my samples --- colors are accurate throughout, both planks and veneer
American black cherry plank
sample plank and end grain of American black cherry (P. serotina) --- note the ray flakes on the side grain. The rather poor quality of this sample was fairly common among the samples I got from the IWCS
end grain closeup of the piece directly above, clearly showing the rays that cause the ray flakes (and you can see them even better in the end grain update directly below)
both sides of a sample plank of American black cherry / Prunus serotina --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.
end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above
both sides of a small plank of American black cherry
end grain and end grain closeup of the piece direcly above
both sides of a small plank of American black cherry
end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above
both sides of a small plank of American black cherry
end grain and end grain closeup of the piece direcly above
misc planks of American black cherry photographed at a lumber yard
pic taken at a woodworking store of planks labled cherry, that I believe are American black cherry --- very large enlargements are present
both sides of a plank of American black cherry that has some white rot (the light areas, which are already punky) and what appears to be mineral stain (the dark areas)
end grain and end grain closeup of the piece direcly above
American black cherry plank contributed to the site by John Saxon of the Cedar Store, whom I thank for both this and for the excellent quality red aromatic cedar which he has sold me. This piece is planed but unsanded and has obtained a mild patina and as you can see it shows a weak broad curly or mottled figure (it's a little hard to decide what to call it sometimes with cherry).
a sanded section and end grain from the larger plank directly above. Notice how the color has changed quite a bit due to my having sanded off the patina, and the mottled figure has almost disappeared
end grain closeup of the piece directly above --- clearly shows the rays, perpendicular to the grain, that allow cherry to show ray flakes if quartersawn (not all quartersawn cherry will show ray flakes). In fact, the edge opposite the one you can see a little of in the end grain shot, had a very nice flake figure.
two sections of a very nice American black cherry plank that just came out of the surface planer --- the focus on these pictures was very good so I've left both levels of enlargement
American black cherry turning stick and end grain; this piece is freshly cut and sanded
end grain closeup of the piece directly above --- clearly shows the rays, perpendicular to the grain, that allow cherry to show ray flakes if quartersawn (not all quartersawn cherry will show ray flakes)
American black cherry plank and end grain; this piece is at least 10 years old and shows the excellent effect age has on cherry.
end grain closeup and END GRAIN UPDATE of the piece directly above
a set of American black cherry slats. the top one shows some nice curly figure
American black cherry pen blank donated by Jim Glynn (thanks Jim)
one side and a closeup of a plank of American black cherry
the other side and closeup of the same plank as above --- this side shows a lot of sapwood
one side and a closeup of a plank of American black cherry
one side and a closeup of a plank of American black cherry
both sides of a thin-wood plank of American black cherry
face grain closeup of the piece directly above
American black cherry plank cut just seconds prior to this pic --- pinkish color is correct
a batch of small American black cherry curly planks and a closeup. The curl is very mild and the middle two are not curly at all
One of the most amazing pieces of American black cherry that I've ever seen, I shot this pic at a woodcraftsman's studio in a small town that I was passing through. It's heavily slathered with a thick finish of some kind, and I have to assume that the finish is at least somewhat the cause of the remarkable red color, but what really stood out was the ray flakes. I have left in the very largest enlargements on all three of these pics so you can see it up close. The plank was just over 8' tall and as you can see, had pith flaws down the middle
planks, and a closeup of the middle one, cut from a downed European black cherry tree that turned out to be spalted. Enlargements show the spalting much better. Image submitted by Gert Breugelmans whom I thank. Gert tells me that this is Prunus serotina (the same as American black cherry).
sample plank and end grain of Carolina laurel cherry (P. caroliniana)
both sides of a quartersawn sample plank of Carolina laurel cherry / Prunus caroliniana --- all of these pics make this wood look somewhat less rich and colorful than it really is except for the end grain update which has the correct color
end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above
both sides of a sample plank of Carolina laurel cherry / Prunus caroliniana --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.
face grain closeup showing the ray flakes
end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above
both sides of a sample plank of pin cherry / Prunus pensylvanica (NOTE: the specific epithet is more commonly spelled pennsylvanica) --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contribution to the site.
end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above
both sides of a sample plank of quartersawn pin cherry / Prunus pensylvanica (NOTE: the specific epithet is more commonly spelled pennsylvanica) --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contribution to the site.
end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above
spalted plank (both sides) --- pics donated by John Brunelle (thank you John) who shares my belief that spalting is fairly rare in cherry. As you can see, the spalting in this plank has resulted in more of a rotten look than the kind of ink-pen lines that you see in, for example, spalted maple. I don't know what species of cherry this is.
I asked on the WoodBarter forum if anyone had ever seen spalted cherry and several people said they had and all agreed that the spalt lines in cherry, which ARE fairly rare, are relatively muddy, unlike for example the crisp blackline spalting one sees in maple. These pics were posted by one of the members to illustrate.
The pics in this section are of pieces provided by James Caraway, who had the wood up on the WoodWorkingTalk wood forum to see if anyone could ID the wood. A very knowlegeable sawyer said he thought it was cherry and in a very confident display of stupidity I jumped in and said I thought it was NOT cherry. James sent me these sample pieces and I'm now convinced it IS cherry. I don't think it's American black, but it might be. The face grain alone is pretty much enought to see that it's cherry (although I thought it might be pear and another fellow suggested madrone), and the end grain in particular is quite pursuasive. I AM puzzled by the apparent total lack of sapwood and that's one reason I think it's probably not American black.
First the pics James posted on the forum. Actually, he posted larger versions, which are here as the enlargements of these pics. The lack of sapwood is quite apparent on the log pics.
And now the cleaned-up sample pieces that James sent me:
small plank and end grain
end grain closeup of the piece directly above
face grain closeup and side grain closeup of the piece directly above --- both are rift cut surfaces, but on the side I found a section that was closer to quartersawn and shows some nice ray flakes
small slab and end grain
end grain closeup of the piece directly above
face grain closeup and side grain (quartersawn) closeup of the piece directly above
end of section on the pieces from James Caraway
veneer
two pics of American black cherry veneer; the first (two pieces) is flat cut and the second is either rift cut or quartersawn and shows some of the tiny ray flakes that you sometimes see in cherry
quartersawn American black cherry veneer with very nice light salmon color, accurately shown
quartersawn thick American black cherry veneer (1/12th inch thick) with both heartwood and sapwood. The salmon color is more subdued and there is a more pronounced brown in this than in the sample above it, showing some of the range of color you can expect in cherry.
This is an American black cherry veneer piece, and I believe it is rotary cut but I found it in a 12-year old bundle in the garage and can't remember how it was described when I bought it. The color in the pic is just a hair richer than the actual piece. The richness of the color is at least partially due to the age of the wood. Cherry ages beautifully.
two pieces of thick (1/12th inch) American black cherry veneer. The piece on the left is heartwood in the middle, merging to sapwood and the piece on the right is all sapwood.
figured cherry veneer --- I had to do color correction on this pic and the result is a little too red, although not by much. I believe this is American black cherry but I don't know that for sure.
curly American black cherry veneer --- although the curl in cherry is never as pronounced as in some woods, it can be a little stronger than what is shown here. These pieces are, however, fairly typical of what you normally see in curly cherry.
curly American black cherry veneer with a fairly pronounced curl (for cherry)
what I thought was spalted veneer --- one of my correspondants has suggested, and I am now positive that he is correct, that this is not spalting at all but rather just a bunch of gum inclusions.
sapwood veneer --- I'm pretty sure this is American black cherry.
Numerous pieces of veneer chosen for grain and color variations --- color correction was used and the colors are accurate except for the 4th pic and the last one (the 2nd quartersawn) which each have just a touch too much red. Note the significant degree to which the amount of reflection from the flashbulb varies from piece to piece. The ones with the most reflection tend to have a hard shiny surface and the ones with little reflection are more grainy. These were all taken under the same lighting.
misc American black cherry veneer pieces
flat cut American black cherry veneer pieces
quartersawn American black cherry veneer
a piece of veneer that spent some time on my mystery wood page before Brian Harrington pointed out to me that it is obviously cherry, with which I had to agree. Don't know why I didn't see that myself.
quartersawn flaky American black cherry veneer --- the first pic has a little too much red. The middle pic shows what can be considered heavy ray flakes for cherry, so I've left in both levels of enlargment. The others are more typical of ray flakes in cherry.
flaky American black cherry veneer and closeup
flaky American black cherry veneer and closeup --- the closeup has too much red
flaky cherry veneer sent to me by Steve Marshburn who was understandably confused about whether or not this even IS cherry, given that it has a strong flake pattern that is more like oak than cherry and in fact is unlike any other cherry flake either of us have ever seen before. The flake pattern is even stronger in the wood than it shows up here in these pics. Not sure what species of cherry this is, but Steve sells American black, so that's probably what it is.
mottled American black cherry veneer. Mottled figure is fairly rare in cherry and the mottle is quite weak. I've never seen it get much stronger than what is shown here, although I must say that the mottle figure shows up a little better in the wood that it does in the pics. The first piece in particular has what, for cherry, could be considered a strong mottle. As you can see, the mottle can occur in both quartersawn and flat cut.
larger mottled veneer sheets (American black cherry)
American black cherry veneer mixes showing some of the range of color you can expect in cherry --- both levels of enlargement are present for each so you can check out the variety up close.
American black cherry veneer sheets with each having half moistened by mineral oil
these are all thick burl veneer pieces that I got in a mixed lot from a jewlery box maker who makes his own veneer from burls and spalted woods. I believe these to be American black cherry but do not know that for sure.
An exceptionally fine American black cherry cluster burl that was sawn to 3/4" and then resawn in half, bookmatched, and used as the top of a jewelry box. The pic on the left is the outside, showing the kind of really nice patina that cherry takes on with only modest exposure to even indirect sunlight, and the pic on the right is the inside of the box, showing the wood with only a finishing agent and no patine. NOTE: I have rotated and mirrored the "inside" pic so that it shows the wood in exactly the same orientation as the outside pic. HUGE enlargements are present. As I recall, the box top was about 14" across.
flat cut, quartersawn, end grain
cherry, wild black [=American black] (Prunus serotina) from The Wood Book --- both levels of enlargement are available for each of the 3 views
flat cut, quartersawn, end grain
cherry, English (Prunus avium, also listed as ox-heart cherry) from The Wood Book --- both levels of enlargement are available for each of the 3 views
flat cut, quartersawn, end grain
cherry, woolly leaf (Prunus , mollis also listed as bitter cherry ) from The Wood Book --- both levels of enlargement are available for each of the 3 views
flat cut, quartersawn, end grain
cherry, wild red (Prunus pennsylvania, also listed as pigeon cherry, pin cherry, and bird cherry ) from The Wood Book --- both levels of enlargement are available for each of the 3 views.
flat cut, quartersawn, end grain
cherry, sour (Prunus cerasus, also listed as garden cherry) from The Wood Book --- both levels of enlargement are available for each of the 3 views
flat cut, quartersawn, end grain
cherry, holly leaved (Prunus ilicifolia, also listed as wild cherry and evergreen cherry) from The Wood Book --- both levels of enlargement are available for each of the 3 views
web pics
flat cut, quartersawn, and end grain
black cherry slab
slabs just listed as cherry
black cherry plaques
black cherry figured plank
planks with wet and dry sections. In the order shown, they were listed as cherry, cherry, American black cherry / Prunus serotina, and European cherry / Prunus avium
American black cherry planks, flat cut
American black cherry plank, quartersawn
flat cut planks just listed as cherry (many of these are most likely American black cherry) and some have been moistened for the pics, most have not
quartersawn planks
quartersawn veneer, slip matched
rift cut plank, close to quartersawn
end grain from a plank
turning stock
bowl blank and turning stock just listed as cherry
figured
figured veneer
listed as "American" cherry but really that's just (in America at least) another name for black cherry. You will also sometimes see it as "American black cherry"
black cherry planks
spalted plank and two closeups; moistened for the pics. Like my own experience, and that shown in other "spalted" pics on this page, this exhibits more of a rotten look than the thin black lines one normally associates with "spalting"
plywood (presumably American black cherry)
black cherry veneer
black cherry flat cut veneer
black cherry quartersawn veneer
veneer
veneer, all from the same vendor --- none of this was listed as curly, but some of it clearly IS curly
figured veneer
veneer with a purple color that is just silly. I bought a lot from the vendor who puts up this picture and the color was normal cherry --- nothing like this pic; it's this kind of carelessness that got me started on this site in the first place.
pomelle figure veneer
ropey veneer
a flat sawn plank and two pieces of flat sawn veneer. In the middle pic, the flat sawn piece has some curly figure
a curly piece, a set of planks, and a flat cut piece with high color (believable, but may have a finishing agent that improves the color)
curly cherry from a vendor known to exaggerate color pretty seriously
two planks, quartersawn then flat cut
black cherry thins
cherry pen blanks --- I find the yellow color highly unlikely
black cherry crotch turning sticks
cherry crotch slab and closeup
crotch slabs
crotch veneer
Asian cherry veneer
Asian curly cherry veneer closeup with enlargements
European cherry planks
European cherry veneer
veneer listed as European cherry / wild cherry / Prunus avium. The pieces are, in order, flat cut, flat cut figured, quartersawn, quartersawn figured
European cherry veneer closeup with enlargements --- just FYI, I've seen American black cherry that looks exactly like this
Argentine cherry plank and closeup
listed as Peruvian cherry, but I don't know if that's a true cherry or just a common name for something unrelated to cherry
listed as wild cherry
wild cherry and closeup
wild cherry, moistened for the pic
sour cherry flat cut, quartersawn, and end grain
sour cherry bowl blank and turning stock
the color on all these guitar kit pieces seems overly rich, but I cannot say for sure that it is false even though it is definitely outside my experience.
thin curly cherry (listed as quilted) laid out for a guitar kit
thin curly cherry (listed as quilted) laid out for a guitar kit, and a close up of one of the back pieces after it was moistened
thin curly cherry (listed as quilted) laid out for a guitar kit, and a close up of one of the back pieces after it was moistened
quilted; two views of the same plank
quilted; two views of the same plank
quilted; two views of the same plank
quartersawn; the first two are planks, the last three are veneer
quartersawn figured veneer
figured flat cut veneer
flat cut quilted veneer
bird's eye veneer --- cherry has a weak bird's eye figure compared to maple.
cat's paw veneer --- click to enlarge and you will see little patterns that look somewhat like a cat's paw; the first sample shows it best (when fully enlarged)
ropey plank
curly planks
curly planks and a closeup of one of them --- color seems overly rich, even if the planks are moistened
curly plank moistened for the pic
figured plank and closeup --- I'm doubtful about the color but can't say for sure that it's false.
figured planks --- figuring (usually curl, but sometime mottle) in cherry is far less pronounced than in many species
curly cherry veneer in a 4-way bookmatch --- the grain is much clearer in the enlargement.
quartersawn curly planks
planks listed as "compression curl" cherry. I don't know whether or not this is the same as "normal" curly cherry, but it appears to be different. I need to do reasearch.
curly veneer
figured veneer
figured African cherry veneer
mottled african cherry veneer
all listed as "figured" African cherry veneer --- clearly the first two are mottled and the last one is curly (or fiddleback). The third one could be either razor mottle or curly --- I can't tell from the pic ... NOTE: THESE ARE MAKORE, NOT CHERRY. THE NAME "AFRICAN CHERRY" IS A COMMON NAME FOR MAKORE --- I'LL MOVE THESE TO MAKORE SOME DAY.
burl and closeup
large cherry burl and some slabs cut from it
burl slab
bowl blank
guitar set
hollow forms
bowls --- that green color on the first one is unlikely
bowl shot in a craft store --- has a heavy oil finish and the heavy red coloring is correct, although I couldn't tell how much of it was the wood and how much due to the finish. The closeup shot is a little washed out.
bowl shot in a craft store --- has a heavy oil finish and the color is accurate
bowls shot in a craft store. Color is just a hair too yellow, but these bowls were not as reddish as most cherry bowls
bowl shot in a craft store; color is accurate
bowl shot in a craft store that sold mostly just wooden bowls --- color is very accurate and the gum streaks are very clear in the enlargements
burl bowls
cherry burl bowl shot at a craft show --- HUGE enlargements are present
bowl listed as black cherry
bowl by Kathy Marshall
American black cherry burl hollow form
vases
wild cherry vase
platters
elegant goblet turned by Al Amstutz
a cherry bed headboard made by a friend --- has excellent cathedral grain pieces arranged very pleasingly.
a black cherry dried-flower holder with natural bark inclusions. I found this piece of wood at a campground and was going to use it as firewood but as I examined the swirly indented areas I decided I'd try to use it in a project. This is the result and while hardly an outstanding example of wood craft, it does make a nice "natural" dried flower holder. The finish is polyurethane and the red color is correct.
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