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Bill Huber
06-06-2013, 8:31 PM
I have never had or used any cherry and I got about 5 bf of what was said to be cherry.

Does this look like cherry?

I thought cherry was more straight grained and darker in color.

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jim sauterer
06-06-2013, 8:34 PM
sure looks like cherry to me bill.

Dave Richards
06-06-2013, 8:35 PM
Looks like cherry to me.

Put a piece of it in the sun for a day. It'll get darker if it is cherry.

I've got some cherry that has grain much like that. Depends upon how it is cut.

Peter Quinn
06-06-2013, 8:36 PM
That's cherry all right. It darkens with age, some is more plain grain like maple, some looks like that, some is highly figured, quarter sawn has strait grain. It fresh color varies from a pale pink to a fairly dark orange.

Bill Huber
06-06-2013, 8:39 PM
Thanks, now I now what another kind of wood looks like.

This wood looks neat and I can't wait to make something out of it, great grain pattern.

Again, Thanks!!!!

Tim Janssen
06-06-2013, 8:45 PM
As mentioned already, that is cherry. Here is a picture of some more cherry:

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Cheers,

Tim

Robert Chapman
06-06-2013, 8:51 PM
As Dave said it will darken in the sun - even after finishing. I made a coffee table for my daughter and she put it in the sun with some books on it. When the books were moved the cherry was lighter. When the books were removed the wood darkened. I think that after exposure to light for a while the darkening maxes out and stabilizes. It's nice wood to work.

Danny Hamsley
06-06-2013, 9:18 PM
That is beautiful. I love cherry.

Dave Zellers
06-06-2013, 9:26 PM
Cherry fer sure. It's characteristics can vary depending on where it grew.

You'll enjoy working it. It machines beautifully. Finish it with a clear oil and watch it change slowly over time.

Andrew Pitonyak
06-06-2013, 9:28 PM
I had lots of cherry that looked exactly like that, now a friend of mine has a wine wrack that looks like that and I have a little cherry that looks like that :-)

Stephen Cherry
06-06-2013, 9:30 PM
Here is a waterloxed cherry table top, and a coupla soft crab sandwiches, both made by Steve Cherry

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Paul Saffold
06-06-2013, 9:58 PM
I think cherry is wonderful to work with and beautiful. It burns easily, so sharp bits and don't feed slowly on the router table or table saw.

Jim Matthews
06-06-2013, 10:27 PM
Here is a waterloxed cherry table top, and a coupla soft crab sandwiches, both made by Steve Cherry

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I'm cornfuzed - how, Perzackly do you apply waterlox with a soft crab sammich?

Bill Geibe
06-06-2013, 11:55 PM
Yep, that's cherry all right. I love that wood. I usually stain it as I like the way the grain pops. Here are some projects I made with cherry. The second two have walnut inlays and the cutting board isn't stained, of course.

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A blanket chest for my mom.

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A valet box for my son.

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A cutting board for some friends.

Bill

glenn bradley
06-07-2013, 12:08 AM
I agree that cherry is usually a little "quieter" than that. I do enjoy the more figured stuff for smaller items. Like spalting, too much of a good thing can be overpowering but, a splash of highly figured wood goes a long way ;-)


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Ken Fitzgerald
06-07-2013, 12:46 AM
Bill......after you build something with cherry....set it out in that Texas sunshine for 2 or 3 days and you will be amazed how quickly it darkens! I did with a cherry table I turned. It worked even in Idaho!~

ed vitanovec
06-07-2013, 1:07 AM
Yes it does like like Cherry to me. I was looking at some lumber a few years ago and it was Alder and the guy told me Alder is considered a poor mans Cherry, the grain is similar to Cherry but the cost is much less. Anyone hear the same thing about Alder?

Stephen Cherry
06-07-2013, 7:21 AM
I'm cornfuzed - how, Perzackly do you apply waterlox with a soft crab sammich?

Jim, you don't put the waterlox on with the sammiches, they just are not around long enough before they are eaten up.

John Piwaron
06-07-2013, 8:28 AM
Yup. Cherry. You can send it to me at your earliest convenience. :)

Alden Miller
06-07-2013, 9:17 AM
I'm cornfuzed - how, Perzackly do you apply waterlox with a soft crab sammich?

A lot easier than if you were using hard crabs, they tend to scratch the surface!

-Alden

Bob Reda
06-07-2013, 9:44 AM
Also with cherry, make sure the finished product is not getting rays of sun through a window on parts of it. Gives it a very different look, not what most people want though. It will darken where the sun hits it.

Bob

Larry Browning
06-07-2013, 11:14 AM
Most folks avoid staining it. The natural color darkens with age and develops a beautiful finish. My last few cherry projects have required staining though. Cherry has a tendency to blotch pretty badly and staining exaggerates that. Charles Neely makes a blotch inhibitor which works quite well. Also, cherry does have heartwood which is almost white in color, sort of like walnut.

Jay Jolliffe
06-07-2013, 11:29 AM
For me the grain, color & little sap pockets tells me it's cherry. It will change a lot with the sunlight. I like it better than staining it .

Jim Rimmer
06-07-2013, 1:24 PM
I'm not sure that is cherry? If you can ship it to me for a closer examination, I'll let you know. :D

John TenEyck
06-07-2013, 3:13 PM
Bill, you are about to experience one of the great love/hate relationships in woodworking - cherry. It will fight you at nearly every turn, from chipping out when you least expect it, to burning if your tools are dull or the feed rate not quite right, to blotching something awful if the grain isn't perfectly straight. And then, if you are patient and perservere, with just a little bit of luck, you will have something that is just plain gorgeous and only gets better looking with age. For what it's worth, simpler is better with cherry; let the wood speak for itself. Enjoy it, and show us what you do with it.

John

John Piwaron
06-07-2013, 6:16 PM
Also, cherry does have heartwood which is almost white in color, sort of like walnut.

Indeed it does. I prefer to not use cherry sapwood in my projects just for aesthetic reasons. But there's nothing otherwise wrong with it. It's the most beautiful wood around here. SE Wisconsin.

Paul Symchych
06-07-2013, 6:49 PM
John: You make it sound like cherry is a difficult wood. Not love/hate for me. I simply love it. One of the most pleasant woods to work.
As to blotching, anyone who stains cherry deserves trouble. I tell people who want cherry stained to go to Ikea or Walmart. That glow that cherry acquires once given sunlight and time simply cannot be duplicated with stains.
Finishing a piece in cherry and lacewood right now. Some boiled linseed; time in the sun to get it's tan and it is ready for top coat.

John Piwaron
06-07-2013, 10:44 PM
Paul - I agree. No stain on my cherry projects. Not difficult, but to get the best results one must know it's behavior. The same as any other wood. I find it's grain a bit "stiff" meaning it'll chip a little if you're not careful. It'll finish a little blotchy if you don't take care. And it'll burn if the cutter lingers in one place too long. Those are things you get to know and you'll simply adjust. Maybe without much thought. It's natural beauty is worth the effort.