Crown molding wood ID?

[johnpipe108]

I have these flat-faced crown molding pieces, which I've rabbeted for making into jewel boxes. I've been trying to identify the wood (these pieces were part of a donated batch of "firewood"), and have come up with possibilities of walnut sapwood or maybe poplar.



Note the light-colored streaks; the wood mostly seems to darken at the outer surface, but when freshly cut the interior wood is light colored.

A piece of classic curved-face crown molding from the same wood was used for this box.

Any ideas?

[walnutjerry]

I believe you have cherry with some sapwood included according to what I see in the pic posted.

After looking at the "coffin" I am 99 and 99/100 percent sure it is cherry you have.

Jerry

[johnpipe108]

Originally Posted by walnutjerry

I believe you have cherry with some sapwood included according to what I see in the pic posted.

After looking at the "coffin" I am 99 and 99/100 percent sure it is cherry you have.

Jerry

I had thought cherry was a much harder, tougher wood than this; is it popular for molding? And, does it oxidize to brown? The darker reddish-brown tone seems to mostly be on the surface, and the interior much lighter when freshly milled.

Also, the actual color of the "coffin" looks like the brown tones of the two left-most pieces in this pic.

[jeff...]

Could I see a close up of this piece please? your pictures look a lot like flat sawn cherry but I don't see any pitch pockets. This is the reason I might be suspecting maple. I sawed up a red maple log that looked just like cherry even had the cherry color but was missing pitch pockets. I pretty sure if I could see close up of the one I pointed at, I could make a pretty good ID.

Thanks

[walnutjerry]

Originally Posted by johnpipe108

I had thought cherry was a much harder, tougher wood than this; is it popular for molding? And, does it oxidize to brown? The darker reddish-brown tone seems to mostly be on the surface, and the interior much lighter when freshly milled.

Also, the actual color of the "coffin" looks like the brown tones of the two left-most pieces in this pic.

Cherry will vary in tones of color and will develop a reddish brown tint but the sapwood will always be a light cream color, sometimes almost white when it is fresh. The heartwood will darken as it is exposed to light, often getting as dark as mahogany over a period of time. Pitch pockets are not always in cherry but quite frequently they are, I guess it depends on the grade as to how much of pitch pocket you see.

Does it have a somewhat sweet smell when you work it?

I stick with it being cherry----------but I have been wrong many times.

Jerry

[Makinsawdust]

Jerry, knows his woods. I saw it as cherry before scrolling down and looking at the reply post. Your description of the color change and the sapwood pretty much guarantees that it is cherry. These cut-offs would have been from stain grade moulding. I would have thought that they could only sell it with a completely red face on the moulding but what do I know. That might be why it was in the firewood pile.
Rob

[johnpipe108]

Thanks, I've taken some more pix of the wood, sorry the focus isn't perfect but I can't seem to figure out this **** digital camera, and me a retired high-tech guy!

I've taken pix of both sides of all the sample pieces I've got that are big enough to be worth photographing:



Here's thumbs on the rest:



I haven't had my hands on cherry of any kind since HS shop, in the early sixties!

Interesting find. Thanks,

[johnpipe108]

p.s. re "stain grade molding", I was wondering if the brown surface color is the natural wood, or if these had been stained (I know that stains don't always soak into various woods evenly)? I don't have enough knowledge or experience to tell the difference, but I wondered about the exceptional difference between surface and interior of fresh cuts.

The pieces are all end cut-offs, some of the worse stuff had end checking and cracks, and some ends had snipe from the mill. I picked out the 8 best pieces of flat crown to make two boxes from (glued up one, and learned that I have a lot to learn before trying to make the final box; fit of the pieces was not quite perfect!).

[johnpipe108]

Originally Posted by walnutjerry

Cherry will vary in tones of color and will develop a reddish brown tint but the sapwood will always be a light cream color, sometimes almost white when it is fresh. The heartwood will darken as it is exposed to light, often getting as dark as mahogany over a period of time. Pitch pockets are not always in cherry but quite frequently they are, I guess it depends on the grade as to how much of pitch pocket you see.

Does it have a somewhat sweet smell when you work it?

I stick with it being cherry----------but I have been wrong many times.

Jerry

Interesting! I picked a piece of Philippine mahogany for the tops of the boxes. The first box already looks pretty good with the mahogany on top.

The reddish-brown tone is certainly correct for this wood, the interior is definitely a pale reddish, and some of the finished and polished wood is definitely showing a start of darkening.

I haven't been able to notice the aroma, it's rainy flu and cold weather, and the subtleties of the sense of smell has taken a back seat much of the time!

[walnutjerry]

Those last pictures were much better and sharp enough for me to be convinced it is cherry in the raw(meaning there is no finish on it)

Jerry

[thesource]

99% sure it's Cherry, 1% Alder

[jeff...]

Beyond a shadow of a doubt that is cherry.

[johnpipe108]

Originally Posted by jeff...

Beyond a shadow of a doubt that is cherry.

I quite agree !

1. I had to re-drill pilot holes for the #6 hinge screws, several times, until they were sufficiently above the minor diameter of the screws that they could be seated. One thing I do remember about cherry, is it's toughness with regard to screws.

2. I saw my first Woodsmith show, and the jointing demo was cherry, and I recognized the red streaks in the freshly milled wood, just like mine.

3. Long ago, on Fitzfolly Farm in Great Falls, Virginia, Mr. Fitzgerald had cut about a 4-inch diameter piece of cherry tree trunk for a mailbox post. He tried to drill into it with a brace and bit, and turned the point off in the tenacious cherry.

4. In HS, in 1958, the shop "instructor" didn't know how to make dovetails

He told a student "Show John how to fasten these legs to his column" (I had turned a colonial spindle for a 3-legged table in cherry). The student reached for a doweling jig and a brace and bit; I could see it coming


He too, twisted the point off the bit!

Cherry it is!