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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 by Erik W
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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

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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

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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

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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 .

NRG member 45 years

 

Current:  

HMS Centurion 1732 - 60-gun 4th rate - Navall Timber framing

HMS Beagle 1831 refiit  10-gun brig with a small mizzen - Navall (ish) Timber framing

The U.S. Ex. Ex. 1838-1842
Flying Fish 1838  pilot schooner -  framed - ready for stern timbers
Porpose II  1836  brigantine/brig - framed - ready for hawse and stern timbers
Vincennes  1825  Sloop-of-War  -  timbers assembled, need shaping
Peacock  1828  Sloop-of -War  -  timbers ready for assembly
Sea Gull  1838  pilot schooner -  timbers ready for assembly
Relief  1835  ship - timbers ready for assembly

Other

Portsmouth  1843  Sloop-of-War  -  timbers ready for assembly
Le Commerce de Marseilles  1788   118 cannons - framed

La Renommee 1744 Frigate - framed - ready for hawse and stern timbers

 

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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.

Mark
"The shipwright is slow, but the wood is patient." - me

Current Build:                                                                                             
Past Builds:
 La Belle Poule 1765 - French Frigate from ANCRE plans - ON HOLD           Triton Cross-Section   

 NRG Hallf Hull Planking Kit                                                                            HMS Sphinx 1775 - Vanguard Models - 1:64               

 

Non-Ship Model:                                                                                         On hold, maybe forever:           

CH-53 Sikorsky - 1:48 - Revell - Completed                                                   Licorne - 1755 from Hahn Plans (Scratch) Version 2.0 (Abandoned)         

         

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

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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 by Rustyj

Rusty

"So Long For Now" B) 

 

Current Builds: HMS Winchelsea 1/48  Duchess of Kingston

 

Completed Build Logs: USF Confederacy , US Brig Syren , Triton Cross Section , Bomb Vessel Cross SectionCutter CheerfulQueen Anne Barge, Medway Longboat

 

Completed Build Gallery: Brig Syren , 1870 Mississippi Riverboat , 1949 Chris-Craft 19' Runabout

 

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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 by Gaetan Bordeleau
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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. 

 

 

post-10450-0-97056900-1453768173_thumb.jpg

Bill

Chantilly, VA

 

Its not the size of the ship, but the bore of the cannon!

 

Current Build: Scratch Build Brig Eagle

 

Completed Build Log: USS Constitution - Mamoli

Completed Build Gallery: USS Constitution - Mamoli

 

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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.

 

 

post-1706-0-10172600-1453770117_thumb.jpg

 

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

 

Dave

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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

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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.

Mark
"The shipwright is slow, but the wood is patient." - me

Current Build:                                                                                             
Past Builds:
 La Belle Poule 1765 - French Frigate from ANCRE plans - ON HOLD           Triton Cross-Section   

 NRG Hallf Hull Planking Kit                                                                            HMS Sphinx 1775 - Vanguard Models - 1:64               

 

Non-Ship Model:                                                                                         On hold, maybe forever:           

CH-53 Sikorsky - 1:48 - Revell - Completed                                                   Licorne - 1755 from Hahn Plans (Scratch) Version 2.0 (Abandoned)         

         

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

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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

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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.

GREG H.

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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

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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.

Bill

Chantilly, VA

 

Its not the size of the ship, but the bore of the cannon!

 

Current Build: Scratch Build Brig Eagle

 

Completed Build Log: USS Constitution - Mamoli

Completed Build Gallery: USS Constitution - Mamoli

 

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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


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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. 

NRG member 45 years

 

Current:  

HMS Centurion 1732 - 60-gun 4th rate - Navall Timber framing

HMS Beagle 1831 refiit  10-gun brig with a small mizzen - Navall (ish) Timber framing

The U.S. Ex. Ex. 1838-1842
Flying Fish 1838  pilot schooner -  framed - ready for stern timbers
Porpose II  1836  brigantine/brig - framed - ready for hawse and stern timbers
Vincennes  1825  Sloop-of-War  -  timbers assembled, need shaping
Peacock  1828  Sloop-of -War  -  timbers ready for assembly
Sea Gull  1838  pilot schooner -  timbers ready for assembly
Relief  1835  ship - timbers ready for assembly

Other

Portsmouth  1843  Sloop-of-War  -  timbers ready for assembly
Le Commerce de Marseilles  1788   118 cannons - framed

La Renommee 1744 Frigate - framed - ready for hawse and stern timbers

 

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"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

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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.

Mark
Phoenix, AZ


Current builds;


Previous builds, in rough order of execution;
Shipjack, Peterbrough Canoe, Flying Fish, Half Moon, Britannia racing sloop, Whale boat, Bluenose, Picket boat, Viking longboat, Atlantic, Fair American, Mary Taylor, half hull Enterprise, Hacchoro, HMS Fly, Khufu Solar Boat.

On the shelf; Royal Barge, Jefferson Davis.

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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

 

 

post-1706-0-37058300-1453861823_thumb.jpg

 

post-1706-0-96160800-1453861875_thumb.jpg

 

post-1706-0-79132800-1453861906_thumb.jpg

 

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 by DaveyJones
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