Replies

1. 
   Dave45 | Mar 21, 2009 05:08pm | #1

   I like the water-based polyurethanes. Easy to apply, fast drying, easy cleanup, and they're very durable.

2. 
   sinsin | Mar 21, 2009 05:53pm | #2

   Cherry cabinets is an alternative to walnut. Your hand rubbed oil finish is a good one.

1. 
   BigMish | Mar 22, 2009 04:29am | #3

   Can you get them cherry nice and dark like walnut? How?

1. 
   SteveSchoene | Mar 22, 2009 04:18pm | #4

   Most varieties of cherry will get that way over the course of a few years, though to get a really nice result with cherry you should be careful to obtain your lumber from a single tree if possible.  They could of course be dyed, but I'm one who isn't very enamoured on doing that since the natural patina is so much richer looking. 

   One choice you might make is Lyptus.  Not as expensive as Walnut (or Mahogany), it takes dye well and with a little stain added for depth the end result can be made to look very much like either, depending on how "red" you shade the dye.  It has the open pores quite similar to walnut.  Works well, but can generate splinters until edges are eased preparatory to finishing.  In addition to being less expensive than walnut, it has more clear wood so will have a lot less waste than walnut, where you could well have 40% waste due to sap wood and knots, unless you are looking for a "rustic" look.   

1. 
   oldusty | Mar 22, 2009 05:50pm | #5

      Steve ,

         If you can buy wood from a sawmill you are lucky imo ,you could get wood from the same tree .

         But if like me you buy from a hardwoods supplier by the unit or hundreds of feet at a time like when building kitchen cabinets the  wood in each unit will typically be all compatable in the better grades .

      Don't be bummed if the wood is not from the same tree .

      We all have to remember that natural variations of grain and color and Gum are all characteristics of the Wood .

        Unfortunately Asking for all the wood to be from the same tree is not typically an option .

                      thanks Steve for your services

                                    regards  dusty

          

                    

1. 
   SteveSchoene | Mar 23, 2009 12:58am | #7

   Absolutely it isn't always possible, nor is it alway very important.  It depends on the nature of the pieces being made.  But, when a special project has loomed, I have once or twice driven 4 hours to places where I could buy flitches all from the same tree.  In my mind, kitchens are the epitome of a special project.  They add, or detract, thousands of dollars from the value of a house, so that adding several hundred bucks to get well matched lumber would make a great deal of sense to me. 

   I wouldn't have cherry kitchens if I couldn't be assured of well matched lumber.  Buying lumber in quantity does allow the possibility of at least taking as much care as possible to sort boards to as close match as possible.  But, with cherry, the closeness of the wood match is a major index of the quality of the cabinetmaker.  For a commercial custom cabinet maker to be known for harmony of the wood choices in his products is a very good thing.   

   If I wanted a lightish cherry.  with a natural finish, I consider red birch.  Very similar color up front to cherry, and since it changes color much less over time the match you can get selecting board from the hardwood distributor will work just fine.  Or I would use something like maple finished to the desired cherry color. 

   I have a little casual dining table that has a cherry top whose boards looked alike when new and now have two boards quite a bit darker than the rest.  I keep threatening to make a new top, but it's been quite a few years and I haven't gotten around to it yet. 

2. 
   oldusty | Mar 23, 2009 01:29am | #8

     Steve ,

             I know what you mean about the importance of careful selection of grain and colors , especially in Cherry .

         Here is an example of the  way I see it .

                regards       dusty

   
3. 
   SteveSchoene | Mar 23, 2009 02:29am | #9

   Exactly.  The use of the curly in the panels, with them arranged so the chatoyance is all consistent, is a first rate touch.  I like it.  Very nice cabinets. 

   Edited 3/22/2009 8:51 pm ET by SteveSchoene

4. 
   oldusty | Mar 23, 2009 03:15am | #10

     thanks Steve , What I wanted to demostrate was that the wood need not be from the same tree for a job like a kitchen .

          For a slab style table or chair , yes the same tree .

      Cherry has more grades than any other hardwood I buy , one supplier has 7 different grades ranging in color from all heart solid Red with no Sapwood on one face to the other end of the spectrum of a higher percentage of Sapwood and more Gum streaks and knots .

      What I have noticed by using the better and best grades you get a more consistent looking mix of wood , but you have to pay for it .

         The Cherry in the photo my wholsale price last Fall was $7 bf , they had some for under $4 also , you may have better luck using a hardwood supplier for these better and best grades  a big box won't have materials like in the kitchen .

           regards  dusty

5. 
   SteveSchoene | Mar 23, 2009 04:58am | #11

   Since I don't work commercially, I have a much easier time of it, in a sense, but at the expense of time or lots of money.  You appear to have a good supplier to begin with, and I'd bet that you may received a fair amount of wood in a shipment that was sorted into a different pile for another project--perhaps for someone who wants a darker toned natural cherry on their entertainment center. 

   And, of course, there is another test that is harder to be sure about.  That is what the color matching will look like in 5 years.  Extra efforts to get wood from the same geographic areas goes a long way toward the ideal of getting wood from the same tree. 

   And, I agree 100% about Big Box lumber.  Even worse than seeing color consistency (though none of the big boxes I know here even attempts cherry), is the frequency of times when drying defects would be revealed. 

   By the way, for those following this thread, and wondering a bit how it veered from finishing, is the realization is the first step, and very often the most important step in finishing, is selection of the materials to be used. 

   The next basic fundamental is making a test of the complete finishing schedule on the same materials chosen for the project.  It's often best to do this before cutting the first piece. 

    

    

6. 
   oldusty | Mar 23, 2009 07:43am | #12

   This particular supplier sorts and re grades some species into proprietory grades not necessarilly official grades from the National hardwood lumber association .

    The Cherry used was a Superior grade not commonly found . Each board looked like the next .I had maybe 400 bf and used over 300 or so .

        I asked for a half a dozen sheets of 1/4 " that looked close , you never know what you will get .

            But the lumber is almost always consistent , the cheapest thing to  do is buy the best you can get to start .

      Lastly some boards will turn darker and some will stay lighter , there is no guarantee even the ( same tree ) boards will remain all the same color tones .

              regards             dusty

2. 
   bushman1000 | Mar 22, 2009 05:59pm | #6

   using a stain like miniwax, do multple coats, leaving to dry a little longer, try on test or sample piece first to master the technique