Got a bunch of really nice wood...

[Alex]

About 6 or 8 months ago, we had to cut down a few black cherry trees on our farm to make room for something. I was still considering building my own bass back then, so I asked them to set me aside the best wood. I just put it in my basement and, when my bass building plan died, I just forgot about it.

So I just looked at this stuff again today. It's really good looking, great grain and flames...it would make some really nice looking tops. I have 2 big slabs that are each about 6.5'x1.5'x1.5" and I just realized that these are probably worth a good amount as tonewood. What exactly they are worth I don't know. Anybody have any idea?

Second - is there anything I need to do to them to make them sell-able or more ready for use? Any drying besides just around the house?

Oh and how would black cherry sound on a bass anywhere? body, neck, fretboard....any clue? I think someone told me once that is tone is kind of deep and dark? I don't really know.

Thanks guys

~Alex

[luzceloffan]

You should ship that wood to me

[Jonsbasses]

You might get a better price estimate with pictures of the wood. And I can guarantee that it is not 10% or less moisture content yet, if black cherry is a hard wood (which is my guess) it will need about 18+ months to get down to being near fully dry at 1.5" thick.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by Jonsbasses

You might get a better price estimate with pictures of the wood. And I can guarantee that it is not 10% or less moisture content yet, if black cherry is a hard wood (which is my guess) it will need about 18+ months to get down to being near fully dry at 1.5" thick.

Isn't there a way to dry it quickly like in a vacuum or something? I think I remember something like that.

[dman_113]

Your thinking of a "Vacuum Kiln" and yes it will dry wood a lot quicker than air drying you'd just have to find someone willing to do it for you. If you have a wood processing facility near you they might do it for a fee.

[DavidRavenMoon]

Cherry is real nice for basses. I started using it back in the early 90's just because I liked the board I found. I hadn't seen it used much back then. It's a heavy wood, but it has a nice warm, but tight, tone. It's similar to maple, but not as bright. It's not dark sounding.

You have to sticker that wood for couple of years, or get it kiln dried.

Here's two basses made from the same board. Notice how different the figure is!

[T2W]

Dammit, here we go again.

Ok, first off, the 1 year per inch rule is crap to me. Pine will obviously dry faster than Maple, Thats part of the reason why its less expensive than Maple. 60% of all the energy (and by energy, I mean physical labor, costs, etc..) is in the drying process, from the time the faller cuts the tree and gets lifted out of there with an aircrane, to when the customer picks up a board from the shelf at Home Depot. thats a lot. Ash is also cheaper than Maple because it dries with a lot less checks and cracks than Maple. Maple is a real pita, in my experience anyway. Spalted Maple is a breeze and so is Walnut and Ash, but wet Maple really sucks.

Anyways, all that to say that there exists a lot of methods when it comes to drying wood. Commercial facilities usually use steam kilns, they are quite efficient, but expensive, I piled and loaded tons and tons and tons of birch into these huge kilns, they were about 40 x 40 x 30. Ive mentioned here before, I put my huge Ash slabs in a small area under the stairs in the house, I threw in a dehumidifier in there, full throttle 24/7 with a small fan to keep the air circulating. I maintained the humidity level at 22%, which is excellent conditions to dry wood, and it was about 37-40 degrees celsius (aint american). after 2 weeks in the 'kiln', the Ash was at 7%MC, I was quite surprised. I bought a small delmhorst Jlite thingie to read the MC in the wood. 7% was right on for me, so I took it out and cut it all into half a dozen Body blanks. I still got a nice big piece air drying for the moment. No idea what I will do with it. If you wanna read more about the subject, check out http://www.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/for/for55/for55.htm great information in there. Good Luck and please show pics !! Peace.
-Mario-

[eleonn]

Originally Posted by T2W

I still got a nice big piece air drying for the moment. No idea what I will do with it.

I do have some ideas Mario... lets say that you could send a little 40cm X 50cm x 5cm piece to South America... there is no ash there!!!

[T2W]

It would have to be in two pieces though Enrique. PM me.

[RAHAZ]

Originally Posted by Alex

Isn't there a way to dry it quickly like in a vacuum or something? I think I remember something like that.

You could always sent it out here to the desert. It'll take the moisture out of anything quick.

[Jonsbasses]

Originally Posted by Jonsbasses

if black cherry is a hard wood (which is my guess)

Originally Posted by T2W

Dammit, here we go again. Pine will obviously dry faster than Maple,

Pine is not a hard wood, the general rule only applies towards hard woods. Read up on the different kinds of woods and the general rules that applies to them, hence the "general" part, it is not meant to be specific. No hard feelings Mario, just helping you learn! Check out "Wood identification and use" by Terry Porter, it's a great book.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by T2W

Good Luck and please show pics !!

Alright I'm on it.

Any other experiences with Black Cherry? Like David said I've heard that it has a warm-ish sound. I take it it's more of a body wood than a fingerboard or neck wood? Sounds like its comparable to rosewood in sound.

[tjclem]

I like Cherry too it is just that no customers seem to be interested in it. So mine just sits around....t

[T2W]

Originally Posted by Jonsbasses

No hard feelings Mario, just helping you learn!

Ha ! thats good. what I meant was basically, the humidity isnt the same in Arizona as it is in the province of Quebec where it gets to 90% in the summer. Im pretty damn sure a dude would be more succesful in air drying wood in Houston, than in Montreal, or Bangkok. I guess its a very general rule, Ive had a slab of ash air drying for a bit over a year now, its 3 inches thick, and its at 11%. 1 year per inch? quite irrelevant if you ask me ! It really depends on where you store the wood, Humidity level in your area, inside or out, the amount of air circulating through the pieces..... As mentioned a bit higher, I piled and loaded and touched and smelled and dried literally tons and tons of birch and a bit of maple, no hard feelings dude, but I think im starting to understand the idea of drying wood....

check out the basses Ive been building, all of them have wood that I cut in the forest in them, whether its a spalted Maple top, or white Ash body.

[FBB Custom]

As others have said, cherry is not as valuable as a tone wood as you might think. Electric instrument makers will have a hard time finding a buyer since it is neither an "exotic" (cocobolo, etc) nor an "established tonewood" (ash or maple). The acoustic instrument makers won't touch it if it's not quartersawn and perfectly seasoned.

Furniture/cabinet makers would eat the stuff up. Take a look at http://www.curlymaple.com/cherry.shtml to see what the highest grades of cherry sell for to the fine furniture crowd.

[DavidRavenMoon]

Originally Posted by Alex

Alright I'm on it.

Any other experiences with Black Cherry? Like David said I've heard that it has a warm-ish sound. I take it it's more of a body wood than a fingerboard or neck wood? Sounds like its comparable to rosewood in sound.

It makes a nice neck. It's very similar to maple, just a bit warmer sounding. Kind of like soft maple. I think rosewood is a lot denser and darker sounding. I like to think of it as a cross between maple and mahogany.

It would probably make a good fingerboard, but you would have to apply a finish to it like a maple board.

[Alex]

PICS!






That last pic shows some random scuffing or something but that can easily be sanded off I think.

This isn't all of it, just some random points on it.

~Alex

[FBB Custom]

If you want to sell it then it looks to me like cabinet makers are the way to go. They like very wide stuff as it's hard to find and it looks like good quality material. The acoustic guys probably will pass as it's not quartersawn and personally I know I would have a hard time selling it on a bass. People want walnut, mahogany, alder... If I had it I would be trying to figure out where to fit a table saw so I could make furniture out of it.

Try posting on woodweb or craig's list. You're lucky to have some really nice stuff.

[Eric Perry]

Here's my Conklin with a carved Cherry top. Very cool looking wood, IMO...

[Yellow]

Originally Posted by T2W

Dammit, here we go again.

Ok, first off, the 1 year per inch rule is crap to me. Pine will obviously dry faster than Maple, Thats part of the reason why its less expensive than Maple. 60% of all the energy (and by energy, I mean physical labor, costs, etc..) is in the drying process, from the time the faller cuts the tree and gets lifted out of there with an aircrane, to when the customer picks up a board from the shelf at Home Depot. thats a lot. Ash is also cheaper than Maple because it dries with a lot less checks and cracks than Maple. Maple is a real pita, in my experience anyway. Spalted Maple is a breeze and so is Walnut and Ash, but wet Maple really sucks.....

-Mario-

TW2 is an experienced wood scavenger like myself,
I agree it is unpredictable how long it takes to dry wood best is to get a moisture meter and test as you go. Ventilation is the key.

From the pics it seems good avarage cherry for furniture I cant tell if there is any curl or flame in it from those pics I have some of this kind of cherry and it dryed fast to a stable condition 8%

As for tone I dont know, but in furniture it is often mixed with Alder and Red Alder is used to fake cherry, this cherry is only a touch harder actual cherry tree that s has cherrys is much harder then the wild variety.