Preparing Cherry Lumber for Fine Woodworking Projects

Selecting Quality Cherry Boards for Woodworking

When starting any woodworking project, one of the most important first steps is selecting high quality cherry #lumber boards. The characteristics and condition of your lumber will dictate the quality of the final product. When I'm preparing to build fine #woodworking projects with cherry, I personally hand select each board to ensure it meets my standards.

Choosing the Right Type of Cherry Wood

There are a few varieties of cherry wood that are commonly used in woodworking. The most popular type is Black Cherry, scientifically known as Prunus serotina. This species produces vibrant reddish-brown heartwood that darkens beautifully over time. It's prized by furniture makers and often seen in cabinets, tables, and other high end pieces.

Another less common species called Pin Cherry or Bird Cherry is sometimes used as well. However, it tends to be relatively soft and lightweight. For most applications, Black Cherry is superior due to its strength, hardness, and rich color.

Checking for Visual Defects

When examining cherry boards to purchase or pull from my own inventory, I carefully inspect the wood for any visible defects. Flaws like knots, cracks, worm holes, discoloration, or grain abnormalities can negatively impact workability and quality of the finished product. For critical projects where appearance matters, I try to select boards that are very clear and free of blemishes.

Minor defects can sometimes be worked around or avoided by careful orientation of your cut list. But major flaws should disqualify a board from fine woodworking where possible. Taking time up front to hand select the best boards will pay off hugely later on.

Acclimating and Storing Cherry Prior to Use

Once I have sourced top quality cherry boards for my upcoming project, the next step is allowing proper acclimation before cutting or milling. If the wood was brought straight from the lumberyard or distributor, it can take 1-2 weeks stabilizing to the humidity and temperature levels in my shop.

I neatly stack each board with spacer sticks in between to allow airflow. This prevents mold or mildew growth. Storing cherry boards up off a concrete floor on a pallet or lumber rack is also important. Once fully acclimated, the cherry lumber is ready to be milled and processed without risk of developing defects during construction.

Milling Rough Cherry Boards

When prepping cherry stock for fine furniture, I usually have to mill each board by thickness planing and jointing one face/edge square. This eliminates minor cupping, bowing, and winding that typically occurs. It gives flat, square boards needed for tight-fitting casework.

Be sure to carefully feed boards through equipment during this process. Setting depth of cut too aggressively can cause tear out or other problems in softer, open-grained wood species like cherry. Leaving your planer knives and jointer blades razor sharp will produce the best results.

Cutting Cherry Lumber to Rough Length

Once milled square and flattened, efficiently cutting the cherry boards to rough lengths needed saves material. I arrange all parts for my project cut list by size to optimize each piece of lumber. This also makes component fabrication easier down the road.

Always crosscut boards several inches longer initially prior to final trim. Leaving wiggle room for snipe, splinters, or other unforeseen problems is wise. Mark measured lengths clearly on each cherry board with pencil. Carefully label and set aside each cut component for the next steps.

Applying Protective Finishes Prior to Construction

When all my cherry boards are milled square, flattened, and rough cut to length based on my cut list, the last step I take before joinery and assembly is finishing. Since cherry stains unevenly after exposed to light, I like to apply at least the initial finish coats beforehand.

Sanding before Finish Application

Prepping the wood surface is crucial for smooth, consistent staining/top-coating. I sand each milled cherry component to 180 grit using a random orbital sander. This removes milling marks, scratches, and prepares the bare wood for optimal penetration.

Custom Stain Matching

Penetrating oil-based stains are my favorite for achieving a rich, deep colored tone on the cherry boards. But cherry's tendency to fade and darken unevenly with light exposure poses some challenges. To combat this, I custom mix oil stains to closely match the desired aged tone of the final piece.

Testing your stain mix on a sample board is important to dial in the right color. Then record ratios for replicating it consistently across all the components later. This helps achieve color uniformity even as the wood tones shift over time after construction.

Sealing with Initial Top Coats

Once the cherry parts are stained to my preferred custom tone, I seal everything off with a few coats of high quality oil-based varnish, polyurethane, or lacquer. This stabilizes the wood from additional fading/darkening during the rest of construction. It also protects from dents, stains, and scratches during joinery steps.

I take care taping off and masking areas of each component where glue squeeze out could impede the tight fit of joints later on. Applying at least 2-3 seal coats gives me a durable foundation to build upon through final finishing after assembly.

With all my hand selected cherry boards now milled, cut to length, sanded, custom stained, and sealed I am ready take on the exciting next phases of project construction. Taking time to start with properly prepared lumber makes the rest of the process more efficient, ensuring a gorgeous final product that will last for generations.

FAQs

What are some key things to look for when selecting cherry lumber boards?

When choosing cherry lumber, carefully inspect each board for defects like knots, cracks, discoloration, mineral streaks, worm holes, etc. Select boards that are clear and free of flaws as much as possible. The quality and workability of the final product depends heavily on starting with top grade lumber.

Why does cherry lumber need to acclimate in my shop before using it?

Freshly delivered lumber needs time to equilibrate to the temperature and humidity levels in your shop to prevent defects or stability issues later on. Allow 1-2 weeks of acclimation time while neatly stacking and spacing the cherry boards prior milling or cutting to rough lengths.

What’s the benefit of applying stain and some protective finish to cherry before construction?

Cherry wood tends to fade and darken unevenly when exposed to light. By pre-staining components to a custom mixed tone that matches the desired aged color, you can help achieve better uniformity in color. Applying 2-3 seal coats also stabilizes the wood from further shifting during construction.

What tools do I need for properly milling rough cherry lumber boards?

The essential tools needed include a thickness planer and jointer for squaring up boards and eliminating cupping, bowing or winding. Maintain your knives and blades razor sharp. A table saw fitted with a crosscut sled allows efficiently and accurately cross cutting boards to rough lengths called for in your cut list.