Odd-smelling piece of cherry wood

[Tyler Bancroft]

I have a piece of cherry wood that smells rather unpleasant - a sort of barnyard, funky smell when cut. It looks and feels otherwise normal, and it's sourced from a reliable supplier who only stocks kiln-dried. Other pieces of cherry I got in the same order seem normal. Any idea what's up?

[Jim Andrew]

Are you sure you didn't get a piece of cottonwood mixed in? Stuff has a funky smell.

[Tyler Bancroft]

Are you sure you didn't get a piece of cottonwood mixed in? Stuff has a funky smell. Pretty sure - looks like cherry, feels like cherry, and there's a hint of the regular cherry scent (although it's pretty well hidden).

[Al Weber]

Likely a pasture tree that picked up odor during its long life. I've had that experience with cherry and oak. I'm guessing that the chemicals that are odiferous get chemically linked to some tree structure and kiln drying doesn't remove it. The odor will likely disappear once it is finished. Shellac is a good cover for odors in wood.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Likely a pasture tree that picked up odor during its long life. I've had that experience with cherry and oak. I'm guessing that the chemicals that are odiferous get chemically linked to some tree structure and kiln drying doesn't remove it. The odor will likely disappear once it is finished. Shellac is a good cover for odors in wood.

Kind of like the old saying, "you are what you eat"!!! I know that if cows eat bitterweed it will make the milk bitter. I never considered a tree absorbing odors, but I guess it could. My suggestion would be that there was some sort of fungus in the wood. I've had that happen before, and it was a very pungent smell.

[Tyler Bancroft]

Kind of like the old saying, "you are what you eat"!!! I know that if cows eat bitterweed it will make the milk bitter. I never considered a tree absorbing odors, but I guess it could. My suggestion would be that there was some sort of fungus in the wood. I've had that happen before, and it was a very pungent smell.

Some sort of fungus is my concern - it certainly doesn't smell moldy or mildewed to me, nor does it look it, but I know that hardly covers the possibilities. The "pasture wood" is something I've heard of before. In a worst-case fungus situation, do I need to worry about it spreading to other pieces in my wood supply?

[Matt Day]

I wonder if an experienced arborist would have more information about a “pasture tree” and it’s odor.

[Jacob Reverb]

In a worst-case fungus situation, do I need to worry about it spreading to other pieces in my wood supply?

I doubt it, unless you have extraordinarily wet wood in your supply.

Fungus spores are everywhere in the air all the time, anyway. But they only "take root" and grow under the right circumstances of humidity and temperature. Google "dry rot" for just one example.

[Lee Schierer]

I would suggest that you speak with your supplier in person and bring along some fresh cut samples.

[Richard Coers]

Trees can get bacterial infections. They can have an odd smell.

[Darcy Warner]

Trees can get bacterial infections. They can have an odd smell.

It had a yeast infection. Lol

[Warren Lake]

I have some running shoes like that

[James Biddle]

Maybe it came from the butt end of the log.

[Tyler Bancroft]

I would suggest that you speak with your supplier in person and bring along some fresh cut samples.

I checked and they don't know what it is - offered to replace it, though.

[Tyler Bancroft]

Out of curiosity, I went back and cut another piece off this board to see if it was the same (originally noticed the smell a month ago) - it's definitely fainter than originally, and almost has a red oak-like "cheesy" odor. (No, it's not red oak, just weird.) To the scrap pile!