tips on picking cherry boards

[Christopher Kanda]

I've never used cherry before and would like some tips on buys some boards for a future project. I was told that sometimes cherry boards will age differently and so to be careful when picking them out. Any hints?

[Chris Ricker]

If you have never used cherry before, you're going to love it.
it machines well and is relatively stable, plus it is beautiful as well.

I usually try to buy cherry from local sources so I know where and how it was cared for.

If possible, try to get all of the lumber for your project from the same lot of lumber or even better, from the same log.

Cherry can deviate in color and grain pattern from log to log but as long as the grain is similar, (if you get the lumber from different logs) the color should eventually even out but it may take a while.

The "rules" for buying cherry are the same as any other wood, watch for checks, splits knots and price accordingly.

Cherry is one of my favorite woods to work with its beauty is IMHO unmatched

Don't forget to save some cutoffs for the grill, a juicy steak or chicken grilled over cherry coals is a real treat:D

[Andy McCormick]

Its a lot easier to buy cherry that has been at least hit skipped planed and has been sitting for a while. You can then see the difference is color easier until you get accustomed to looking at it in the rough. Andy

[Stephen Edwards]

+ 1 for buying boards, cherry or any other lumber, in sequence as they were sawn from the log, if possible.

Of course, to do that you generally need a relationship with a good sawyer who cares about such things. Thankfully, I've recently found such a sawyer :D

Otherwise, Andy's advice to get lumber that has "at least hit skipped planed and has been sitting for a while" is good advice, too, in my experience.

[Lee Schierer]

Cherry darkens with exposure to light. Boards on the top of the pile that have a face exposed can be darker than the piece under it even though they came form the same tree. Sanding the surface will remove the darker color on light darkened boards it will not change boards that are from two different trees and are different in color. I have some cherry boards that were cut over 70 years ago and they are dark all the way through. I have to be careful not to use pieces from that stock mixed with other cherry as it will never match. This can also happen in your shop after the wood is surfaced so that boards that looked the same a few weeks ago now are darker than others.

When you finish your project you will want to caution the end user not to place things on the top surface, like a lamp, that will stay in one place for long periods of time because the base of the lamp may create a shadow that will be visible for a long time. Move any item set on top around at least weekly for the first 6 months to prevent forming shadows.

[Mike Wilkins]

Like a lot of other woods, cherry looks best when sapwood is avoided. That light color looks fine if it used as an accent or feature, such as book-matched
panels or table top. But glued into panels, the sapwood makes it look really bad. If you check some of the cherry kitchen cabinets at your local big box store, you will get the picture. Try to match boards for similar grain patterns and your project will really stand out.

[Christopher Kanda]

these are some really good tips, but I do have a newbie question. What does the sap wood part look like?

[Brian D Anderson]

these are some really good tips, but I do have a newbie question. What does the sap wood part look like?

Takes a while to load . . . but I'm guessing there's a pic of sapwood here:

http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/cherry.htm

-Brian

[Conrad Fiore]

Chris,
If you look at a cross section of a most trees, there will be two distinct color rings. The inner ring will normally be darker and is called the heartwood. The outer, lighter colored ring is called the sapwood. In cherry, the sapwood is white or cream colored and the heartwood is the pink/red color that most people associate with the color of cherry wood. When boards are cut, sometimes there will be a lighter stripe of the sapwood on the outside edge of the board that clashes with the heartwood pink color. As stated by Mike, most people trim off the sapwood so only the dark pink color remains. However as he also mentions, you can always use the contrasting color as an accent.

[Michael MacDonald]

Cherry darkens with exposure to light. Boards on the top of the pile that have a face exposed can be darker than the piece under it even though they came form the same tree. Sanding the surface will remove the darker color on light darkened boards it will not change boards that are from two different trees and are different in color. I have some cherry boards that were cut over 70 years ago and they are dark all the way through. I have to be careful not to use pieces from that stock mixed with other cherry as it will never match. This can also happen in your shop after the wood is surfaced so that boards that looked the same a few weeks ago now are darker than others.

When you finish your project you will want to caution the end user not to place things on the top surface, like a lamp, that will stay in one place for long periods of time because the base of the lamp may create a shadow that will be visible for a long time. Move any item set on top around at least weekly for the first 6 months to prevent forming shadows.

Is this true even if stained or poly'd?

[James Carmichael]

I've never picked cherry boards, but I've cherry-picked quite a few....

Sorry, couldn't resist:rolleyes:

[Roger Bullock]

Yes cherry will darken over time even though a finish has been applied. Most find this appealing as it gives it a dark patina, age look. Some woodworkers will place a completed yet unfinished outside in the sunshine (weather permitting and during day light only) to darken the wood prior to applying a top finish coat.

[Stan Urbas]

All above are good tips and I don't take issue with any of them. However, I'm a cabinet maker and work with cherry a lot, so will throw in my $.02 worth.

Unless you get your cherry boards from the guy who cut them up, you can't be sure that they came from the same log. I have found that boards that start out looking exactly alike can end up with quite a bit of color difference. And so when I'm gluing up panels I always make sure that all pieces in the same panel are from the same board. I make multiple cuts (length) of the same board to make up a given panel. Whatever I have left over I use for rails and styles. I've been doing this for quite a while, and you'd be surprised how much better the panels turn out.

By the way, for this reason I cut my pieces for the panel glue-ups to the same width as my rails & styles.