For Those Who Like Figured Cherry (Pics)

[Jason Tuinstra]

It's been a good day, if not a bit expensive.

First - I had a great talk with Bob about my FESTOOL order. Thanks a ton Bob! I can see why everyone goes with you. More on that later...

Second - I went to buy some cherry - a first since I've been in California. The place I went to in Fresno was great. I bought 100bdf of 8/4 and about 160bdf of 4/4. When the guy was pulling away with my fork-lift load of cherry, I spotted an interesting board about halfway down the unit. I hesitated because it would have been a bit of work to get to, but I figured I had time. So I asked him to give me a hand, and whamo... look at what I scored! It's 99% heartwood on one face and 85%-90% heartwood second face and 100% love throughout! It's 8'x11 1/2" and it is packed with consistently heavy figure. The second smaller board was a bonus find that seems to have come from the same tree. It's heavy figure as well, but not throughout. Bummer.

Anyway, I just had to post some pics. I'm as giddy as can be. I'm going to go drink a pot of coffee to calm down.

Saw dust to follow...

[John Miliunas]

Yup, looks like you're livin' right! I just can't find nice stuff like that around here! Great score, Jason!:) :cool:

[Chris Padilla]

Jason, I'm on the road right now to relieve you of that wavy and twisted piece of Cherry..NO PROBLEM...I like doing favors for my relocated Indiana ww'ing buddies....

Where about in Fresno did you go??? :)

[Jason Tuinstra]

Jason, I'm on the road right now to relieve you of that wavy and twisted piece of Cherry..NO PROBLEM...I like doing favors for my relocated Indiana ww'ing buddies....

Where about in Fresno did you go??? :)

:D :p :D :p Sure, come one down. The coffee is brewing.

I bought the wood at J.E. Higgins which is on the South side of Fresno. The 4/4 went for $5.50 a bdf. Is this pretty close to what you pay up North?

[Mike Scoggins]

Jason,

Glad you were paying attention; it paid off nicely. That's some beautiful figure in your latest score!

Mike

[Jim W. White]

Swweeet looking sticks!

[Vaughn McMillan]

Sweet looking wood, Jason. Any of you SMCers have any ideas where I can find wood that nice (at those good prices) in the Los Angeles area?

- Vaughn

[Corey Hallagan]

Congrats Jason, some good looking boards for sure.

Corey

[Martin Shupe]

For $5.50 a board foot, I think you got a deal! That is just about the nicest piece of curly cherry I have ever seen! What are you going to make out of it? Draw fronts? Or maybe panels for doors?

[Chris Padilla]

The 4/4 went for $5.50 a bdf. Is this pretty close to what you pay up North?

Jason, yeah, that sounds about right...your eyes served you well...you got that figure cheap!

[Ron Jones near Indy]

Jason,
That is one beautiful piece of wood. I'll be watching to see what you do with it.

[lou sansone]

I agree with the others. I have seen a lot of curly cherry, but I have to say that is about as good as it gets. This might be one of those good cases to actually make some veneer with it so as to spread it out in a larger piece. very nice spot

best wishes
lou

[Jim Becker]

Holy moly, Batman!! That's nearly a religious experience! ;) I really can't wait to see what you do with that board......

Yea, good price, too...something figured like that around here, even in "cherry" territory goes for a lot more....a lot more...

Oh, and dealing with Bob is a good thing. No better.

[Dan Forman]

Good eye there Jason. That is one gorgeous piece of wood. Now, whats this about some Festool stuff?

Dan

[Jason Tuinstra]

I have no idea what I'm going to make with this piece yet. The more I look at the board, the more nervous I am about what to do with it. I like Lou's idea of making some veneer, but I've never done this and I am totally unequipped for an 11 1/2 wide board. Now if I had some time in your shop, Lou, I'm sure you could show me how on the big boy's toys :p :D

The FESTOOL order: Yea, I pretty much jumped in with both feet. We set aside some "move-in" money when we got the new house, and let's just say after today, it's going quick. So here's the order, at least the big stuff. I order some clamps and various do-dads, but here it is:

Dust Extractor CT 22 E
ETS 150/5 Sander
Multifunction table MFT 1080
Circular Saw ATF 55 E

Looks small, but believe me, the bill is big! But from what you guys say, it's money well spent. The saw and guide should really help out with the table I'm in the process of making.

[Don Morris]

Jason,

I have some figured cherry waiting for me to get to it after my shop renovation gets completed. I'm going to go the veneer route. I haven't done that either but it's too beautiful to not give it a try. I'll try to learn how to take photos of it and show you the pattern. I was at a sawmill with my wife and when we had them face this old piece of cherry that had so much crud on the surface it was hard to tell what it was and when we saw it we looked at each other and said "well take it!" Right now we think it's going into an end table with the grain pattern being carried over from the top onto the drawers. I want to learn how to enhance the grain pattern in the finish and have been watching a couple videos about that. Probably use some sort of gel stain or something like that to "pop" the grain.

Isn't it exciting to get a great piece of wood.

[Frank Pellow]

Great wood and great tools all on the same day, well done!

Jason, I reccomend something stronger than coffee to celebrate. If you don't drink anything stronger, tell me and I will celbrate for you.

[Jason Tuinstra]

Don, I'm not the pro when it comes to finishing, but a gel stain would conceal the "pop" and not enhance it. Many times guys will use a process of aniline dye, blo, and a top coat of choice to pop the curl. This works quite well. Jeff Jewitt was the guy who popularized this approach. But I would simply finish this piece with blo followed by spraying some lacquer. I've done this before on curly cherry and it does a fine job of bringing out the curl.

[Jim Becker]

Don, I'm not the pro when it comes to finishing, but a gel stain would conceal the "pop" and not enhance it.

Very true. Gel stains, in effect, are glazes and they obscure what is underneath. The only thing you need to "pop" grain in cherry is an application of inexpensive BLO...

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Very true. Gel stains, in effect, are glazes and they obscure what is underneath. The only thing you need to "pop" grain in cherry is an application of inexpensive BLO...

I've heard that BLO makes the wood a lot darker. What's your experience with this?

[Jason Tuinstra]

I've heard that BLO makes the wood a lot darker. What's your experience with this?

What I typically do is give the piece a coat of BLO, and then I set it outside to get an initial sun tan. After a day or so in the sun, and after I'm convinced the BLO is cured, I spray it with lacquer. On some pieces I've skipped the oil because I was in a hurry and I can really tell the difference. The depth of the grain is about the same, but the depth of color is a shade or two different.

One note: You need to be careful setting a freshly oiled piece in the sun. I learned the hard way that the uncured oil will bleed to the surface and bake into a gooey mess if your not careful. Every hour or so I'll go out and rub down the piece so that the oil that comes to the surface dosen't cure in a glob. It's a little bit of work, but I really, really like the results.

[scott spencer]

Beautiful boards Jason......great haul.

[Peter Mc Mahon]

Very inspiring. I would make something perhaps in a shaker style where there is only basic style and the wood can do all the speaking for you. Peter

[Corvin Alstot]

What I typically do is give the piece a coat of BLO, and then I set it outside to get an initial sun tan. After a day or so in the sun, and after I'm convinced the BLO is cured, I spray it with lacquer.
Jason/ Great find, beautiful boards. The figured cherry should get you motivated to make something special.
What type of equipment do you use when spraying lacquer? I have mostly used polished shellac but like to look
at other finishes. Tell me what you are using and if you are happy with it.
Thanks!

[Jason Tuinstra]

Corvin, it's pretty low key around here when it comes to finishing. I haven't bought any lacuqer out here yet, but I used to get ML Campbell's Magnalac. I spray it with a $100 Porter Cable HVLP gun. I don't have any fancy system, but it works quite well. I'm very happy with the finish.