Wood Prep

Well I got me a new lathe about 2 weeks ago at Woodcraft in north Indy and I am ready to prepare some hard maple for bowl turning. I have 4 chunks from the stump of the tree. The tree itself was cut down sometime in June and the people that came by to remove the stump did so about a month ago. The wood itself does not appear to be in bad shape. There was some rot in the upper limbs and brances but the chunks themselves appear to be sound. I was thinking of cutting at least 2 of the chunks into slabs of approximately 5" thick. Each slab should produce about 3 or 4 bowls if I am judicious in the use of the chain saw. I will also do some more trimming prior to mounting them on the lathe. As for the roughing out, from what I have read on this group and seen on the many fine websites, one roughs out the bowls so they have a thickness of about 2" or so, coat with Anchor Seal, wax, or paint, and let sit in a somewhat controlled environment for 3-6 months. So, as far as the slab cutting I plan, any problems I am not taking into consideration? Is the roughing out all right as far as current practices go? Thanks a load - k