The heartwood of American cherry varies from rich red to reddish brown and will darken on exposure to light. In contrast the sapwood is creamy white. Cherry can be supplied steamed, to darken sapwood or left unsteamed. The wood has a fine uniform straight grain, smooth texture, and may naturally contain brown pith flecks and small gum pockets.
Cherry
- General Description
- Distribution & Availability
- Working Properties
- Physical & Mechanical Properties
- Main Uses
General Description
The heartwood of American cherry varies from rich red to reddish brown and will darken on exposure to light. In contrast the sapwood is creamy white. Cherry can be supplied steamed, to darken sapwood or left unsteamed. The wood has a fine uniform straight grain, smooth texture, and may naturally contain brown pith flecks and small gum pockets.
Distribution & Availability
Found throughout Eastern USA, but main commercial areas are Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and New York State. Although cherry accounts for less than 2% of the growing hardwood resource, it is widely available in a full range of specifications and grades as both lumber and veneer.
Working Properties
Cherry is easy to machine. It nails and glues well and when sanded, stained and polished, it produces an excellent smooth finish. It dries fairly quickly with moderately large shrinkage, but is dimensionally stable after kilning.
Physical & Mechanical Properties
The wood is of medium density with good wood bending properties. It has low stiffness, medium strength and shock resistance.
- Specific Gravity: 0.50 (12% M.C.)
- Average Weight: 561 kg/m3 (12% M.C.)
- Average Volumetric Shrinkage: 9.2% (Green to 6% M.C.)
- Modulus of Elasticity: 10,274 MPa
- Hardness: 4226 N
Main Uses
Furniture and cabinet making, high-class joinery, kitchen cabinets, mouldings, panelling, flooring, doors, boat interiors, musical instruments, turning and carving. The subtle range of red tones found in the heartwood have made this species very fashionable for many high end applications.
