Is this Cherry ??

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Bill......after you build something with cherry....set it out in that Texas sunshine for 2 or 3 days and you will be amazed how quickly it darkens! I did with a cherry table I turned. It worked even in Idaho!~

[ed vitanovec]

Yes it does like like Cherry to me. I was looking at some lumber a few years ago and it was Alder and the guy told me Alder is considered a poor mans Cherry, the grain is similar to Cherry but the cost is much less. Anyone hear the same thing about Alder?

[Stephen Cherry]

I'm cornfuzed - how, Perzackly do you apply waterlox with a soft crab sammich?

Jim, you don't put the waterlox on with the sammiches, they just are not around long enough before they are eaten up.

[John Piwaron]

Yup. Cherry. You can send it to me at your earliest convenience.

[Alden Miller]

I'm cornfuzed - how, Perzackly do you apply waterlox with a soft crab sammich?

A lot easier than if you were using hard crabs, they tend to scratch the surface!

-Alden

[Bob Reda]

Also with cherry, make sure the finished product is not getting rays of sun through a window on parts of it. Gives it a very different look, not what most people want though. It will darken where the sun hits it.

Bob

[Larry Browning]

Most folks avoid staining it. The natural color darkens with age and develops a beautiful finish. My last few cherry projects have required staining though. Cherry has a tendency to blotch pretty badly and staining exaggerates that. Charles Neely makes a blotch inhibitor which works quite well. Also, cherry does have heartwood which is almost white in color, sort of like walnut.

[Jay Jolliffe]

For me the grain, color & little sap pockets tells me it's cherry. It will change a lot with the sunlight. I like it better than staining it .

[Jim Rimmer]

I'm not sure that is cherry? If you can ship it to me for a closer examination, I'll let you know.

[John TenEyck]

Bill, you are about to experience one of the great love/hate relationships in woodworking - cherry. It will fight you at nearly every turn, from chipping out when you least expect it, to burning if your tools are dull or the feed rate not quite right, to blotching something awful if the grain isn't perfectly straight. And then, if you are patient and perservere, with just a little bit of luck, you will have something that is just plain gorgeous and only gets better looking with age. For what it's worth, simpler is better with cherry; let the wood speak for itself. Enjoy it, and show us what you do with it.

John

[John Piwaron]

Also, cherry does have heartwood which is almost white in color, sort of like walnut.

Indeed it does. I prefer to not use cherry sapwood in my projects just for aesthetic reasons. But there's nothing otherwise wrong with it. It's the most beautiful wood around here. SE Wisconsin.

[Paul Symchych]

John: You make it sound like cherry is a difficult wood. Not love/hate for me. I simply love it. One of the most pleasant woods to work.
As to blotching, anyone who stains cherry deserves trouble. I tell people who want cherry stained to go to Ikea or Walmart. That glow that cherry acquires once given sunlight and time simply cannot be duplicated with stains.
Finishing a piece in cherry and lacewood right now. Some boiled linseed; time in the sun to get it's tan and it is ready for top coat.

[John Piwaron]

Paul - I agree. No stain on my cherry projects. Not difficult, but to get the best results one must know it's behavior. The same as any other wood. I find it's grain a bit "stiff" meaning it'll chip a little if you're not careful. It'll finish a little blotchy if you don't take care. And it'll burn if the cutter lingers in one place too long. Those are things you get to know and you'll simply adjust. Maybe without much thought. It's natural beauty is worth the effort.