Replies

1. 
   bilyo | Jan 31, 2011 11:03am | #1

   Cherry Flaws or Attributes

   olddusty,

   Thanks for the encouraging  words.  i'm hoping to find some more of the pitchy grain as I go through the pile.  It is quite striking.

   If I know I'm dealing with a board with hireline cracks, is there anything to do to prevent problems with the finish?  Does one tyype of finish work better with this than another? Does it do any good to use a filler or sealer first? Or, is it best to just rip the board at the crack and glue it back together?  Other than structural problems, do the hairline cracks get worse after the piece is finished?

   bilyo

1. 
   oldusty | Jan 31, 2011 12:44pm | #2

   If you are talking about hairline cracks that do not go deep or through at all then I would do nothing , filling may make the color change that makes them stand out more then going away.

        In Maple the cracks do not get larger and they were faily microscopic or very smallish and no structural integrity was compromised by the cracks I have seen , not sure about yours .

               regards    dusty

1. 
   bilyo | Jan 31, 2011 07:50pm | #3

   Cherry Flaws or Attributes

   oldusty,

   Yes. These cracks are very small. You need a magnifying glass to make sure they are a crack and not just some darker grain.  They don't appear to go all the way through. However, they can be an inch or more long.  I'll not plan on doing anything special about them except, maybe, pray a little.  Thanks for the feedback.

   bilyo

1. 
   oldusty | Feb 01, 2011 12:02am | #4

   let us know if the praying helps .

1. 
   bilyo | Feb 01, 2011 03:06pm | #5

   Praying

   "They" say you should cover all your bases :>)

   Thanks for the help

2. 
   BruceS | Feb 01, 2011 06:22pm | #6

   I love gummy cherry for most projects.   It's character !!

1. 
   oldusty | Feb 01, 2011 07:29pm | #7

   you mean Cherry gum , right ?

1. 
   BruceS | Feb 01, 2011 08:53pm | #8

   Almost gum

   Actually,  candy was like frog hair when I was a kid.     We used to chew on Sassafras leaves,  Wintergreen leaves and berries,  Mint leaves,  Berries in season, Fruits in season,  Sour grape vine "snake tongues"   Hickory, walnut & butternuts, watercress, Stinky  ramps, wild ginger root.  And yes!!    Black Cherry Gum  ;-)     Yule Gibbons was a hero of mine.    Even used crushed touch-me-not juice to soothe poison ivy and mosquito bites. 

   Gotta love being a country boy and still do.

3. 
   DonStephan | Feb 01, 2011 09:01pm | #9

   My guess for the two boards shown are that the surfaces were near the bark, and the darker "lines" are missing wood there the annual growth rings curve into or out of the face of the board.  If memory serves, as I haven't seen it in quite a while, it was on boards from a standing dead tree that had started to rot a bit - the wood had started to soften.  If you can dent the wood as easily as say poplar with a fingernail the wood may be a bit soft.  As mentioned, dark lines and irregular small spots are often called pitch or resin pockets.  Some people consider these defects, others don't.  Some say po-tay-to, some say po-tah-to.

1. 
   bilyo | Feb 02, 2011 02:47pm | #10

   The two boards

   I haven't planed these boards yet.  But, they seem quite solid, are straighter, contain fewer splits than most of the pile, and contain very little sapwood.  My current project is a chest of drawers.  I've found enough of these boards for the drawer fronts.  I've got my fingers crossed hoping they will look as good as I imagine.