Pairing Oak and Cherry

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I am making a small chest of drawers to hold hobby supplies (the opening is roughly 16" x 16", I don't remember exactly).

The outer case is oak. My original intent was to make the drawer faces from some curly cherry that I have sitting around.

The more I think about it, the less certain i am that I want to use cherry for the face and oak for the case. Any thoughts on how these might be made to look good together?

I may put this on top of an Oak shelf that I built.... and I may put it on an African Mahogany desk that I built.

As I was driving home from work today I started thinking that maybe I should not mix these two woods... and if I did, how would I finish them so that they look good together.

[Joe O'Connor]

I would go really dark with the oak and leave the cherry natural.

[Jim Dwight]

You have to also consider that the cherry will darken from sunlight. So even though the color might be similar initially, the cherry will end up much darker - although the effect differs from board to board. If you like the look, I don't see why you shouldn't go ahead.

[John TenEyck]

Don't know if this appeals to you or not but I really like the look of ebonized (especially rift sawn) oak, with the grain left to show through the finish, with cherry.

John

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I had not thought to ebonize the wood. On oak, is that likely to hide the grain pattern? I could also use some transtint or just a mocca stain. I guess I would need to experiment with it to get it right.

I looked up how to ebonize wood. I think it is something I could do, but I should figure that out before I build the shelves I suppose.

[Bill Orbine]

I had not thought to ebonize the wood. On oak, is that likely to hide the grain pattern? I could also use some transtint or just a mocca stain. I guess I would need to experiment with it to get it right.

I looked up how to ebonize wood. I think it is something I could do, but I should figure that out before I build the shelves I suppose.

If you ebonize the oak, you can still tell that it's oak. If you are partial to the grain pattern of oak, you could consider ebonized walnut or cherry to go with the natural cherry.

[Don Sundberg]

I combined red oak rails and stiles with cherry panels for one side of a column wrap between my kitchen and dining room. The kitchen cabinets and trim will eventually be cherry and the rest of the house has natural finished red oak trim so I wanted a tie in between the two. Finish is just oil based poly. The cherry has been finished since probably June.

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This should give you an idea of how they pair at least in a natural finish. I'm sure the cherry will darken some more with time.

Don

[Doug Herzberg]

I combined red oak rails and stiles with cherry panels for one side of a column wrap between my kitchen and dining room. The kitchen cabinets and trim will eventually be cherry and the rest of the house has natural finished red oak trim so I wanted a tie in between the two. Finish is just oil based poly. The cherry has been finished since probably June.

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This should give you an idea of how they pair at least in a natural finish. I'm sure the cherry will darken some more with time.

Don

I put cherry doors in a kitchen with red oak cabinets. I had planned to reface the cabinets eventually, but the combination isn't hurting my eyes like I feared it would. On second thought, looking at the attached photo makes me think I should get started with that refacing.


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[Andrew Pitonyak]

If you ebonize the oak, you can still tell that it's oak. If you are partial to the grain pattern of oak, you could consider ebonized walnut or cherry to go with the natural cherry.

I already built the case.... and next I will build the drawers. I could still choose to use oak for the door fronts. My intention was to use inset drawers with half blind dovetails on the fronts. It would be trivial for me to not use inset drawers which would pretty much hide the case front.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I really appreciate the pictures, that helps me visualize how it would look finished before i run samples.

[John TenEyck]

I had not thought to ebonize the wood. On oak, is that likely to hide the grain pattern? I could also use some transtint or just a mocca stain. I guess I would need to experiment with it to get it right.

I looked up how to ebonize wood. I think it is something I could do, but I should figure that out before I build the shelves I suppose.

No, it won't hide the grain unless you use grain filler or apply so many coats of finish that it fills the grain. I did this cabinet with a dark (but not black) stain but it shows how the grain comes through.

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These cabinets were done with Krylon rattle can black lacquer, before I knew anything. The grain pops right out.

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The easiest way to ebonize is to apply India Ink. It works great. Just mask off what you don't want to get black and apply it with a foam brush. You can apply any topcoat over it once it dries. Try it on a corner joint to make sure it doesn't bleed around the corner. If it does then you could go with a black gel stain instead. IME Transtint doesn't come close to giving a true black. Make sure to raise the grain first so it doesn't happen when you apply the India Ink.

John

[Wade Lippman]

I don't think anything is good with oak except oak. Perhaps walnut if you absolutely want a different wood, but not cherry.

[Rick Potter]

This is a shot of the cabinets I am working on. The doors aren't built yet, but this is what Red Oak and Maple look like together. The oak has a Red Oak stain and the Maple is natural.

I know it is not quite what you want, but it is kinda, sorta, like what you are thinking of :o.




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[Brian Holcombe]

I would expect a dark case with lighter doors, but too very similar color woods will look odd to my eye in the same project. Cherry is a very refined wood with tight grain structure, oak is not, so on the same piece without a greater contrast between the woods I think it will look odd.

I might mix white oak and walnut, or white oak and Ebony. JMHO.

[Stan Calow]

Considered pairing cherry & oak once on a chest project. I agree with Brian. I decided the difference in grain would be distracting more than the color difference. Oak has a pretty strong look to it, and figured cherry more refined and delicate, IMO.

[Doug Herzberg]

I had not thought to ebonize the wood. On oak, is that likely to hide the grain pattern? I could also use some transtint or just a mocca stain. I guess I would need to experiment with it to get it right.

I looked up how to ebonize wood. I think it is something I could do, but I should figure that out before I build the shelves I suppose.

I'm learning here. To ebonize oak, I dissolve a steel wool pad in a quart of white vinegar (it takes a day or so). Wipe it on and the oak turns black. This also raises the grain, and sanding makes the black uneven, so it becomes a lather, rinse repeat kind of operation.

I haven't tried the methods that others have mentioned. I would certainly do a practice run before committing to the ebony / cherry combo. As others have said, the grains are different.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I think that I will put my nice curly cherry away and make oak fronts for this. Glad I took the time to ask.

[Wes Ramsey]

I'm learning here. To ebonize oak, I dissolve a steel wool pad in a quart of white vinegar (it takes a day or so). Wipe it on and the oak turns black. This also raises the grain, and sanding makes the black uneven, so it becomes a lather, rinse repeat kind of operation.

I haven't tried the methods that others have mentioned. I would certainly do a practice run before committing to the ebony / cherry combo. As others have said, the grains are different.

Doug,

The steel wool won't actually dissolve. The vinegar doesn't really even change color much, but if you leave the pad in the solution for more than a few days it will start to rust. After a few months there will be a rusty solution on the bottom with clear on top. The clear stuff still works, but you have to be careful not to mix it up...at least I wouldn't think the results would be pleasant. Never messed with putting the rusty stuff on wood :)

I tried this ebonizing method out a couple of years ago when I started turning just to see what it would do. It really does work on just about any wood. Never tried walnut, but oak, box elder, hickory, mulberry, maple and cherry all turn black. The cherry turned almost immediately. The mulberry took a couple of minutes.

My curiosity got the better of me...I just walked out to my shop to try it on a piece of walnut and learned that the solution has a shelf life. It is maybe 2 years old and isn't turning anything black - not even cherry. Guess I need to make a new batch!

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I was lead to believe that for oak you wanted to do something more like this:



Put the steel wool in the vinegar for a week or two
Create some strong tea (say lipton or similar)
Brush the tea onto the wood (this adds tannins)
Let the tea dry, but when it is still a bit damp, brush on the vinegar mixture


One thing I read said it was still a bit muddy or something, so, after everything dried overnight, he brushed on another coat of vinegar mixture, let that dry, then add a coat of tea.

So, some tea might help in the process. I did not try it myself.

[Wes Ramsey]

I was lead to believe that for oak you wanted to do something more like this:



Put the steel wool in the vinegar for a week or two
Create some strong tea (say lipton or similar)
Brush the tea onto the wood (this adds tannins)
Let the tea dry, but when it is still a bit damp, brush on the vinegar mixture


One thing I read said it was still a bit muddy or something, so, after everything dried overnight, he brushed on another coat of vinegar mixture, let that dry, then add a coat of tea.

So, some tea might help in the process. I did not try it myself.

I've heard that, but I didn't use any tea with the oak I tested this on. I soaked the SW pad for a couple of days before trying it and it started turning within a few seconds. Was black as coal within a minute.

I went back to look at my test piece of walnut last night and it had a mildly-dark spot on both the sap and wood. So it does blacken walnut as well, but my solution is past due to be refreshed.