I suspect that buying a cherry, if you can find one of an appropriate size will probably be cost prohibitive.
You can make one by forging a round bar of a larger diameter than the cherry to an approximate shape of a round ball larger than the expectd size of the cherry. Forge a shaft of appropriate diameter a coupla inches long.
Though I have not tried this...yet, I have it on good authority that this is the way the gunsmiths of old made their cherries.
Using a a piece of hardenable steel, an 1 1/2 inch wide or so old file will work. Anneal the file and drill a hole about the diameter you expect the finished cherry to be. The larger the diameter of the hole, the wider the file needs to be. The hole should be drilled so the edge of the hole is about a 1/4-3/8 of an inch, or so, from the edge of the file. Cut an file a tapered notch from the edge of the file to the edge of the hole. The centerline of the notch MUST be on the centerline of the hole. File a 30,or so, degree angle on the top of the notch, so there is a sharp chisel edge on each side of the notch.
Using a countersink tool, countersink the drilled hole so's you have a sharp edge mating with the sharp edge on the tapered hole leading to the drilled hole.
Harden and temper. It's gotta be hard, but not brittle cause this is the form used to shape your cherry. The round hole will form a shperical cherry of the size of the hole. The tapered notch will form the shank that will cut the pour hole on the mould.
Anneal the forged cherry well. Clean up the shank, rounding it as well as possible. Chuck the shank in your drill, and on low speed, push the cherry blank into large diameter side of the form.
Slowly rotate the cherry as the shrap edge removes the excess metal, forming your cherry blank.
The finished blank will now need the teeth filed into the body. One tooth will need to go up over the center of the radius of the blank, otherwise, the cherry will not cut in the center bottom of the mould.
File as many cutting teeth as you might think you need. an uneven number to teeth is supposed to reduce chatter, so use 5-7-9- or 11 teeth.
Cut several teeth parallel to the axis of the shank around the periphery of the shank.
Harden and temper, and ya got a cherry.
Considering all of the work involved with making a cherry, not to mention the less than precise mould produced by hand, I would suggest sending the stone to Rapine or some other mould maker to cut the cavities for you. :grin:
Sorry, I couldn't help myself.
J.D.
