staining Cherry

Hey Terry,

Have you finished the chest yet? If so what finish did you go with? I have been asked to build a built in bookcase that will be cherry and I would like to know how your project came out. I will probably need to go with a dye or stain on the piece to match the kitchen cabs.

Ed

Richard Smith said:

Just something to experiment with; I read one time in FWW magazine, a man would use lye to treat cherry. It would hasten the darkening process. It would change very quickly. And then neutralize with vinegar.

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I actually did a little experimentation with a couple of products. One was a degreaser which was a strong base and the other was lime. I never ended up using it on a project though.

Cherry blanket chest

Wow, I did not realize others were so interested in sharring as much as this website!! Well I did finish the blanket chest made of cherry. I turned out great. I finally settled on letting the cherry age by itself. I cut poly in half with mineral spirits and wiped on 3 coats. Sanding between coats with gray scratch pads. Then I sprayed 2 coats of full strength on the chest with 4 coats on the lid. I thought the person I made it for needed a little more protecton on top as he said he was going to us it as a coffee table in his family room ( you know how single people are). He was very pleased with it and wanted to show it off. I am sorry I did not take any pictures to share put I promise my next project will have pictures. It is going to be a corner hutch for my daughter - and you guessed it - will be cherry!!
Thanks, all of you for your support and ideas as I have learned alot about varnish, and kinds of finishes. I did a lot of reading on line about shelack and found I will try it on other projects.

Milwaukee woodworking show

I went to Milwaukee Woodworking show last week for the third year. Does anyone else go to that show? I you do maybe next year I could meet some of you. Or do any of you live close to me so I could vist your shop, and feel free to stop by my humble shop!
Terry Brown
Rockford, IL
cell- 815-985-7191

This rocker was made from the same cherry as the previous table and was very light before the finish. I finished it the same way with the Watco but used Waterlox Original Sealer instead of poly. Notice the nice darker amber color it imparted as opposed to the poly on that table.

That's a little far for me to travel although the WW shows have appearantly quit Charlotte Congrats on the chest, wish we could have seen it! (in case you haven't figured it out...we love pics!!! ) Keep us posted on the corner unit!

Bill Esposito said:

I actually did a little experimentation with a couple of products. One was a degreaser which was a strong base and the other was lime. I never ended up using it on a project though.

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Interesting! Do you think it was chemically changed or just stained by the products?

It was chemically changed, the base reacts with the tanic acid to produce the color change.

Bill, do you remember if you used quicklime or type-s (masonry lime)?

Thanks
John

I really don't remember but it was a powder and I believe it was quick lime but not sure. Any strong base will work. If I was going to actually use it I think I would spray it on so that it was even.

Of course you can use potassium dichromate (from memory, I think) which is dangerous but supposed to work really well.

Finished Cherry blanket chest

I got my buddy to take some pictures of the blanket chest. Here you go, I think I did a great job. 4 coats of wipe on poly on the sides and 5 on the top. Notice the flying "B" inside the lid? I brand all my projects.
Thanks again for all the support.

Very nice, Terry. Ya done good. I'll bet your buddy is very pleased with it.

We'll be looking forward to seeing the hutch pics.

Terry VERY nice work...Looks good.