Redwood with cherry quick question

[Bryan Cramer]

445398

I’m making a small console like multi purpose cabinet with cherry. I was looking at veneer for the door panels and saw some redwood burl. How would redwood compliment cherry? How does redwood look as it ages? Don’t think I have ever seen a combination like that. The veneer sure looked nice and caught my attention.

Thanks!

[Jamie Buxton]

Redwood can look spectacular right off the saw. But it ages to a dull dark brown.

[Rob Sack]

I've worked with redwood quite a bit. My house is sided with clear all heart redwood as is much of my interior. All my interior trim is in redwood and several accent walls are paneled with clear all heart vertical grain material. I also have worked with cherry in furniture making. The redwood is quite soft. But using redwood burl for inset door panels should work nicely and it is beautiful. Color-wise, I think the combination of the burl panels and the durable cherry frames would work quite nicely. Experiment with finishing first, but I would highly recommend using a solvent based finish. Both woods would amber and age nicely with a solvent based finish. I am a big fan of water based finishes and use them extensively in my shop. But on cherry and redwood, a water based finish would prevent ambering and would probably give the cherry and redwood a "washed out" look. All my redwood interior woodwork is almost 30 years old and has been finished with a wipe on oil finish. It has darkened to a deep red color, but none of it has turned brown or become dull. For your cabinetry, I would suggest spraying conventional lacquer if at all possible, which should promote aging and yet allow the grain to "pop" without leaving the wood dull over time.

[Bryan Cramer]

Well thanks guys! I ordered the veneer so I guess I will find out.

[Richard Coers]

I've seen a lot of old redwood that is really dull. Better heed Rob's advice. Since you've already ordered the veneer, I won't share my advice about choosing it.