Heres some interesting information about cherry wood! Cherry is unique among the worlds cabinetwoods in that it is the only major timber belonging to the Rose family (Rosaceae). This is a bit surprising given the large size of the family and its substantial economic importance. There are more than 3,500 species in the Rose family spread throughout the Northern Hemisphere, and many of its genera produce trees. Unfortunately though, with the exception of cherry, the rest of the family seems to lack the genetic potential for producing trees with the height and mass to make them commercially viable sources of lumber. However, the Rose family is no stranger to us in other ways, and its gifts to our senses and pleasures are many, including the scent of the rose and so many of the fruits and flavors we appreciate the most. It is not only the source of cherries but also of apples, pears, plums, peaches and apricots as well as almonds and even some berries, such as strawberry and raspberry. Even the woods of some of these other fruit-producing genera are used in cabinetry, but more so in Europe where they are known as fruitwoods and have a longstanding tradition in European furniture making. Many of them are nice woods and perhaps, over time, North American woodworkers will come to appreciate them more. But for now, the Rose family offers up only our native North American black cherry (Prunus serotina) as a high-volume cabinetwood. Its darker color, more pronounced figure and unusual, light-stimulated patina make it unique among the worlds most prestigious timbers. While we North Americans pretty much corner the worldwide market as the only source of top-quality cherry lumber, we have never truly come to manage this resource very well, or for that matter, do we even fully understand the cherry trees somewhat demanding silviculture. We know climatically where it grows best, we understand its role as a self-sacrificing nurse species in the maturation of our forests, but as for how to coax it along toward maximum, sustainable timber production, we seem utterly lost. In the lumber trade, cherry logs are where you find them, and being able to find them in sufficient quantities to meet demand seems to wax and wane from generation to generation. Because we rely on nature to replenish the growing stock, and because cherry is not a particularly well-adapted long-term player in the species mix of mature forests, the supply of this wood is cyclical. Once cherry performs its role in nursing fallow land back to its natural forested state, it tends to die out. As a result, the supply of cherry seems to follow times of turmoil in human history: It begins to become plentiful about 80 years or so after large areas of land that have been cleared by logging, devastated by fires, or abandoned as farms are allowed to naturally reforest. For example, it has been suggested that the ample supplies of cherry we enjoyed during the mid- to late 20th century were in part the result of the Civil War, which caused large numbers of farms to go fallow when so many soldiers failed to return to work the land. Whether this tale bears a germ of truth or is just a romantic embellishment, there is definitely a correlation between how we manage land within cherrys native range and how much of this fine cabinetwood we will have in the future. As forest management practices shift from clear-cutting to selective logging throughout our hardwood forests, we can count on an ever-diminishing supply of cherry. Because of this species extreme shade intolerance, cherry saplings do not do well under the relatively undisturbed canopy of a forest that is being managed via careful selective cutting. One of the more sinister aspects of cherrys strange chemistry is that it harbors some bitter and potentially dangerous compounds. Ordinarily, unless an individual has a highly allergic sensitivity to the compounds in cherry, the only noticeable impact they have on most woodworkers is that they contribute to the woods pleasant scent. In fact, some of these compounds, when sweetened or diluted with other ingredients, produce commercially important flavorings or even helpful medicines. For example, packing strips of the inner bark into a jar filled with whiskey yields a tannin-rich concoction that has been used for centuries as a folk tonic and cough suppressant. However, lurking among these compounds is a glycoside (a sugar derivative) called prunasin, which is a precursor of cyanide in that it can combine with hydrogen in the digestive system to form hydrocyanic acid (also called prussic acid.) Prunasin is found mostly in the foliage and seed pits of cherry and other related fruit trees, but small amounts of it are also present in the wood. While woodworkers need not be highly concerned for their personal safety when working with the wood, what we choose to make from it does demand some degree of caution. Items destined for use in the kitchen or that will be handled by young children arent the most ideal applications for this species. The use of cherry in cutting boards or even salad bowls is probably safe because the food comes in contact with the wood only briefly and typically at cool temperatures. But other food- or toy-related applications are not without any risk. For example, kitchen utensils such as stirring spoons that might be left to simmer in a pot of hot stew, or even small toys that might be chewed on by infants both risk exposing the wood to conditions that may allow its extracts to be leached out in high enough quantities to be poisonous.
Posted on: Wed, 01 Oct 2014 20:49:55 +0000
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