Cherry, birch or pine?

[Andrew Melamed]

Should I make small projects such as boxes, bird houses and other smaller projects out of birch, pine ir cherry? Does anyone know if lowes sells cherry?

[Jim Becker]

All of those speices have their place, Andrew. Cherry is my favorite for furniture and other "indoor" items, for example. For bird houses, cedar, cypress or white oak would be my preference.

I've never seen cherry in any of the big box home centers...they usually only have red oak, poplar, pine and sometimes maple.

[jonathan snyder]

I make all my birdhouses out of cedar. It withstands the elements very well. You could use pine for birdhouses, but they wont last as long as cedar. Use the cherry for boxes, and other indoor projects, as it is expensive.

Jonathan

[David Rose]

Andrew,

The borgs usually carry some pretty nice cedar here. Interestingly, the better pieces I've found are the 4x4 posts. If 4" is wide enough and you don't mind some resawing, it ends up being pretty economical and good.

David

[Joseph N. Myers]

Andrew,

The borgs usually carry some pretty nice cedar here. Interestingly, the better pieces I've found are the 4x4 posts. If 4" is wide enough and you don't mind some resawing, it ends up being pretty economical and good.

David

Typically when lumber is cut, the better wood is saved for the wider/longer pieces. For instance, if you need some 1x4's, you'll do much better if you get 1x8 or 1x12's and rip to size. A little more money and time but you'll end up with a lot less knots, splits, etc.

Check it out, you'll like it.

Regards, Joe