Aging a Cherry Stock naturally….?

[Ozz]

So I’m getting ready to do the stock finishing on my Kibler SMR in cherry.

I’m not going to use lye and I’ve heard that staining can be hit or miss with cherry.

So I have some sealer that was purchased from Kibler. I was thinking about a few coats of shellac thinned with denatured alcohol, then hitting it with the sealer and go from there. But what can I expect to see during the natural aging process? Thanks

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

Cherry will darken with age, especially in the sun light.

 

[Phil Coffins]

Here’s a cheery stock I did about 40 years ago. It has been to many two day shooting matches, hunting camps and out doors activities. It was never stained but a good oil finish and to my eye looks like it stayed the same color.
IMG_0460 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr

 

[winter1857]

This is my Kibler SMR. Not stained or treated in any way except Tried and True. It's getting gradually darker. I've got time!

 

[user 31257]

New cherry lumber is light with pinkish tones, it ages to a medium brown. Look online and you can find photos of the difference between new and year old cherry. I believe exposure to sunlight probably hastens the change.

 

[user 31257]

 

[LME]

Here’s a cheery stock I did about 40 years ago. It has been to many two day shooting matches, hunting camps and out doors activities. It was never stained but a good oil finish and to my eye looks like it stayed the same color.
IMG_0460 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr

Stock looks great ! What kind of oil finish did you use? I have never seen cherry that didn't turn darker? I am making a decorative box using cherry and would like to have it turn out like your stock. I thought I knew a lot about wood? I guess I was wrong. There are a couple of different species of cherry could that be the difference?

 

[2 shots]

mighty quinn, was the 1 month old cherry the natural or oiled piece?? thanks.

 

[Phil Coffins]

Stock looks great ! What kind of oil finish did you use? I have never seen cherry that didn't turn darker? I am making a decorative box using cherry and would like to have it turn out like your stock. I thought I knew a lot about wood? I guess I was wrong. There are a couple of different species of cherry could that be the difference?

BC Tru-Oil. The plank of wood was 30 years old when I sawed into blanks then made the stock. Raw wood was lighter and the oil gave it this darkness.

 

[Whitworth]

Direct sunlight will bleach it, I trimmed my house inside with cherry from a huge tree on my Great Grandfather's old farm.

 

[Daytime Smoker]

I am a big fan of cherry. I have some on the ground that we recently felled. I have ideas and ambitions for its use. All I need to do now is get it into a workable milled form/shape.

Anthony

 

[IanH]

I am a big fan of cherry. I have some on the ground that we recently felled. I have ideas and ambitions for its use. All I need to do now is get it into a workable milled form/shape.

Anthony

 

[IanH]

Putting a finish on cherry, particularly a drying oil finish which soak oxygen as it polymerizes, pretty much stops the darkening. Raw cherry will darken in a couple of days in direct sunlight and can be prepared for finish and exposed on all four sides until even and dark and THEN oil finished.

I use oven cleaner if I want really dark, it takes 30 seconds. Knock it back with vinegar to lighten a bit. Cherrywood will blotch no matter what you do (natural, dyes, stains, or chemicals) and I find it blotches the least with either sunlight, ammonia, or lye than with dyes or stain.

Oven cleaner applied liberally with a sponge and then neutralized with vinegar. The dark spot on the butt is a group of knots, the mottling behind that is curl

 

[1950DAVE]

Lots of voodoo and old wives tales about wood finishing out there. Here is some info from a much-trusted-source, the Internet. Cherry darkens with age and sunlight exposure, walnut bleaches under the same conditions.. More than 30 yrs floor finishing and 50+ yrs of wood working has taught me a little.
https://www.thewoodworkplace.com/how-to-darken-cherry-wood/

 

[Daytime Smoker]

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That’s exactly what I’m aiming to do! We have a few that we took down when we built our cabin. We have cherry, maple, oaks and the like. Some I hope to use for stocks and others for some wood turning projects (if I ever get the time) anyway, thanks for the pics!

Anthony

 

[reddogge]

Here’s a cheery stock I did about 40 years ago. It has been to many two day shooting matches, hunting camps and out doors activities. It was never stained but a good oil finish and to my eye looks like it stayed the same color.
IMG_0460 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr

That's a nice color. Not too light, not too dark, not too reddish like I see on here.

 

[LME]

Direct sunlight will bleach it, I trimmed my house inside with cherry from a huge tree on my Great Grandfather's old farm.

direct sun light will darken it>

 

[Whitworth]

direct sun light will darken it>

I live in a house full of cherry woodwork and know what I see daily, you see what you see. While thirty plus years of direct sun have bleached my window sills my cherry gun cabinet out of direct sun has darkened nicely as the wood has oxidized. YMMV

 

[PathfinderNC]

Shellac is a sealer. (De-waxed shellac is the best option as you can apply most any other finish over it)

 

[Polecat_Tom]

live in a house full of cherry woodwork and know what I see daily, you see what you see. While thirty plus years of direct sun have bleached my window sills my cherry gun cabinet out of direct sun has darkened nicely as the wood has oxidized. YMMV

Whitworth, interesting on your Cherry trim bleaching out. In over 20 years in the kitchen cabinet industry I have never seen cherry bleach out, only darken. I am not saying it didn't bleach out just that I have never seen it or heard of it before.

So, I looked in Fine Woodworking and found the following that might explain why your molding is bleaching out.

From Fine Woodworking
"Cherry darkens with exposure to sun. If the furniture looks lighter from exposure to sunlight, it’s probably because UV light has degraded the lacquer, in which case strip and refinish is the most likely answer."

Anyway interesting that you are seeing this