AMERICAN CHERRY HARDWOOD IDENTIFICATION GUIDE

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AMERICAN CHERRY HARDWOOD IDENTIFICATION GUIDE

An In-Depth Look at Cherry's Characteristics, Color, Grain & More

CHERRY

OTHER COMMON NAMES

American cherry is also referred to as black cherry, wild cherry, wild black cherry or, simply cherry. While many other species of cherry trees serve as decorative foliage or fruit-bearers, only the black cherry is prized for its fine commercial hardwood lumber.[1]

LATIN NAME

Black cherry's scientific name is prunus serotina. Despite its common name, black cherry is not closely related to cultivated fruit-bearing cherry trees such as sweet cherry (P. avium), sour cherry (P. cerasus).[2]

CHARACTERISTICS - CHERRY

Freshly cut American cherry has a nearly white sapwood and darker, pinkish--brown heartwood. When exposed to sunlight, the color will darken, resulting in cherry wood’s trademark reddish-brown appearance. Most of this darkening effect is achieved in the first 6 months, but it will continue marginally over the hardwood’s lifetime.

Heartwood can have dark spots or fine black lines (or flecks) that are actually gum pockets [3] and both sapwood and heartwood are used in the production of natural hardwood products.

MAIN USES - CHERRY

Renowned for its warm, appealing hue and luster, cherry lumber is commonly used in the manufacturing of fine furniture and cabinetry. It is known to age extremely well, continuing to develop a darker and richer color over time and is rated highly for stability, durability, and strength.

Due to its naturally attractive appearance, cherry is not usually painted or stained. Instead, many other hardwood species (such as maple and poplar), may be stained in an attempt to replicate the look of cherry. The most popular finishes for this wood include boiled linseed oil, tung oil and clear dewaxed shellac.[4]

Other common applications of cherry lumber include musical instruments, doors, flooring, veneer paneling, plywood, mouldings and burial caskets.

DOORS
FURNITURE
CABINETRY
FLOORING
MOULDINGS & TRIM

MILLING

Black cherry is relatively easy to dry, requiring 10-14 days to kiln-dry 1-inch lumber from green to 6% moisture content.[5] The tangential shrinkage can be twice the radial shrinkage, making warping a problem if drying is hurried. Once cherry has been dried properly, though, it is a relatively stable hardwood.[3]

HARDWOOD PROPERTIES - CHERRY

Cherry wood is highly coveted not only for its aesthetics, but also for its workability. The grain pattern is straight and fine and offers a smooth texture. Cherry also exhibits high resistance to warping and holds well after being placed.

Cherry can be turned easily, and planes extremely well. It also has excellent gluing and screw-holding properties. This level of workability, in conjunction with its cosmetic appeal, makes black cherry a popular choice among woodworkers and makers.

Cherry is strong, stiff, and moderately hard, with high shock resistance. Although it has relatively high shrinkage, it is very dimensionally stable after drying.[1]

The primary potential drawback to this wood type is that demand can lead to pricing that is higher than other domestic hardwoods, such as oak and maple. Difficulties can also arise when the wood is being stained, as blotching is common but can typically be alleviated by using a sanding sealer prior to staining.[6]

Janka Hardness Scale

ENVIRONMENTAL PROFILE - CHERRY

Black cherry grows primarily in eastern North America, in both the United States and Canada. The heaviest concentration is found in the mixed hardwood forests of the midwest and Appalachian Mountain regions. New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, and Michigan have the most notable production.[7]

American cherry trees prefer moist, well-drained soils. Trees growing in the open tend to develop spreading, arching limbs, while more crowded trees grow tall and slender. Black cherry is the largest of the cherry trees native to North America reaching a mature height of 60-80 feet, and typically reaches fruit-bearing maturity in ten years.

Black cherry tree leaves range from 2-6 inches long and are a glossy green. Each leaf is lance-shaped and pointed at the tip, with fine teeth that curve inward toward the tip. Upon reaching maturity, the bark of black cherry trees begins to darken, becoming dark gray to nearly black, with an irregular, scaly appearance.[8]

Volume of live trees on forest land, 1000 m3

All data derives from Forest Inventory Data Online (FIDO), a component of the U.S. Forest Service Inventory and Analysis Program (FIA). Data was compiled by AHEC in January 2016 using the most recent state inventory available (2014 for most states). "Forest volume" refers to "net volume of live trees on forest land," as defined by FIA (see glossary). FIA forest volume data is available for 49 U.S. states (Hawaii and Washington D.C. are omitted) with total hardwood forest volume of 18.1 billion m3 of which 13.5 billion m3are commercially significant.

AMERICAN CHERRY PRODUCTS AT BAIRD BROTHERS

Baird Brothers Fine Hardwoods is happy to assist with any questions you have about our cherry products, which include a variety of Cherry doors, Cherry mouldings, Cherry S4S lumber, Cherry plywood and other items.

 

Please call 1-800-732-1697 or Contact Us if you need help with our extensive inventory.

COMPARISON TO OTHER WOOD SPECIES

Source: The Department of Agriculture's Wood Handbook

LumberSpecific GravityJanka HardnessModulus of Elasticity (MPa)Impact Bending (mm)Grain
African Mahogany --- 830 lb 9,700 --- Medium/Coarse
Alder 0.41 590 lb 9,500 510 Fine
Ash 0.6 1,320 lb 12,000 1,090 Fine
Basswood 0.37 410 lb 10,100 410 Fine
Beech 0.64 1,300 lb 11,900 1,040 Fine/Medium
Birch, Yellow 0.62 1,260 lb 13,900 1,400 Fine
Cedar, Western Red 0.32 350 lb 7,700 430 Fine
Cherry, Brazilian 0.91 2,350 lb 22,510 --- Medium
Cherry 0.5 950 lb 10,300 740 Fine
Cypress 0.51 510 lb 6,300 --- Medium
Douglas Fir 0.48 710 lb 12,300 660 Medium/Coarse
Hemlock 0.4 540 lb 8,300 530 Coarse
Hickory 0.66 1,820 lb 11,900 1,120 Medium
Maple, Hard 0.63 1,450 lb 12,600 990 Fine
Maple, Soft 0.47 700 lb 7,900 640 Fine
Oak, Red 0.63 1,290 lb 12,500 1,090 Coarse
Oak, White 0.68 1,360 lb 12,300 940 Coarse
Pine, Eastern White 0.35 380 lb 8,500 460 Medium
Pine, Ponderosa 0.4 460 lb 8,900 480 Medium
Pine, Yellow (Shortleaf) 0.51 690 lb 12,100 840 Fine/Medium
Poplar 0.42 540 lb 10,900 610 Medium
Sapele 0.67 1,410 lb 15,930 --- Fine
Teak 0.66 1,070 lb 10,700 --- Coarse
Walnut (Black) 0.55 1,010 lb 11,600 860 Medium

*Data is based on a moisture content of 12%.

GLOSSARY

Impact Bending — In the impact bending test, a hammer of given weight is dropped upon a beam from successively increased heights until rupture occurs or the beam deflects 152 mm (6 in.) or more. The height of the maximum drop, or the drop that causes failure, is a comparative value that represents the ability of wood to absorb s hocks that cause stresses beyond the proportional limit.

Janka Hardness — Defined as resistance to indentation using a modified Janka hardness test, measured by the load required to embed a 11.28-mm (0.444-in) ball to one-half its diameter. Values presented are the average of radial and tangential penetrations.

Modulus of Elasticity — Elasticity implies that deformations produced by low stress are completely recoverable after loads are removed. When loaded to higher stress levels, plastic deformation or failure occurs.

Specific Gravity - A measure of the ratio of a wood's density as compared to water. If a wood species had the same density as water, the specific gravity would be 1.00.

SOURCES

  1. "Wood Handbook, Wood as an Engineering Material" fpl.fs.fed.us. April 2010. Accessed Jan. 2020
  2. "Prenus Serotina" Wikipedia.org. Accessed Jan. 2020
  3. "Cherry Info" thewoodbox.com Accessed Jan. 2020
  4. "Finishing Cherry Wood Tips" Woodworkingtrade.com. Accessed Jan 2020.
  5. “Wood Species Guide”. Furniture Design & Manufacturing. Dec. 1988. Accessed Jan. 2020.
  6. "Cherry" Wood-database.com
  7. "American Cherry" Americanhardwood.org Accessed Jan. 2020
  8. "Black Cherry" Naturalresources.edu Access Jan. 2020
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