Is this Cherry?

[Dave Sharpe]

I recently found that the hospital I work at regularly hauls off old pallets to the dump, so I scrounged a few to dismantle for some wood projects. The first one I picked up was quite heavy, and rather weathered and covered in dirt. After pulling off a few boards (quite the struggle) I planed and then sanded them and discovered a very nice wood underneath it all. I think it's cherry, but I've never had occasion to work with cherry in the past so I', not sure. Attached are a couple of pics of the original pallet, with an unfinished board from it, as well as a shorter section that's sanded and finished with a single coat of spar urethane.
Also, anyone got any tips for easier ways to dismantle pallets without shredding the wood?

Thanks, Dave

[glenn bradley]

Picture's pretty grainy but it looks like cherry. LOML brings me pallets with white oak and such in them now and again. For dismantling I have found taking the Sawzall to them and just cutting around the nails yields as much wood as prying them apart. The parts make great pieces for small boxes or any hardwood need around the shop as the price is right.

[Salem Ganzhorn]

Wow, that is amazing. Those two boards don't look similar at all. The grain isn't even the same. The one on the left looks sorta like ash. The one on the right does not look like cherry to me. But if you figure it out let me know cause I have a couple shorts that were given to me that look just like it :). And before I jointed/plane'd the board it was still much more redish than the board on the left.

[george wilson]

Any idea where the merchandise on the pallets came from? The "cherry" seems to have a lot of pores in it,unlike cherry. The picture is not good enough for a real judgement. If the pallets were imported,no telling what the wood is.

[Frank Drew]

What George said. Cherry would be surprising in a pallet wood, though.

[Dave Sharpe]

after going back and looking again - the lighter colored board is indeed from yet another pallet. Maybe you're right and it is indeed ash. But the redder, shorter board is definitely from the ugly, blackened pallet. I do have another length of wood from that pallet that shows both a redder and a creamy yellowish version consistent with what I know of cherry. I wish I did know what came on the pallet - I'll talk to the guys in purchasing at the hospital and see what they can tell me. They did mention that the heavier, better pallets come with heavy items such as cases of IV fluid, so I'll ask them to set those aside for me in the future.

[whit richardson]

I have some salvaged wood from pallets, oak, ash and yes some cherry. I think the ones from outside the US they use whatever they find laying around. I pulled off this dark reddish wood and planed it and it looks like Jatoba. go figure (pun intended).

[Brian Tymchak]

Ash was my first guess for the piece on the left. The grain and color (brownish) of the piece on the right remind me of walnut, which I have seen used in pallets. I think the grain is a little too distinctive for cherry and it does seem to have open pores which is more characteristic of walnut. But, I'm no expert. Just going with what I've seen at the wood store and what I've worked with.

[Judy Kingery]

Dave, another thing you might try to do is sand a slight bit, and smell it. Sorta your scratch and sniff test, seriously. If it's cherry, even if it's dry - least without a finish or anything permeating the wood otherwise, you can smell it.

Jude

[Brian Kerley]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say the right board is mahogany.

[Chip Lindley]

That's the first Q. that needs be answered. IF foreign, could be anything that makes a pallet!

If domestic, the light wood looks a little like elm or hackberry. Grainy pic tho! On the right, walnut or maybe alder, and don't forget black gum! Cherry IS still a possibility!

Sometimes veneer logs are found to have defects which render them useless for high-grade veneer. They are sold off to the pallet mill next door. I have found nice white oak, hard maple and walnut in pallets. No cherry yet.