Select cherry for $2.90/BF?

[scott vroom]

I ran into a guy locally that will sell me 4/4 Amer black cherry select grade for $2.90/BF. Boards are 6-8" wide and 6-7 feet long. He says the wood is about 80% heartwood. Is this a good deal? What is the normal % heartwood in select grade cherry?

I was looking for cherry for kitchen cabinets but my local retailer wants $5.90/BF for 4/4 FAS.

[Van Huskey]

First of all, select has one FAS side, back is #1 common, 4" wide or wider, 6' long or longer, clear face cut yield of 83 1/3% (min size 4"x5' or 3" x7').

If you only need 1 very good side then Select makes perfect sense, FAS is similar except the back has to be better, the clear yield is the same but 8'x6" is required.

No NHLA requirement for heartwood, 80% is becoming more common with cherry, harder and harder to find 90%+.

If it is true select and the yield is good on average, cutting around the sapwood, then for me its a good price. That also depends on where you are located!

[Joe Chritz]

Good price here, I'll take 100 BF. Leave it in the wood rack.

Joe

[Danny Hamsley]

Yes, that is a good price if the wood has been at least air dried. Even better if it has been kiln dried.

[Karl Brogger]

Heartwood? In select? Sounds like a rip off to me, especially for shorts.

[Tignor Jeff]

Heartwood? In select? Sounds like a rip off to me, especially for shorts.

I think you mean.... sapwood? In select ?

I think the answer is yes... sapwood in cherry is not considered a defect

[Tignor Jeff]

And thats a good price around these parts. Last time I bought cherry (FAS) from a retail supplier it was well over 7 bucks a bf ! (ouch)

[Ken Fitzgerald]

That's considerably less than I pay here.

[Karl Brogger]

I think you mean.... sapwood? In select ?

I think the answer is yes... sapwood in cherry is not considered a defect


Sorry, yes sapwood, the white stuff. The fingers get ahead of the brain whilst typing sometimes.:o And yes it is considered a defect as it is not usable material. Unless your going for that look. I think the latest in euphamisms is "Rustic":D

Some of this is regional, and some of it is due to just poor shopping around habits. I'm paying ~$5 a bd/ft for 8' cherry, (+-$.40), that is typically free of sapwood. I can't get away with having any sap in anything I build so for me, even if it was free it still wouldn't be worth the effort of cutting around that %20 of garbage.

[Sean Nagle]

That's half the price I pay for FAS cherry here. I'd buy it.

[scott vroom]

Sorry, yes sapwood, the white stuff. The fingers get ahead of the brain whilst typing sometimes.:o And yes it is considered a defect as it is not usable material. Unless your going for that look. I think the latest in euphamisms is "Rustic":D

Some of this is regional, and some of it is due to just poor shopping around habits. I'm paying ~$5 a bd/ft for 8' cherry, (+-$.40), that is typically free of sapwood. I can't get away with having any sap in anything I build so for me, even if it was free it still wouldn't be worth the effort of cutting around that %20 of garbage.

Karl, the supplier (Macbeath) told me that their cherry is from Indiana and
that Indiana cherry has a much higher percentage of sapwood than cherry from other regions. He gave Pennsylvania as an example of regional cherry with low sapwood content. I'd prefer little or no sapwood in my cabinets (not particularly interested in the "rustic" look) so I guess I have to decide if it's worth it to pay $2.90 for the shorts and plan to scrap off 30%, or to just pay $5.90 for true heartwood cherry (going price in my area).

[Paul Johnstone]

Just as a comment. I was able to get a whole bunch of maple that was graded select at a good price. I am used to normally buying FAS.

For stuff like cabinets, it should work very well. Like someone else said, usually one side looks really good, and there maybe be a big knot on the back.. but for cabinets, you are cutting them up anyhow. At least on my select, it's not too difficult to cut the pieces to size to eliminate the defects.. Maybe the quality of select varies, but mine certianly has less defects than normal "log run" grade.

So I wouldn't let the grade discourage you from making cabinets out of it..
Now, if you wanted to build an 8' long kitchen table top, there might be a problem using that grade.