not likely a variety  grown for its friut.  The wood from backyard cherry trees is useful, but will likely be a different color.  The furniture wood is not difficult to obtain or expensive from hardwood dealers.
 
The difference between hardwood and sapwood is due to the tree storing "extractives" inside the cells.  It makes this section denser and a different color.  It is less likely to shrink during the drying process.   The sapwood is more prone to checking.  When dry, the sapwood is useful for our purposes, it is just a different color.   No need to discard it.
 
If you can billet (1-2 inch slab)  your wood,  I would debark it.  In any case, make sure, - this is important - make sure there is no beetle infestation.  If there are beetles, burn it.  If you billet, box out the pith and discard it.  The effects of drying will be more to your liking with it gone.   Coat the cut ends and branch cuts with wax, latex paint, varnish -  something to stop the rapid water loss from the cut ends.
 
You can speed up the drying process by making your own kiln.   Use the foam sheething that comes in 4' x 8' sheets.  The foil surfaced type is probably better, with the foil surface on the inside of the box you make.  The heat source only needs to be  a 200W to 300W incandescent light bulb, or heat lamp if incandescent bulbs are no longer available.    The water vapor needs to be exausted, but a $10 computer cooling fan mounted in a hole on one end is sufficient.   Air leaking in the seams where the six sides come together  will replace what the fan pulls out.  The size only needs to be what encloses your stock.
 
When you stack it, sticker it for proper air flow around the billets. 1/2" x 1/2"  sticks will do.
You can get a moisture meter for $10-20 from Amazon if you want to follow the process. 
 
For billeting, you cannot beat a band saw.  Try to find one with at least a 2HP motor.   
Getting a round log into rectangular  slabs - 
First, you need to get 2 perpendular flat surfaces on the log.
Use a sliding carrier board to ride on the saw table and against the fence.
Fix the log to the carrier board.   The carrier board should be longer than your log, so that you can attach at both ends of the log.
For attachment, I use the right angle support braces used in house timber framing and wood screws.

Here is my take on this subject:
Swiss pear - is usually Pyrus communis - it has about 2 inch fruit, but it is often used as root stock and fruiting varieties are grafted to it.
The "Swiss" part is (I believe) a treatment done to the dried wood - steaming(?) to get a uniform color.
 
Most any fruit food will provide excellent working stock.  With the thicknesses that we use friutwood stability is not a problem.
Nice color, hard, no pores,  relatively little contrast in grain,  bends well  - tight grain =  all the traits we are after.
 
The furniture cherry wood is Prunus serotina (Black cherry).  It has ornamental value, and because birds like the fruit, is often found in fence rows, but the friut is small.  It is not likely a variety  grown for its friut.  The wood from backyard cherry trees is useful, but will likely be a different color.  The furniture wood is not difficult to obtain or expensive from hardwood dealers.
 
The difference between hardwood and sapwood is due to the tree storing "extractives" inside the cells.  It makes this section denser and a different color.  It is less likely to shrink during the drying process.   The sapwood is more prone to checking.  When dry, the sapwood is useful for our purposes, it is just a different color.   No need to discard it.
 
If you can billet (1-2 inch slab)  your wood,  I would debark it.  In any case, make sure, - this is important - make sure there is no beetle infestation.  If there are beetles, burn it.  If you billet, box out the pith and discard it.  The effects of drying will be more to your liking with it gone.   Coat the cut ends and branch cuts with wax, latex paint, varnish -  something to stop the rapid water loss from the cut ends.
 
You can speed up the drying process by making your own kiln.   Use the foam sheething that comes in 4' x 8' sheets.  The foil surfaced type is probably better, with the foil surface on the inside of the box you make.  The heat source only needs to be  a 200W to 300W incandescent light bulb, or heat lamp if incandescent bulbs are no longer available.    The water vapor needs to be exausted, but a $10 computer cooling fan mounted in a hole on one end is sufficient.   Air leaking in the seams where the six sides come together  will replace what the fan pulls out.  The size only needs to be what encloses your stock.
 
When you stack it, sticker it for proper air flow around the billets. 1/2" x 1/2"  sticks will do.
You can get a moisture meter for $10-20 from Amazon if you want to follow the process. 
 
For billeting, you cannot beat a band saw.  Try to find one with at least a 2HP motor.   
Getting a round log into rectangular  slabs - 
First, you need to get 2 perpendular flat surfaces on the log.
Use a sliding carrier board to ride on the saw table and against the fence.
Fix the log to the carrier board.   The carrier board should be longer than your log, so that you can attach at both ends of the log.
For attachment, I use the right angle support braces used in house timber framing and wood screws.

Back to the original question:  if the stock is thin enough, why use a table saw at all?  Clamp the stock down with a straight edge ruler ( they are 6/12/18/24 inches) and use the edge of the ruler as a cutting guide and do the cut with a blade.  No curf loss.

One problem to think about - tea and coffee are acidic and contain tannins - they may react with the cloth over time and break it down.  Woodcraft and similar sell wood finishing products - especially water based and alcohol based dyes.  They tend to be more stable over time.

Only the ends and the knots (if any)  The wood needs to dry.   Wood is similar to a bundle of soda straws.  Water migrates more quickly out of the open ends.  If you stop all water loss by coating the sides, fungus will thrive in the environment that you produce.
If the ends dry more quickly than the bulk =  wood is majority water when qreen,  as the water leaves, the cells shrink.  If one part drys more quickly - it shrinks more quickly and the stress causes the wood to split (check).   The goal is uniform drying.  And drying to stay ahead of fungus.  Oak has tannins so it is likely more forgiving in this reqard than is Apple and especially Holly.
 
 You need good good air circulation around the log, so sticker it.  You can use pieces of furring strips or scrap lumber for the stickers.
Watch the ends and recoat if checking starts.
For outdoor drying, the old rule for seasoning was 1 year/inch.
You can get a moisture meter from Amazon for ~ $10 ( or atleast I did. ) and follow the drying process.

Thick paint - wax - varnish -  you just need to slow the loss of water from the ends
 
You should probably remove the bark -  it speeds water loss and there are insects that lay eggs under bark and their larvae bore into the wood.
 
Your better option - billet the wood into 1-2 inch thick pieces and sticker them to dry.
 
One thing about oak ;  Even modeling at the high end of scale 1:50   - the grain is way off scale and the pores are pot hole size.

You may consider this from Amazon
 
Neutral pH Liquid Adhesive
 
Materials for mounting repairing cleaning and preserving.-All products are acid-free with a neutral PH.-For professional framing hobby or office use.-Easy to use polyvinyl acetate (PVA) formula is fast setting and re-moistenable with water.-No more drips, spills, or sticky messes to clean up.-Ideal for prints photos postcards or any paper item.-Adhesive was formulated specifically for preservation materials and will not become brittle with age