Using Cherry for ship builds

[Erik W]

I'm currently using Castello Boxwood on my Cheerful build, and am happy with it.  It does seem like a harder-to-come-by wood than some of our native North American wood species.  I'm curious, has anyone used Cherry (aka Black Cherry, American Cherry -  Prunus serotina) for a ship build?  How was it to work with?  How does the finished build look?

 

Thanks!

Erik

Edited January 25, 2016 by Erik W

[Chuck]

Its OK to use if you like the color...its certainly softer.  Lately its been tough to find pieces that dont have a lot of figure.  There are dark inclusions and a very noticeable grain most often.....but its a nice wood.   

 

Chuck

[Erik W]

Thanks Chuck.  That does seem to be a trend the world over.  Fewer trees + more humans using wood = more difficult time finding quality lumber.

 

Erik

[mtdoramike]

I have used it to plank a hull with and thought the contrast was beautiful. It's about the same as most other woods to work with that I have found. But I bought some wood planks about an inch thick and 4-5 inch wide and about 4 feet long and cut them down with a table saw and thickness planer to get the desired plank size I needed.

 

 

mike

[Justin P.]

I know a prolific builder out my way that uses cherry almost exclusively for all his planking.   Seems to work very well for him. 

 

- J

[Jaager]

Cherry is one of two readily available domestic hardwoods that are worth consideration -

It is softer than I had thought, but it does work well and carves nicely - cuts where the blade goes  instead of splitting off at an angle.

 

The other is Acer saccharum - Hard Maple (rock/sugar)  - harder than Cherry -  but worth a look as a replacement for Buxus sempervirens .

[Erik W]

Thanks Mark!  I keep hearing things about ebony.  Being a wood-type neophyte, what are the issues with it?

 

Thanks,

Erik

[mtaylor]

Ok... here's the ones I know of for ebony:

 

Negative Issues...  it's very hard and dulls blades quickly.  Oily.. glue doesn't like to stick to it although some folks recommend wiping it with acetone before gluing. The sanding/sawdust is toxic and very hard to clean up.  It definitely doesn't like to be bent.  It can be done but is a test of wills.  Heat and steam seem to work best.

 

Positive issues;  It's absolutely gorgeous when you finally get it shaped and in place.  It holds an edge very well.

[Rustyj]

Hi Eric.

 

First off ebony dust is toxic. That's bad enough but to add to that the dust is very fine and gets into every nook and cranny staining adjoining wood. Then it's hard. I mean really hard. It dulls blades and is tough to bend.

 

I've used it on a few builds and once my supply was used up I've stopped using it.

 

Hehe Mark an I were posting at the same time.

Edited January 25, 2016 by Rustyj

[Gaetan Bordeleau]

Mark!

 

dulls blades quickly; if I remember correctly, there was occasionally 1 kind of mineral in ebony.

I did cut a lot of ebony  and it did not dull blades more than other exotic woods.

 

It was probably true before carbide blades but not today.

 

 

Oily.. glue doesn't like to stick to; Ebony is not oily, teck is oily. I never had any issues to glue ebony.

 

For healt issues we talked about it a few times, the last time probably in wood toxicity subject few months ago.

Edited January 25, 2016 by Gaetan Bordeleau

[robnbill]

If you look at the attached photo, this shows my Brig Eagle when I was planking the interior. The dark wood is Walnut, the white wood is Maple, and the intermediate wood is Cherry. I found it easy to work with. 

 

 

[DaveyJones]

A word of caution when using cherry. I chose this timber to plank my current build, because I liked the dark reddish brown colour it takes on as it ages, The batch of timber I used showed some colour variation that was not too obvious during construction. However, a couple of the planks made from the lightest coloured timber completely failed to darken, as seen in the attached photo.

 

 

 

I am so disappointed with the result that I will most likely paint the hull white below the waterline.

 

Dave

[shiloh]

Davey, that is quality planking and the color variation does not detract from that, it seems to enhance the planking, be a shame to paint over that hull below the waterline.

jud

[Cabbie]

Wood is Wood Davey.

It would be a shame to cover up planking like that.

It will all fade after while and blend in.

 

Can we see some more pics of the model please.

Thanks Chris

[mtaylor]

Davey,

That's the difference between the sap wood and heart wood. I also see some lighter strakes near the keel.  Is it the lighting?

 

 It should (operative word: "should" but it might not) darken with age. I'm using Swiss pear on my build and the tones are all over the place.

[Erik W]

Dave,

 

Your build looks great, but wow, I see what you mean about certain planks not darkening.  Is there any way you can remove the the lighter planks and re-plank with wood closer to the color of the other planks?  That's a beautiful planking job.  It would be a shame to paint over it.  What ship is that?  It looks like a Swan class sloop.

 

Erik

[Burroak]

I can tell from my woodworking that cherry is a nice wood, but keep in mind that cherry darkens with light. It will be lighter while you work with it but let it set for a few days and it will darken. That's why on furniture made from cherry, if you set something on it there will be a shadow that has formed where the object set.

 

Greg H.

[Erik W]

Greg,

 

That's interesting.  Does it continuously darken over time, or does it get to a point it doesn't darken any more?

 

Thanks,

Erik

[Burroak]

Eric the cherry will get to a point and stop but it's very noticeable. Mahogany is another wood that will darken as well, and also paduak.

 

Greg H.

[Erik W]

Greg,

 

I wonder if in the case of Dave's photo above, of the light color cherry plank, if he had let the wood sit out for a while before he used it, if it would have darkened enough to tell ahead of time that some of it (the sap wood?) wouldn't darken like the rest?

 

Erik

[Burroak]

The sap wood usually doesn't get dark. If you want to test some cherry, sand a piece of it and just let it sit for a few days.

[robnbill]

You might think about stain. A light stain is typically used on walnut and cherry in furniture to help even the streaks of sap wood. The worst case s you paint it, but at leadt a stain wood let the wood show. Just a thought.

[Gaetan Bordeleau]

Living near orchards of cherry and apple, I have obtained some samples when I asked the owners for pruned branches. The apple samples serve as some deck furniture, but never had the opportunity to use cherry, even though I like the rich color.

 

Montani semper liberi   Happy modeling

 

 

The ''perfect''  wood grain  at scale and color  I used for a build

[overdale]

 

 

Erik,

 

I have used Cherry for the first time as a frame wood on my Frigate 'Boston' I'm very pleased with the result. The color is a nice contrast to the Boxwood planking and it cuts and shapes very well.

 

Dan.

 

 

[grsjax]

To keep wood from darkening you might want to try a finish with a UV blocking additive.  Krylon is one brand that has a UV blocking clear finish.

Edited January 26, 2016 by grsjax

[Jaager]

Black Cherry - there is big difference in the color between the sapwood and heartwood.  The heartwood contains significantly more material stored within the cell walls.  Included are compounds that are subject to oxidation - which produces a color change.  The sapwood does not contain as much of these compounds which limits its color change.  There is a finite amount in a cell and when all of it is oxidized, there is no further color change.

 

The sapwood plank on Dave's hull adds character, interest, and makes it evident that the hull is indeed made up of individual planks.  A story could be told about the need to replace a damaged plank while on a distant voyage - using local lumber.  Certainly not a far fetched scenario. 

[Erik W]

"The sapwood plank on Dave's hull adds character, interest, and makes it evident that the hull is indeed made up of individual planks. A story could be told about the need to replace a damaged plank while on a distant voyage - using local lumber. Certainly not a far fetched scenario."

 

Jaager,

 

I was thinking the same thing.

 

Erik

[markjay]

Dave, the beauty of wood is it's natural variation. Painting would be a taking away the character you have achieved with the planking. IMHO.

[Gaetan Bordeleau]

When carefully selected cherry grain can be attractive.

 

Example of cherry in 2 different models.

[DaveyJones]

Chris (Cabbie) wrote:

 

Can we see some more pics of the model please.

 

 

At the risk of hijacking Erik’s topic, here are three images of my swan class, HMS Fly

 

 

 

 

 

The general consensus seems to be to be that leaving the planking in its natural state is preferable to paint. In which case I shall leave well enough alone.

 

Dave

Edited January 27, 2016 by DaveyJones