What is Gummy Cherry

[George Bokros]

Received an email from my local Woodcraft store offering gummy cherry. I have never heard of it so what makes it different from cherry?

[Ted Derryberry]

Its not in the Wood Database. I expect its a marketing ploy for some low grade cherry.

[Ron Kurzius]

My dad gave me my great grandfathers tall case clock that was made in 1814, he said if I restored it I could have it. It was made in Pennsylvania out of cherry and it was the most miserable thing I ever sanded. Three or four passes and the paper was gummed up. I thought at the time it was just because it was old.

It came out beautiful but there is no way this is low grade cherry. Not sure what you might have but a piece of sandpaper will tell you pretty quickly. This was before I knew what scrappers were. 378667

[Wade Lippman]

Google is your friend
http://walzcraft.com/cherry-gummy-35925/

I think it gives character; I suppose others would consider it a defect.

[Ted Derryberry]

Obviously a defect. Sometimes defects add character, but that doesn't change what they are.

[David Utterback]

I had glued up some 7/4 cherry to carve for a chair seat. All the surfaces looked great. Shortly after grinding away I encountered a gum pocket. My hear sank but it was relatively small and disappeared with additional shaping. Sometimes, they add character and sometimes you may have to adjust your expectations when discovered during a build.

[John C Cox]

It's really pretty if you like wood with a lot of character... Don't buy it if you only like clear, brown, straight grained cherry. ;)

[John C Cox]

Ron,
You may have been fighting the original varnish finish... Back in Ye Olde Days before Lacquer - furniture was finished with either drying oil varnishes or spirit varnishes over top of a "ground" coat.... Both often had large quantities of various natural gums and tree resins to make them harden.... They also often included shellacs and various waxes... They were often quite soft... And "gummy" would be a good description...


My dad gave me my great grandfathers tall case clock that was made in 1814, he said if I restored it I could have it. It was made in Pennsylvania out of cherry and it was the most miserable thing I ever sanded. Three or four passes and the paper was gummed up. I thought at the time it was just because it was old.

It came out beautiful but there is no way this is low grade cherry. Not sure what you might have but a piece of sandpaper will tell you pretty quickly. This was before I knew what scrappers were. 378667

[Ted Derryberry]

That's what I was thinking. Some kind of finish, not the wood itself.

[John Kee]

Low grade Cherry with lots of pitch pockets, most of us use it for firewood.

[Don Kondra]

Some of us go looking for it on purpose :)

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Cheers, Don

[Jim Dwight]

Not unlike the pitch pockets you find in southern yellow pine. I've never had the cherry pitch bleed out, however.

[Bob Bouis]

It's regarded as a defect, but there's not anything inherent about that's defective except that it doesn't match cherry without gum pockets.

If you find enough of it to make the whole piece of out if it's very neat. IMO of course.

[David Utterback]

It is appealing in its own way like all hardwoods. I like it too.

[John Kee]

Hey Don I hope hope you gave your customer a good break on the price of that piece with all that defective cherry. Your site says you use nothing but the finest hardwoods. Just joking nice work. I just have a preference for clear or highly figured cherry and avoid anything with pitch pockets.

[Jeff Booth]

I read that the gum is released by trees that are struggling, usually from insects. I personally love it. For me, the wonderful thing about cherry is that it has so many tricks to offer in its figure (ray flecking, curl, pitch pockets, pin knots etc. ).