Wood Identification: Cherry and Maple

[spf45]

This issue reminds me of getting a song stuck in my head! I just can't stop thinking about it. I thought I’d come in from the garage and ask a question that is eating at my brain: I have some cherry and some hard maple lumber. I know the cherry, it has a “CH” handwritten on it. I know the maple, because it is marked “HM”. (I also have some red oak, poplar, walnut, etc., but they aren’t involved in this problem.)

I picked out the wood on different occasions, and I have always considered myself to be a person with consistent tastes : I have come to notice that the cherry and maple look very, very similar. In fact, I’d venture to say that I could go back to the shop and pick out two pieces of either type and have them look more different than my maple and cherry look. Are there any telltale signs to help identify the difference between these two? I think I need to learn how to tell the difference before I cut off the CH and HM labels!

[Russianwolf]

Well, if you can't tell the difference between your Maple and Cherry at a glance, find a new place to buy your cherry. Cherry Sapwood resembles Maple, but heartwood should have a distinct reddish hue to it. People pay premium amounts for the Red Heartwood Cherry, the Sapwood stuff is usually relegated to drawer carcasses.

look at the endgrain of the cherry board. If it contains bothe Heartwood and Sapwood, you should be able to see where one stops and the other begins. Maple does not have this noticable division.

[spf45]

Well, if you can't tell the difference between your Maple and Cherry at a glance, find a new place to buy your cherry. Cherry Sapwood resembles Maple, but heartwood should have a distinct reddish hue to it. People pay premium amounts for the Red Heartwood Cherry, the Sapwood stuff is usually relegated to drawer carcasses.

look at the endgrain of the cherry board. If it contains bothe Heartwood and Sapwood, you should be able to see where one stops and the other begins. Maple does not have this noticable division.

You mean I have been buying the "cheap stuff" on purpose? I have been avoiding the darker heartwood, and getting pieces that are purely light-colored sapwood. I am learning!

[agent511]

Oh man. tell me you are kidding us?

[spf45]

Oh man. tell me you are kidding us?

No, I am not kidding you. I posted in the "Getting Started" section for a reason. I am getting started. . I can see how someone who has worked with cherry for years might want to roll their eyes. That's okay.

The cherry I've picked out has decent figure similar to figured maple. It looks good and I like it. I have bypassed the cherry pieces that have had both heartwood and sapwood because the change between the light and dark was pretty stark. I didn't mess with the "pure" heartwood cherry pieces because I... well, because I liked the selection of the lighter stuff. Now that I know better, I will look at the heartwood pieces.

There is some "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" here. I am pretty sure I will get some more of the lighter cherry. I just have to keep track of how I store it until I can tell the difference between it and the maple.

[agent511]

Actually I too have little experience, so I apologize for trying to be a little too funny.

Anyway, I am thinking perhaps that the all white stuff actually is maple. Someone with more experience can correct me, but I don't think you can buy all sapwood cherry. Because I think there is so little of it on a log. It is a very thin section between the bark and the heartwood, if I am correct. You can get all red. You can get mostly red with a little white. But you would be hard pressed to get even 1/2 white yet alone all white.

Someone please educate me too if I am wrong.

[Knottscott]

Here's a couple of classic examples of each. They both have very tight grain that's less pronounced that something like oak. The cherry is the brownish/red one. Maple is very light.
This link is a great resource for help identifying woods.
http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/person...pics/index.htm

[guycox]

Close your eyes.

You can tell the difference between cherry and maple by smelling it - the cherry will have a distintive smell - you'll know..

[spf45]

Here's a couple of classic examples of each. They both have very tight grain that's less pronounced that something like oak. The cherry is the brownish/red one. Maple is very light.
This link is a great resource for help identifying woods.
http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/person...pics/index.htm

Thanks for posting this link! It looks like a great site.

You can tell the difference between cherry and maple by smelling it - the cherry will have a distintive smell - you'll know..

I have been told by my wife that am done working in the garage for the night, but I am going to smell it tomorrow. Thanks for the idea. I don't remember a smell. (The smell idea made me think about other indicators. I know it burns pretty easily when I don't keep it moving on the saw, and is it possible that the maple was heavier too??? hmmm...)

[spf45]

Actually I too have little experience, so I apologize for trying to be a little too funny.

Anyway, I am thinking perhaps that the all white stuff actually is maple. Someone with more experience can correct me, but I don't think you can buy all sapwood cherry. Because I think there is so little of it on a log. It is a very thin section between the bark and the heartwood, if I am correct. You can get all red. You can get mostly red with a little white. But you would be hard pressed to get even 1/2 white yet alone all white.

Someone please educate me too if I am wrong.

No apology necessary. Tell you what, I will do some research and if it is indeed cherry sapwood I am picking up, I will try to post a picture. I know I can take the picture; posting it might be a learning experience for me.

[Stan]

Run your thumbnail across the two of them to try and leave a mark... The difference should be quite noticable.

[Russianwolf]

The Sapwood is perfectly fine, as long as you are paying the "appropriate" amount. Heartwood cherry usually runs about $5/bf while the Sapwood usually runs closer to $2/bf.

Using the wood that contains both heartwood and sapwood can add a lot of character to a piece, while others prefer using/displaying only the Heartwood. There is no right or wrong, just what you prefer.

Walnut is another wood that has a very pale sapwood, and the rich, dark heartwood that is prized. But if Walnut is steamed the color evens out but is much less dramatic.

Padauk also has a pale sapwood and the orange heartwood.

[spf45]

What a Learning Experience This Has Been

The Sapwood is perfectly fine, as long as you are paying the "appropriate" amount. Heartwood cherry usually runs about $5/bf while the Sapwood usually runs closer to $2/bf.

Using the wood that contains both heartwood and sapwood can add a lot of character to a piece, while others prefer using/displaying only the Heartwood. There is no right or wrong, just what you prefer.

Walnut is another wood that has a very pale sapwood, and the rich, dark heartwood that is prized. But if Walnut is steamed the color evens out but is much less dramatic.

Padauk also has a pale sapwood and the orange heartwood.

I dropped by the wood store and, armed with info from this thread, I was able to put two and two together. There is tons more of the heartwood cherry than the sapwood cherry. Some of the heartwood was lighter than others, and I thought that maybe these lighter pieces had not been exposed as long as the more darker pieces. There were some of the lighter pieces of heartwood that came close to the light color of the sapwood, but now that I know a little more, I was able to tell the difference.

There is not nearly as much sapwood cherry as I had thought--apparently, I had tunnel vision and had gone straight for the light-colored cherry, which is what looked good to me. Now I know.

While looking over the selection, I decided that I liked the idea of using pieces containing both heartwood and sapwood to add character (although my wife seems to think that I provide enough character as it is. )

[JimD]

Cherry sapwood would also be detectable by the growth rings on the end. Especially if the boards are a few inches wide, the growth rings will have to be at a pretty good angle - moving towards parallel to the face. If the growth rings are near perpendicular to the face, the tree was very large or the boards have to be narrow for this to be sapwood.

Cherry heartwood can be left in the sun for a couple hours with something covering part of it and a discernable difference in color will result. The covered area will be lighter than the uncovered. I do not think the sapwood has this reaction (at least at this high rate) and neither does maple.

If you can get cherry sapwood for the price of maple I do not see a problem. It looks pretty similar. If you got figured cherry sapwood for the price of figured maple (my local supplier sorts out the nicer figured maple), then again I see no problem. If you paid cherry prices ($6+/bd ft for me) for sapwood, then I think you should buy maple instead ($4-5 for me). In other words, the only reason I would be reluctant to buy sapwood if I liked the appearance is the price. Cherry is typically at least a buck and typically several bucks a board foot higher in price.

I would have to look at a reference to be sure but memory suggests that the cherry I've worked with was between the soft and hard maple that I have worked with in hardness. You might find that the heavier, denser and harder boards in your piles are maple. You might try to push your tumbnail into samples of both types and see if you can see a difference. The hard maple I've bought recently was also browner than cherry sapwood. The lighter stuff could tend to be cherry sapwood. There is a wide range in maple color, however, and you can find real light colored hard maple. Sometimes I buy soft maple because it is more consistently light colored (and also cheaper).

Jim

[spf45]

Cherry sapwood would also be detectable by the growth rings on the end. Especially if the boards are a few inches wide, the growth rings will have to be at a pretty good angle - moving towards parallel to the face. If the growth rings are near perpendicular to the face, the tree was very large or the boards have to be narrow for this to be sapwood.

Cherry heartwood can be left in the sun for a couple hours with something covering part of it and a discernable difference in color will result. The covered area will be lighter than the uncovered. I do not think the sapwood has this reaction (at least at this high rate) and neither does maple.

If you can get cherry sapwood for the price of maple I do not see a problem. It looks pretty similar. If you got figured cherry sapwood for the price of figured maple (my local supplier sorts out the nicer figured maple), then again I see no problem. If you paid cherry prices ($6+/bd ft for me) for sapwood, then I think you should buy maple instead ($4-5 for me). In other words, the only reason I would be reluctant to buy sapwood if I liked the appearance is the price. Cherry is typically at least a buck and typically several bucks a board foot higher in price.

I would have to look at a reference to be sure but memory suggests that the cherry I've worked with was between the soft and hard maple that I have worked with in hardness. You might find that the heavier, denser and harder boards in your piles are maple. You might try to push your tumbnail into samples of both types and see if you can see a difference. The hard maple I've bought recently was also browner than cherry sapwood. The lighter stuff could tend to be cherry sapwood. There is a wide range in maple color, however, and you can find real light colored hard maple. Sometimes I buy soft maple because it is more consistently light colored (and also cheaper).

Jim

I appreciate your advice. I have certainly learned a lot from this thread's contributors.