using English Cherry

[engineer one]

ok, so i have gone mad, and bought 7 waney edged boards of 1 inch English Cherry, some nice faces, some seem to be from the same tree.

so how do i look after it, when do i trim the waney edges, ie. after storage or just before i use it??

any bright advice about finishing.

i am intending to make a display cabinet with frame and cherry ply panel sides, solid tops, and maybe some small drawers. at the bottom.

looking for it to be about 42-48 inches high and about 18 inches deep by 24 wide, maybe a little smaller when i have figured the proportions.
and of course glass doors.

do i need to think about filling the grain. reason i ask is that i saw one of the Norm's programmes, and he was using American cherry which here i understand comes with really only one good side. and after putting stain on first, he used some kind of filler.

and just to make me feel bad what's the average price per cube around the uk????
all the best
paul

 

[Colin C]

Hi engineer one.
1/ Cut waney edge just before use and how long are the boards?
2/ Finish can be any thing you want , bepends on what tipe of look you what.
3/ With grain filler it can hide the grain abit if not done right but you can fill the grain with what finish you use ( just sand between coats with some 240 grit or 320 lubrasil if you can get it, does not clog as much )

 

[engineer one]

5 boards will give me a good 4 feet in length about 6 inches wide.
other 2 will give me about 5 feet in length and about 10 inches wide.

paul :wink:

 

[Colin C]

Best way ( I have found ) is to lay them flat with stick between the boards, put the two long ones on the bottom and you should be ok

 

[luthier49]

No need to grain fill Cherry. Any solid finish will build very quickly and It`ll take a nice oil finish as well. Cherry is difficult to get an even stain though. Thats why Norm uses gel stains. Wish we had more of those products here.

 

[Chris Knight]

I recommend you don't stain cherry. It darkens in sunlight quite quickly. It finishes very well with oil or shellac.

 

[engineer one]

so would danish or teak oils be of any value???

how long should i wait after making the item before i oil???

by this i mean after you have machined the parts do you leave them to
change colour before assembly, or do you assemble, then leave the item
and will they all get to a similar colour???

paul :wink:

 

[Chris Knight]

Paul,
Just build it, oil it and wait a couple of months for a nice colour to develop.

 

[Alf]

Or oil it, build and wait (if you like to pre-finish, as I do). Just one day out in the sun can do a power of good to the colour.

Cheers, Alf