Maybe I am imagining things, but I don’t think so.
I have a lot of cherry cut on my own property. I use it for most of my projects and it is beautiful stuff.
However, I like to build about 3-5 things at a time and I tend to put one aside for a good while so I can think up a solution to a problem or because I’m bored or whatever. When I come back to it, the surface of the cherry has changed. It become grey sort of weathered appearance.
This is relative to its freshly planed surface that is nice and bright. The greyness seems to penetrate fairly deep and a lot of orbital sanding with 60 or 80 grit is needed to get back to that really fresh surface.
The greying is not so pronounced on the underside of boards that are protected from light.
The shop is heated, with a few small windows but the wood is not in direct sunlight.
This is not to be confused with the normal darkening of cherry that turns it a rich red/maroon color for lack of better terminology. This is more of dusty light grey.
Any ideas what is going on?
Brent
Replies
Seems to be all the cherry. I have about 1400 bft of it from a number of trees.
I know what you mean by hair going away. I'd rather solve that problem but it is, so speak, over my head....
It seems to do the grey thing only before finishing. AFter finishing, it just darkens like normal.
I'll try putting a piece in the sun and see what happens.
Dryness is in the single digits. It has been stickered for 4-5 yrs, then stacked in the loft for another 3 yrs. And these pieces that I am working with now were planed a year ago and have sat in the shop ever since. I would guess that moisture is around 7% or so, but I haven't measured it recently.
Brent
Brent,
What you are seeing is oxidation of the surface. Try wiping a piece with mineral spirits. f the grey goes awat, It'll go away when you finish it.
Dick
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