What figured wood looks good with cherry?

Hi gang,
For my next project, I need to build a big executive style office desk. I'm planning on making the majority of the desk out of solid cherry. To give the desk a little pizazz, I wanted to use some figured wood for the panels (bookmatched?) and for the drawer fronts.

My initial thought was to use curly cherry, but I've been looking at pics on the internet and most of the stuff I'm seeing doesn't look like it has a huge ammount of curl to it, so I'm wondering if it's even going to stand out enough, to justify the cost. Even some of the private stock material from http://www.curlymaple.com/pvtstk/ps808c.jpg (although it looks nice) I just don't know if it will stand out enough against all of the other cherry, especially when you're approaching $30/foot.

And although I hate to admit it, I'm going to stain/dye the desk. I want a brownish/reddish color, similar to the Lockwood water-based dye middle color sample, on pg 114 of the latest FWW magazine. So I'm even wondering, if you guys suggest to go with some sort of figured maple, can I match the cherry and maple when dyed? I want the desk to have a uniform color.

Thanks in advance for any tips you may have.

Aaron

Aaron, have you looked at a quilted mahogany or another exotic wood that will give you some redish color and some major figure? Otherwise, my first thought was one of the figured maples (curly, quilted, or bird's eye).

Wood magazine this past December '03 featured a secretary made out of Cherry and Curly maple. It is on the cover and quite striking. The curly maple was used as panels in frame and panel doors.

Just be aware that cherry darkens a lot over time, so when you are finding a complementing wood make sure that it will still complement the cherry when the cherry oxidizes to a deep red color as well.

Aaron,

If your going to dye/stain the cherry, why not consider just doing the desk in maple with the accent being curly maple. It is really hard (many times) to tell the differences between cherry and maple. (I'm in the process of planing/jointing some cherry and maple for a project and sometimes having problems telling the differences between them. In those cases, I tape off a section of the piece in question and put in the sun for a day or so - the cherry turns a darker red, the maple stays the same).

Brad also brings up the point about the color of cherry turning a darker red and using maple for the whole project would eliminate that problem. Plus the savings in the cost would be well worth the effort. And "good" maple is easier to find than "good" cherry in many parts of the country.

Regards, Joe

With all due respect Aaron, if you are going to dye both woods to be the same color (at least at the start - as mentioned over time you may end up with contrast anyway), then all you are really asking about is figure type, not species. Curly cherry usually has a broader wider curl than say tiger maple. So if you think a tighter curl is what you want, then tiger maple it is. But if you really want something that pops, leaving the maple undyed will do it for you. Of course, spectacular figure comes in veneer too, so consider that.

My point is to forget species and just think about what figure you want if you are set on coloring it all.

The cabinetry in our kitchen is cherry and birds-eye maple (frame & panel). It's a nice combination. Oil was applied to the maple, which added a warm color to it, so the two woods really complement each other.

One other thought, if you wish to use curly cherry with figure that will knock
your socks off, consider using veneer. The cost of an inexpensive vacpress will easily be recouped in lumber savings, and you can bookmatch to your hearts content :-)

Roger

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Aaron Heck

Hi gang,
For my next project, I need to build a big executive style office desk. I'm planning on making the majority of the desk out of solid cherry. To give the desk a little pizazz, I wanted to use some figured wood for the panels (bookmatched?) and for the drawer fronts.

My initial thought was to use curly cherry, but I've been looking at pics on the internet and most of the stuff I'm seeing doesn't look like it has a huge ammount of curl to it, so I'm wondering if it's even going to stand out enough, to justify the cost. Even some of the private stock material from http://www.curlymaple.com/pvtstk/ps808c.jpg (although it looks nice) I just don't know if it will stand out enough against all of the other cherry, especially when you're approaching $30/foot.

And although I hate to admit it, I'm going to stain/dye the desk. I want a brownish/reddish color, similar to the Lockwood water-based dye middle color sample, on pg 114 of the latest FWW magazine. So I'm even wondering, if you guys suggest to go with some sort of figured maple, can I match the cherry and maple when dyed? I want the desk to have a uniform color.

Thanks in advance for any tips you may have.

Aaron

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Goods thoughts, guy. This is exactly what I was looking for. I'm pretty mucha beginner in this hobby, so you guys' experience is invaluable.

I had thought about the veneering. It just scared me a little, with a whole new process (vacuuming) to learn, as well as having to deal with the pressure making something this nice. This will definitely be my biggest project to date.

I also will give some serious thought to using the maple for the whole project. You're right - as long as I'm dying it, it won't really matter what the original wood looks like. I like the grain pattern of cherry, but I guess the maple could look very similar once colored. I do like the quilted maple, for sure. Then, of course, the tiger and bird's eye is also very nice.

And thinking about cost, the majority of the desk would be from maple, which should be significantly cheaper than the cherry.

Aaron

Talk to Mike at Curly Woods. You really can get curly cherry that would be outstanding for panels, but not "everywhere". Folks like Mike and other firms that specialize in figured stock are where you usually need to go. (Locally, I use Hearne Hardwoods when I need to "touch" it first)

As an alternative, any form of curly maple would also look great, IMHO. Whether dyed to somewhat match in tone or left more natual for contrast, I like that combination best, personally.

If it is the grain of cherry or maple you are after, but nonochrome, then go with the maple, and use dyes to darken it. But if you are not wed to that grain, then Hearne has some fabulous! quilted mahogany. These are wide long boards, and are expensive, but impressive. I am not sure, but I think he is at $50/bf for the quilted. The reg. mahogany is quite reasonable, including some very wide 4/4. 21-28" is 7.50/bf, over 28 is 10.00/bf. Not sure of the price of the less than wide stock.
I like cherry and maple together very much. Comfortable combination. BLO as a first coat on the figured maple will yellow it, but if you want a bit more color, then sand to 320, raise the grain and resand by hand with 320, and water dye it with Transtint honey amber, and add a drop of a red-brown to it, wihch will give it a slight orange cast, which goes well with the cherry, IMHO. I will be posting a bench on Monday which I did this to. The leg set is Bubinga, reddish in color finished clear, and so I wanted to lessen the contrast with the maple top. You can see if the color is agreeable.
Alan

My vote is for quilted maple

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Aaron Heck

Goods thoughts, guy. This is exactly what I was looking for. I'm pretty mucha beginner in this hobby, so you guys' experience is invaluable.

I had thought about the veneering. It just scared me a little, with a whole new process (vacuuming) to learn, as well as having to deal with the pressure making something this nice. This will definitely be my biggest project to date.


Aaron

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Veneering isn't all that hard and if you are just making panels you do not need a vacuum press.

I am using curly maple as we speak to make veneer panels and here is what I did/doing...

-Resaw 4/4 curly maple (and regular maple as a backer) into 4-6 slices (per 4/4 board) at about 3/32" thick. Bandsaw is well tuned prior to this with a new resaw blade
-Drum sand (or scraper plane) the bandsaw marks off
-Edge glue bookmatched panes with plenty of cauls on top to keep the veneers flat
-Use plastic resin glue to apply bookmatched veneers to a baltic birch substrate, to get good clamping pressure I am using three 3/4" MDF cauls on each side and pine 2x4 cauls on top with about one clamp per 4 inches on the side. Clamp this stack down onto my dead flat workbench and allow to cure overnight
-Remove clamps, and use a scraper plane to flatten the panel and to clean up the glue
-Trim the panels to final size for the project.

If you have any questions on the procedure let me know. Most of the infor on how to do this came from FWW magazine so I can point you to specific articles if you are interested.

Before slicing up expensive wood do some tests with some oak scraps or whatever you have that is around (as long as it is a hardwood) to perfect your technique. I did this and was suprised how easy the procedure is, and I basically am quadroupling my usage of my curly maple that I bought.

Cheers!
Brad