An Unexpected Cherry Experiment

[Ed Sallee]

Back in the beginning of February, .... I finished this humidor and it has been on display in a cigar shop display case with close proximity to the store front window.... (which faces to the north)....

Well, the humidor sold today and I picked it up from the cigar shop to "season" the humidor and add the humidifier & hygrometer that the client purchased....

It's been a while since I seen it, but right away I noticed how much darker the cherry became....

So, this is what 4 months of freshly milled cherry & kingwood sitting in the window looks like.... cool...

http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn88/evsallee/DSC07426.jpg
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn88/evsallee/Aging.jpg

[george wilson]

Were all sides that dark? In Williamsburg they had a small mahogany table in a shop window for years as a "display". It turned blonde from the sun. Cherry does turn darker,of course.

[Ed Sallee]

Yes.... all four sides were the same....

[Leo Graywacz]

Yup, Cherry will do that. It goes so slow that you really don't notice. I had a Cherry job that I had done for a dentist office. Now they needed a small door for the desk, but it had been 2 years. So I made it and everyone was in awe at how pink the new Cherry door was. They hadn't realized the color change had occurred on the Cherry I had installed years earlier.

For you box it was accelerated because of the direct sun. If you want to do an experiment, take a pc of raw Cherry and plane it and sand it to expose virgin Cherry. Then take a pc of wood and place it over a section of the wood and put it outside in the sun. Leave it there for 2 hours. Remove the pc of wood that covered the Cherry and see how fast it can change color.

When I am transporting a Cherry pc I am always worried that one side will be exposed long enough to give it a sunburn. I know it will go away in time, try to explain it to a paying client.

[Brad Townsend]

I'm currently finishing a cherry corner cabinet for a customer. (Will deliver on Tuesday.) I have had one south facing window in my shop covered for the entire time I've worked on it just to avoid any unpleasant surprises.

[Jim Kountz]

Like a fine wine Ed!! Only gets better with age!!


Congrats on the sale and may you have gazillions more!!

[gary Zimmel]

I understand how quick the cherry changes color Ed.

My shop cabinet upgrade has taken so long the cherry is a bunch of different colors....
Over time I guess it will all even out.

And also congrats on the sale.
That was one fine humidor.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello,
Cherry - you either love it (as I do) or you don't understand it/appreciate it (as my wife doesn't).

She likes oak,,,

Nice humidor.

As an aside, I wonder if it sold partly because the Cherry had taken on a richer more mellow look after being on display for 4 months?

[Rich Aldrich]

Good job on the humidor. I built kitchen cabinets in 1989 for my house. The cabinets were finished with tongue oil and they have become darker over time. You can tell the cherry darkened because we hang a calendar on one cabinet and you can see lighter cherry in the shape of the calendar.

[Chris Rosenberger]

Were all sides that dark? In Williamsburg they had a small mahogany table in a shop window for years as a "display". It turned blonde from the sun. Cherry does turn darker,of course.

The sun will bleach the color out of cherry if it is left in direct sunlight for too long.

[doug faist]

Chris - this just hasn't been my experience. I have a cherry hall table that I built about 5 years ago that sits in our foyer in direct sunlight about 6 hours a day. Though protected by several coats of water-based lacquer, it is turning a very mellow, dark reddish brown. My wife loves the color as do I.

I'm curious if your experience has been different.

Doug

[Chris Ricker]

just this evening i was checking out a dry sink I made for ma as a Christmas present, sitting in the window it's turning the most beautiful color imaginable. No bleaching, just a natural beauty.
I love cherry !!

[Chris Rosenberger]

Leave it in the sun & give it time.

[John Shuk]

I love how rich cherry gets from the sun.