Cherry Color Variations

[Bob Coleman]

Being originally from the south, my experience was that cherry has a deep, dark red color (right half). Then I lived in New York for a couple of years (didn't get to do any woodworking in my tiny apartment) and as I drove the moving truck towards west I stopped and picked up some PA cherry (left half).

Fast forward a couple years and I pull down some cherry for a project. I surface a piece of the PA cherry and think its color isn't quite right, so I put some finish on it and am sure its color is off. (it looked like any other cherry rough and even most of the way through the milling). So I pull down a board that my dad gave me and hand planed a small section and wet it with mineral spirits. You can see the difference in the picture! The colors are probably not exactly right, but the contrast is representative.

Is this representative of cherry from PA vs cherry from the south? I'm not certain where the "southern" board came from, but it would have been acquired by my dad in or near Atlanta (although possibly decades ago) Or does cherry have this much color variation among lumber from the same region? I'll admit I was quite surpised to see the very tan/yellow color from a board that looked pretty red when I started.

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[Kevin Bourque]

Cherry varies widely in color, even pieces from the same tree can look different. Sometimes the hardest part of making something out of cherry is getting all the boards the same color.

[David Ragan]

yes, I have bought a lot of cherry trying to get it all the same. Best to hope for is a decent transition over a piece. My issue was the greenish hue and little black squiggles. Some like or dislike the squiggles.\

The guy @ lumber yard said there is a diffo b/t north and southern cherry.

[scott vroom]

Cherry darkens with age and/or exposure to sunlight. Is it possible that the board on the right is older, and has possibly been exposed longer to UV light than the board on the left.

[Lee Schierer]

I have some cherry that is 65+ years old since it was harvested. That wood is darker than your right hand example all the way through the pieces of wood. The growth rings are14-16 per inch. It was grown in North Western Pennsylvania.

I have purchased other cherry recently that is also from the same region of Pennsylvania and it is noticeably lighter in color like your left hand example. The growth rings are 6-10 per inch. It will darken with age and finishing to a nice dark color. The darkening rate depends on exposure to light and the applied finish. Some water based finishes with UV inhibitors will dramatically slow the darkening process.

When building a project it is best to get all the cherry as close to the same color as possible as the differences will remain for years as it ages and may well be there forever. It also a good idea to apply the same finish on all areas of the piece to insure a more uniform color change due to finish.

[Charlie Barnes]

It could be in the way the cherry was dried. I built a large project about 5 years ago with a mix of air dried and kiln dried cherry. The air dried cherry was initially naturally darker than the kiln dried. It could have been somewhat a function of age, but the air dried lumber had very minimal exposure to light so I don't think age was a major factor in this case. However with the passage of time and exposure to light, all of the boards have become very close in color.

[Bob Coleman]

Age and drying could definitely be the cause. And Lee is 100% on - I need to next match color to an old turning for a pedestal table, which is very red. I was certainly surprised at the color difference having never used cherry that came out that much lighter.

Thanks for the responses all!

[Yonak Hawkins]

Having lived in and acquired cherry wood from both western Pennsylvania and the Piedmont of Georgia, I tend to agree with you. While there are variations within bundles and within individual trees, boards from southern trees generally, in my opinion, tend to be darker and, also, less dense than boards from northern trees.

[Jim Matthews]

I would not have recognized the left sample as Cherry.

It appears to be freshly cut, and flatsawn. I would guess
the board you've shown on the left is from near the outside
of the tree.


Perhaps that accounts for the current appearance.

I did get some rendered from a tree in North Carolina
that was, and remains, much lighter in color
than the stash I work out of - that from the NorthEast US.

http://www.advantagelumber.com/cherry.htm

[Art Mann]

Take a sample of the cherry on the left and put it in a Soputh facing window for a month. Then compare it to another piece from the same lot that has just been planed. You may discover the answer to your inquiry.

[Prashun Patel]

I use a decent amount of cherry from NJ and PA. Dimensional lumber I've purchased can vary from pinkish to beige as your piece at the left looks. The color will darken and redden over time, but it may or may not get as dark as the piece on the right.

[Robert LaPlaca]

Cherry does vary in color as other posters have mentioned.. To my eyes, the darker color of the southern Cherry might come from the fact that the board might not have been as thoughly planed as the Cherry board from Pennsylvania? Cherry is photosensitive and darkens considerably, running the board though a surface planner will erase the darkening of the surface..

[Kent A Bathurst]

........... The growth rings are14-16 per inch. It was grown in North Western Pennsylvania.

I have purchased other cherry recently that is also from the same region of Pennsylvania ...........growth rings are 6-10 per inch.

I ahve always been told that NW PA is THE place for serious cherry. YOu also have some slow-growth v fast-growth. DIfference in ring count is amazing. Maybe first was from the north side of the mtn; newer piece is 2d gen growth....... wonder if there isn't a part of the forestry industry there that raises plantation cherry? Remiscient of SYP - the true "old-growth" is virtually non-existent. The northern stuff has a much higher ring count; the southern stuff is 3d growth, well-managed by forestry experts. Grows llke a weed.

Get my QSWO from PA also - the really good stuff - also old-growth, slow-growth, high ring count. Makes a BIG difference in the quality of the ray flecks/grain for that wood.

[Erik Loza]

The range and variation is one of the things I always liked most about Cherry.

Erik Loza
Minimax USA

[Jim Becker]

There is a lot of color variation in cherry (and other species) just naturally. In fact, many suppliers will even mix more than one type of "cherry" in a pile. For this reason, we all have to carefully select our purchases. I've noted many times that selecting material is actually the first step in "finishing" the project! Color and grain are key to the difference between "ho hum" and "WOW!"... ;)