Question on cherry wood

[Ballshooter]

So my kibler Colonial should be here on Tuesday. I am thinking of just doing a natural oil finish with maybe some bone black accents. Question is do I let it sit in the sun flipping it ever few hours then apply my oil or just apply my finish then set out in the sun? I am really anxious to see my Colonial.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Should be beautiful. But, do sell when the rifle approaches 100 years old. At about that point cherry wood crumbles into dust. Said from a sad experience.

 

[DiMarco_Mercantile]

So my kibler Colonial should be here on Tuesday. I am thinking of just doing a natural oil finish with maybe some bone black accents. Question is do I let it sit in the sun flipping it ever few hours then apply my oil or just apply my finish then set out in the sun? I am really anxious to see my Colonial.

From my experience, setting it out in the sun prior to oil really enhances the color

 

[1950DAVE]

Should be beautiful. But, do sell when the rifle approaches 100 years old. At about that point cherry wood crumbles into dust. Said from a sad experience.

Just curious as to documentation of cherry turning to dust.
I hope it doesn't happen to my house, as I have a few rooms trimmed in cherry. After more than 40 years I haven see this . Still holding up good.

 

[Ballshooter]

Should be beautiful. But, do sell when the rifle approaches 100 years old. At about that point cherry wood crumbles into dust. Said from a sad experience.

Lol. Well in a 100 years it won't be my problem.

 

[NorthFork]

@Ballshooter

Sad that it will be true for most of us.

 

[dave_person]

Hi,
Here is a cherry stocked fowler made in the 1750s and has not crumbled to dust.

Cherry is a relatively boring wood. The grain is tight and fine, which is good but there is little color interest. Even figured or curly cherry is a poor cousin to curly maple or figured walnut. I sometimes wash the cherry stock with dilute black aniline dye. That helps highlight the fine grain, then I may use lye water or aniline dye to darken the wood and bring out the reddish tones. It will darken more over time. Here are examples.

It can be nice but is never spectacular. On a plain undecorated gun, cherry really enhances the plainness.

dave

 

[oldwood]

I have cherry wood stock blanks , that were cut and stored in the rafters of a barn in South Western Pa. over 100 years ago. They are in perfect shape. Never heard of cherry falling apart on it's own , or otherwise. That's a real puzzler. I've scratch built a few cherry wood long rifles 30 yrs. ago , and have had no complaints. Let us know if it ever comes to light , why this happened.

 

[The Crisco Kid]

Back to answer the OP, do a search about using lye to age cherry. There has been lots of discussion about it. The photos Dave Person posted show what can be done to turn a fairly plain wood into something beautiful. Also, I saw a cherry stock last week that was made in the 1700's and it was fine except for the wear. I suspect the one Rifleman1776 mentioned may have had some bugs or fungus or something like that??

 

[LME]

So my kibler Colonial should be here on Tuesday. I am thinking of just doing a natural oil finish with maybe some bone black accents. Question is do I let it sit in the sun flipping it ever few hours then apply my oil or just apply my finish then set out in the sun? I am really anxious to see my Colonial.

It has been my experience that cherry wood turns dark with age naturally. I have a beautiful Chisel chest made of cherry that has turned dark and doesn;t show much grain. I like it the way it is but for someone that wants to use cherry because it looks so great after sanding may be disappointed with the look later on?

 

[Rifleman1776]

Just curious as to documentation of cherry turning to dust.
I hope it doesn't happen to my house, as I have a few rooms trimmed in cherry. After more than 40 years I haven see this . Still holding up good.
View attachment 154177

I am the document. I once offered what I called a 'heritage' woodworking service. I would make items for folks using treasured wood from their family homes or property. Most woods worked OK. But, 100 year old cherry crumbled into dust when handled. I finally had to reject commissions that involved old cherry wood.

 

[Flintandsteel]

While every piece of wood is different, cherry is one of the MOST stable woods available.
Traditionally, it was used to make levels, because of its stable nature.

 

[rich pierce]

Obviously someone could have a bad experience with old cherry, or old whatever, not knowing the history of the piece. One data point. There are so many colonial pieces of cherry furniture, some from the 1600s, that have survived intact. And so many made of walnut, maple, cherry, and so on that have not for one reason or another.

Cherry is far more resistant to rot than maple. Dead cherry trees shed their sapwood over time and the heartwood stands for decades. I cut some planks from a standing dead cherry. It rings like a bell when lifted and let fall to a concrete floor. That’s my soundness and moisture gauge.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Relating my experience.

 

[ord sgt]

Here is a rifle with a cherry stock. 40 years old and still looks good. It doesn't get used as much as it should. Too many other front stuffers to choose from.

 

[excess650]

I put cherry scales on a knife about 10 years back, finished with Minwax tung oil or BLO, don't recall, but it never darkened despite having in the front window for weeks.

I would expect some scraps to come along with the stock to act as your test finish pieces. My suggestion would be to force it to darken with a dilute lye mixture. If that is too red to suit you, blush it with a heat gun to get more of a brown. Oil finish after getting the desired color.

 

[Bighorserider]

No cherry gun stocks but a living room full of cherry furniture. No problem so far.