Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
Unusual Grain Finishing ?
John Kissel
>Hi,
Attached (hopefully) is a pice of Cherry that has some rather showy figure. It is from some local wood that I harvested and am using for a friends wedding gift. Any suggestions on what would be the best approach to finishing to get the most dramatic show from this wood? I'll be off the net for a while so thanks in advance for any suggestions!
JK
P.S. What would you call this type of figure and is it associated with rift sawing?
It is quarter sawn
Bill Tindall, E. TN
>the "figure" is the result of cutting parallel to the rays, just like in white oak.
Re: It is quarter sawn
Jim in Burlington Ontario
>Real polymerized tung oil makes it show off.
Re: Unusual Grain Finishing ?
John Truxell-Svenson
>Yup, as Bill said, quartersawn. Looks great, too! You can get figure like that by bookmatching thick stock for legs and the like, but all that I generally find is sawn best-face to minimize sapwood, and have run into exactly three QS pieces in the past ~year.
Something to look out for is that it tends to tear in "scales," and it can be even harder to read grain direction than flatsawn, so be very careful with planing. Any finish routine that you would use on other cherry will look great on that. If you can, please post a shot of the final piece!
/jvs
Finishing worries...
Scott Burr in Ben Lomond CA
>As said it's QS. I have some and it's sweet. I'm using some on a tool box. Beware of finishing, I used some Danish oil and got some blotchy spots on test peices. I had to seal it first for good results.
Re: Unusual Grain Finishing ?
Brad in Ottawa
>Great stuff! I got a couple hundred bf, rough sawn cherry.
I just found 2 boards while dressing it and getting set for my next project. By the time I get around all the knots etc.. I will have some nice rails and stiles for some panel doors!
Re: Unusual Grain Finishing ?
John Kissel
>Hi,
Thanks for the helpful responses! Regarding naming... I realize it is QS but was wondering if this type of flash had a specific name. I also have QS cherry that exhibits the traditional lined figure associated with QS wood from other genera. Has anyone tried oil and shellac on this type of figure?
JK