Cherry darkens in sunlight?

As a result of a naturally occurring chemical reaction. All cherry needs is oxygen and time.

--=20

PDQ

-- =20 "toller" wrote in message = news:MmfAd.1209$ snipped-for-privacy@news01.roc.ny... | Last year I built a cherry chest for our bedroom. It has darkened = pretty=20 | much like it should. |=20 | Today I was digging through my cutoff bin, looking for some scrap ash; = the=20 | bin is in a basement corner, under a shelf. It gets no sunlight, and = very=20 | little light of any kind. |=20 | I found some cutoffs from the chest that are the exact same color as = the=20 | chest. Explain that.=20 |=20 |

No need to explain if you'd studied wood. Aging is merely accelerated by high-energy UV, not cause by it, and can be accomplished by using a chemical reaction - e.g. lye - to do the same.

After a period of time you'll end up with deep aging, where the inside of the board has pretty much the same color as the surface. Takes ten/twelve years, but I've got some #1 common I bought 20 years ago for $250 MBF that's red through and through. Works a bit more brittle, though.

Explanation: scrap bin not air tight.

Brian.

...(wrt to cherry)...

It's all of those and more... :)

I will look forward to your results. People say it is light, it is air, it is magic...

(Cue Twilight Zone theme...)

"toller" wrote in news:y_gAd.1228$ snipped-for-privacy@news01.roc.ny:

Cherry is magic itself. And working with good cherry for furniture is so much better than many other common woods that it's almost like cheating.

Patriarch, a Californian who pays a premium when he buys cherry...

Think of it as rust.