Your opinions about working with cherry

[Joe S.]

Just in the very beginning stages of planning another build. I'm thinking about using cherry,looking over some other folks work and find that highly figured,salmon color growing on me.Going to be a plank build this time and wondering how it is work with?every tree's different but what do you look for in a cherry blank?Do you like curl,figure,straight grain,comparable to maple,walnut?

[smart dog]

Hi Joe,
If you use the search function up by the "Home" button and search for "cherry stocks", you will discover years worth of opinions about cherry.

dave

[Joe S.]

Going there now,I normally do that and didn't even think about it this time,thanks

[Mike Brooks]

I like working with cherry, but as usual, it's not all created equal. I'd get a blank that is dense/heavy.

[Stophel]

I agree. Cherry varies WIDELY in quality.  Most seems to be around the lower end of the scale, I'm afraid... softer than tulip poplar.  Much "good" cherry is harder, but generally not as hard as good quality walnut.  On occasion, though, you can get cherry that is super hard and dense.  I have a nice long blank that has been languishing here for years that is every bit as hard and heavy as sugar maple.  Maybe eventually I'll put a barrel in it...

Only other time I've worked with cherry is another blank I got many years ago.  I got it cut to profile and a barrel inlet...then like so many other things, it got set aside.  Not super hard, but not too terribly bad.  I will say it is VERY prone to chipping out, even more so than walnut, so be extra super careful everywhere, all the time.

[Hungry Horse]

I agree about the chipping out. The one gun I built in cherry was terrible in this regard.

  Hungry Horse

[moleeyes36]

Ditto on the chipping out.  To help in keeping out of trouble working with cherry, remember three things.  Keep your tools VERY sharp, keep your tools VERY sharp, keep your tools VERY sharp. 

Mole Eyes

[Dennis Glazener]

I have built several SMR with Cherry stocks and enjoyed building and finishing them. Had no problems with any of them, wood was a pleasure to work with. But I once built a little Dreppard rifle with full patchbox that had a lot of little small cuts to be made when inletting it. I had at least three chips pull out of the wood along with the chisel. I was able to glue them back but it aggravating to have to do that. Just remember to keep a good supply of wood glue close by
Dennis

[Sawfiler]

I have only worked air dried cherry as opposed to kiln dried. I wonder if this makes a difference?  I love working cherry and everything I read says the kiln drying makes it more brittle. Maybe that has something to do with me not having as many chip outs?  Anybod with I experience working both, how do they compare?

[J Henry]

  I have some cherry trees that died and air dried on the stump,for past 30 +years,hard as a wood peckers lip, can it still be used,it is still standing,waiting to be slabbed out.I cut some and build furniture,Shaker,style, The tree I have is about 12" in diameter.

[FALout]

12” is likely not large enough, there is a current topic about maple you should read with the thought that cherry has a white heart area that isn’t desirable in most all woodworking applications.

[Martin S.]

Cherry heartwood is red.

Cherry sapwood is white.