My neighbor recently took down his large ash tree & there was a piece about 7' long, 8" thick and has a curve that appears to be perfect for a few inches of backset. However, the heart has some rot in it. The sapwood looks okay from my untrained eye -- plenty of unbroken growth rings from what I can see at the ends. Just the heart appears to be rotted. The hole in the center heart wood is about 1".
Is a rotted billet like this safe & okay to work with? Or is it likely just firewood with rotted potential?