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From Woodsmith MagazineAll rights reserved

page 1 of 12 ©2003 August Home PublishingOne copy for personal use. Other copies prohibited.

CHERRY CONSOLEBasic frame and panel assemblies, a fast face frame, and easy-to-build drawers — a perfect opportunity

to try a variety of woodworking techniques.

Plans N O Ww w w . p l a n s n o w . c o m

®



Drawers supportedfrom above and below

with simple frames

Backassembly

Panelsare two

layers of" ply.!/4

(back-to-back)

Endassembliesrabbeted tocover backassembly

MATERIALS & SUPPLIESA End Panels (8) !/4 ply. - 5(/16 x 21! !/16B Front End Stiles (2) #/4 x 2!/8 - 31C Back End Stiles (2) #/4 x 2!/2 - 31D Center End Stiles (2) #/4 x 2!/2 - 21#/4E Upper End Rails (2) #/4 x 3#/4 - 12#/4F Lower End Rails (2) #/4 x 3!/2 - 12#/4G Back Panels (8) !/4 ply. - 10#/16 x 21! !/16H Back Stiles (2) #/4 x 2 - 31I Back Center Stiles (3) #/4 x 2!/2 - 21#/4J Upper Back Rail (1) #/4 x 3#/4 - 45!/2K Lower Back Rail (1) #/4 x 3!/2 - 45!/2L Front Stiles (2) #/4 x 2 - 31M Front Rails (3) #/4 x 1!/2 - 48

N Front Center Stile (1) #/4 x 2 - 8#/8O Bottom (1) #/4 x 15&/16 - 48!/2P Bottom Cleat (1) !/2 x !/2 - 6Q Frame Cleats (4) #/4 x 1!/2 - 15!/4R Frame Stretchers (4) #/4 x 1!/2 - 48S Outer Dwr. Sprts. (4) #/4 x 1!/8 - 15!/4T Inner Dwr. Sprts. (2) #/4 x 3!/2 - 15!/4U Dwr. Fronts/Backs (4) !/2 x 5!/4 - 21!/8V Dwr. Sides (4) !/2 x 5!/4 - 15W Dwr. Bottoms (2) !/4 ply. - 14!/2 x 21!/8X Dwr. Trim #/16 x 1!/2 - 100 rgh.

Y Dwr. Guides (4) !/4 x #/4 - 14Z Dwr. Runners (2) 1 x 1!/2 - 15!/4

AADwr. Stops (4) !/2 x ! !/16 - 8 rgh.

BB Adjustable Shelf (1) 1 x 15!/8 - 47&/8CC Top (1) 1 x 18 - 52DDCove Molding #/4 x #/4 - 90 rgh.

• (24) #8 x 1!/4" Fh Woodscrews• (8) #8 x 1!/2" Fh Woodscrews• (3) #8 x 2" Fh Woodscrews• (8) Plastic Stem Bumpers• (4) #8 x 1!/2" Rh Woodscrews• (4) #8 Washers• (4) !/4" Spoon-style Shelf Supports• (4) 1!/4" x 1" “Ring” Knobs (Bronze)

OVERALL DIMENSIONS: 52”W x 32”H x 18”D



Before getting started, it’s always agood idea to familiarize yourself withhow a project goes together. This con-sole isn’t complicated at all. It startsout with three frame and panel assem-blies that join to form the ends andback of the case. Later, you’ll add aface frame and a bottom panel, butthere’s nothing tricky about this.

As I mentioned, the back and endassemblies are built first. This ismostly just cutting stub tenons andgrooves, but instead of cutting theframe pieces to size first, it’s best tostart with the panels.

PANELS. As you can see in Fig. 1, thepanels (A, G) are 1/4" plywood sothey won’t expand and contract (andso you won’t have to edge glue a lot

of panels). The problem is most 1/4"plywood only has one good side,and with the open design, I wantedthe panels to look good outside andin. So for each panel, I glued twopieces of 1/4" plywood back-to-back.The box on the opposite page willwalk you through how you can dothis quickly and efficiently.

STILES & RAILS. The stiles (B, C, H),center stiles (D, I), and upper (E,J) and lower rails (F, K) are all cutto finished size from 3/4"-thick stock,as you can see in Fig. 1.

The first thing to do is cut thegrooves on all the pieces, as shownin Fig. 2. They’re sized to hold thedoubled-layered panels, so I used a1/4"-wide dado blade setup and cen-

tered the grooves by flipping thepieces end-for-end between passes.You’ll want to sneak up on the posi-tion of the fence so the plywood justfits the grooves. And keep in mindthat the grooves are cut on bothedges of the center stiles. Note: Formore on stub tenon and groove join-ery, see the box in the left margin.

Next, the stub tenons can be cuton the ends of the rails and centerstiles, as in Fig. 3. Like the grooves,it’s quicker to use a dado blade (thistime with an auxiliary fence). Andagain, you want to sneak up on thecut so the tenons fit the grooves.

Before these pieces can beassembled, there’s a little work todo on the bottom of the end stiles.

Frame piece Flip piecebetween passes

!/4" dadoblade

NOTE:Cut grooves

on both edges ofcenter stiles (D, I)

2

Auxiliaryfence

Auxiliaryfence

Dadoblade

3

END VIEWThickness

of plywoodpanels

Dado blade

!/2"

a. END VIEW

!/2"

Aux.fence

a.

CB

Plug

ENDSTILES !/2"

#/8"

3"

CB

Cut taper andsand smooth

1"

J

IG

Grooves and stubtenons match

thicknessof plywood

a.

%/16"-deepgroove in

back

!/4"-deepgroove in

sides

3!/2"

#/4"

#/4"b.

1

End & Back Assemblies

If you want to learnmore about stubtenon and groovejoinery, check outour web site:Woodsmith.com

{ To hide the grooveat the bottom ofthe end stiles, it’sbest to add a shortplug before youcut the taper.



First, I cut some plugs to glue intothe grooves, as shown in the uppermargin drawing on the oppositepage. Then the end of the stile canbe tapered, as in the lower margindrawing. (I did this with a band saw,but you can also use a hand saw.)

Once the tapers have been cutand sanded smooth, the ends can beassembled. This is pretty straight-forward. Just make sure the framestays flat and the pieces are flushacross the top. When both ends areassembled, you can go ahead andput the back together.

There are still a couple of steps tocomplete before you can move on tothe face frame in front. As you cansee in Fig. 4, the first thing I did wascut a simple rabbet on the back stileof the end assemblies. This 1/4"-deeprabbet is sized to wrap around andcover the edge of the back assem-bly, as shown in Fig. 4a.

At this point, the next thing to dois to cut a groove near the bottom ofeach assembly. These will hold thebottom panel later, so it’s importantthey all line up (Fig. 1b). But notethat the grooves aren’t the samedepth. The ones on the ends are 1/4"deep, but the groove on the back isa little deeper (5/16") so the bottompanel can expand into the groove.

I figured the table saw is the bestway to keep the grooves aligned,but with the “feet” on the bottom ofthe assemblies, you can’t run thebottom edge against the rip fence.

Fortunately, there’s an easy wayto get around this. Simply attach a

scrap straightedge to the bottom ofeach assembly, using carpet tape tohold it in place, as you can see inFig. 5. The thing you’ll want to con-centrate on is keeping pressuredown on the assembly so the grooveis a consistent depth.

Aux.fence

Dadoblade

End assembly

Backedge

4

JH

E

C

Back fits into rabbetsin ends

#/4"!/4"

a.

QUICK PANEL GLUE-UPS

Straightedge tapedto assembly

Back assemby

#/4" dadoblade

NOTE: Groove in endassembly is " deep!/4

MDF

MDF

Backfaces

together

NOTE: Avoidexcess glue

5

END VIEW

#/4" %/16"

BackassemblyStraightedge

3!/2"

a.

This console requires a lot of 1/4" plywoodpanels that are glued up back-to-back. Ratherthan glue each pair separately, I glued up eachset of panels at the same time, as you can seein the left drawing below. And to help dis-tribute the clamping pressure evenly, I sand-wiched the panels between pieces of 3/4" MDF.

When gluing the pairs together, you’llwant to avoid using too much glue. (Youdon’t want a lot of squeezeout.) And try tokeep the edges of the panels lined up asmuch as possible. It’ll make it easier whenyou trim them to final size, as in the rightdrawing. (I trimmed each panel separately.)

SECOND: Cut offopposite edgeto trim panelto final width

FIRST: Clean upone edge

Single panelassembly



FAST FACE FRAMES WITH POCKET HOLE JOINERY

NOTE:Cut front rails45 " long and

center stile5 " long

!/2

#/8

Faceclamp Frame pieces

butt together

Pocket screw joinery is quick — it’s designedspecifically for building face frames (like theone for this project). And the procedure couldnot be any simpler. The frame pieces are cutto length so they butt together. Then you drillsome angled holes, as in the photo at left.Finally, the pieces are clamped together andsecured with screws, as shown in the drawing.

To build this face frame with pocketscrews, you’re going to need a drilling jig,some self-tapping screws, and a specialstepped drill bit. (A face clamp is also handyfor holding the faces of the pieces flush.) Forsome mail order sources, turn to page 35.

Want to know moreabout cutting halflaps? Then take alook at the article onour web site:Woodsmith.com

6

NM

#/8"

#/8"

1!/2"

2"

CENTERSTILE RAIL

a.

L

1!/4"1!/2"

#/8"

#/4"

#/8"

M

STILE

RAIL

b.

Face FrameWith the end and backassemblies complete, the next sec-tion to build is the front face frame. Asyou can see in Fig. 6 above, this framecreates the openings for the two draw-ers and the adjustable shelf.

You’ve probably noticed by nowthat the face frame is joined withhalf laps. Unlike a mortise andtenon joint, both pieces are cut withbasically the same setup, and youwill be able to find a step-by-steparticle for this on our web site, seethe margin note at left. But there isan even quicker way to build thisframe — with pocket hole screws,as described in the box below. Just

keep in mind that this will changesome of the dimensions.

STILES. To make the face frame, Istarted by cutting just the frontstiles (L) to size, as indicated in Fig.6. Then on the outside edge I cut arabbet that will wrap around the endpanels, as shown in Figs. 7 and 7a.

RAILS. Now you’re ready to cut thefront rails (M) to finished size.Usually with half-lap joints, the railswould extend the full length of thecase. But instead of reaching to theoutside edges of the stiles, theserails stop at the rabbets, as you cansee in Fig. 7a. So the rails end up

#/8"

#/4"

Aux.fence

Dadoblade

LFRONTSTILE

NOTE: Width ofrabbet should match

thickness of ends

7

#/8"

#/4"

M

L

Endassembly

a.



11/2" shorter than the length of thecase. (My front rails were 48" long.)

The other piece to cut at this pointis the center stile (N). Then you canbegin the process of cutting the halflaps that join the face frame, as inFigs. 6a and 6b. Just keep in mindthat the half laps on the ends of thetwo upper front rails are cut on theopposite face as the one in the cen-ter. (I learned this the hard way.)

BOTTOM. After the half laps are cutand the front face frame is glued up,there are still a couple things to dobefore the case can be assembled.First, I glued up a 3/4"-thick bottom(O), as in Fig. 6. The panel isdesigned to be glued to the front railand extend 3/16" into the groove inthe back assembly, as in Fig. 9a.(This will leave a 1/8" gap for the bot-tom to expand into.) As for itslength, I didn’t worry about leavingany gaps in the grooves in the endassemblies because the wood reallywon’t expand along its length.

With the panel glued up andsized, the last thing to do is drill foursets of 3/8"-deep holes to hold someshelf pins. To make sure all the pinsended up level with each other, Iused a simple “story stick.” And asyou can see in Fig. 8, I put a tempo-rary cleat in the groove for the bot-tom to set the story stick against.

CASE ASSEMBLY. At this point, you’reready to assemble the case, asshown in Figs. 9 and 10. Normally, acase assembly like this can get a lit-

tle frantic. Not this one. It’s glued upone section at a time, so you won’teven need an extra pair of hands.

The first thing I did was to dryassemble the front face frame withthe end assemblies, as in Fig. 9.Then I slid the bottom panel in fromthe back to see how it fit. The thingto watch here is the center. A panel

this long can sag noticeably. Sowhen you apply glue, you may needto force the panel up with hand pres-sure so it’s level across its entirelength. When I was satisfied withthe fit, I pulled the bottom awayfrom the front rail and applied a thinbead of glue. Then I slid it back inplace and applied the clamps.

As the glue is drying, you can cuta small bottom cleat (P) and glue itunder the bottom to provide addi-tional support, as shown in Fig. 9.

When the glue is dry, you can gluethe end panels in place — one at atime, as in Fig. 10. Simply removethe clamps, apply some glue to thefront edge, and clamp the assemblyback in place. Just be sure you don’tadd glue to the groove for the bot-tom. The solid wood panel shouldbe free to expand and contract.

The last section to add is theback. Again, the glue is applied tothe ends, not the groove for thepanel. In fact, there should be a littlegap in back for the panel to expandinto, as you can see in Fig. 9a.

Remove eachend assemblyand glue back

in place

Don't applyglue to groove

NOTE: Add backassembly after

ends are glued on

10

NOTE:Endsdry assembled

only

Test fitbefore

applyingglue

CLEAT

OBOTTOM

Check bottomat center to seeif it's sagging

P

NOTE:Cleat installedafter bottom

is in place

9

&/8"

&/8"

6!!/16"

1"

Temporarycleat

Drill holes" deep#/8

"-dia.drill bit!/4

Storystick

Endassembly

8

SIDESECTION

VIEW

!/8"gap

CLEATP

!/4"

O

a.

SECTIONVIEWTape serves

as depth gauge CleatStorystick

#/8"

a.

TOP VIEW

Apply glue torabbet only

Frontframe

Endassembly

a.



Backassembly

RQ

FRAMECLEATS

STRETCHER

#8 x 1 "Fh screw

!/4

Cleats flushwith rails

Glue stretchersto prevent

sagging

R

R

R

12INNER

SUPPORTT

T

OUTERSUPPORTS

S

#8 x 1 "Fh screws

!/4

Bumpers addedto front lowersupports

13

At this point, the case is assembled,but it’s not ready for the two drawersquite yet. There isn’t any way to sup-port them inside the case. That’s thejob of the drawer frames that areadded next, as shown in Fig. 11.

These frames couldn’t be any sim-pler to build. For one thing they’reidentical. And each frame starts outas two cleats and two stretchers thatare added to the case one piece at atime. Then three drawer supportsare screwed to each frame.

Why two sets of frames? Theanswer is that the drawer will rideon the bottom one. And the topframe keeps the drawer from tip-ping out as it’s pulled open.

FRAME CLEATS. The pieces to startwith are the four 3/4"-thick framecleats (Q). These will be screwed tothe ends of the case to support thestretchers, as shown in Fig. 12.

The only thing to do to the cleatsis to cut a notch on each end to holdthe stretchers. And these notchesare easy to create at the table saw. Iset the cleats on edge (supported byan auxiliary miter gauge fence) andused a dado blade raised 3/4" high(the thickness of the stretchers).Then I simply cut the 11/2"-widenotches in multiple passes.

Installing the frame cleats insidethe case is no big deal either. As youcan see in Fig. 12, the lower cleats

should be positioned so they areflush with the bottom of the draweropening. And the upper cleatsshould be flush with the top of thedrawer opening. You’ll just want tomake sure that the notches are ori-ented up on the upper cleats anddown on the lower cleats.

FRAME STRETCHERS. With the cleatsin place, the frame stretchers (R)can be cut to size. These span thelength of the case and are sized to fitinto the notches cut in the cleats.

Because these stretchers are solong, I wanted to make sure theyweren’t going to sag in the center.So in addition to gluing them intothe cleats, I also attached them to

R

R

QFRAMECLEATS

OUTER DWR.SUPPORT

FRAMESTRETCHER

S

S

a.

SIDE SECTIONVIEW

R

Q

TDRAWER

SUPPORTS

S

#8 x 1 "Fh screw

!/4

b.

11

Drawer Frames & Drawers

{ Plastic “stembumper glides” areadded to the frontof all the lowerdrawer supports(and top, backcorners of thedrawers) so theyslide in and out ofthe case smoothly.



the case. The lower back stretcher isglued and screwed into the center stiles,as noted in Fig. 11. The other stretchersare simply glued and clamped to therails, as in Fig. 12.

SUPPORTS. Now you can cut the fourouter (S) and two inner drawer sup-ports (T) to size, as in Fig. 11. Beforescrewing the lower supports in place(Fig. 13), I drilled some holes near thefront and pressed in plastic stem bumperglides so the drawers will slide smoothly,as shown in the margin photo at left.

DRAWERS. Like the rest of this project, Ikept the drawers as simple as possible.As you can see in Fig. 14, the 1/2"-thickfronts (U), backs (U), and sides (V) arecut to size so there’s a 1/16" gap on eachside of the drawer. And the pieces arejoined with a tongue and dado joint.Dadoes are cut across the sides first.Then a matching tongue is cut on theends of the front and back pieces. Finallya groove for a 1/4" plywood bottom (W) iscut in all four pieces (Fig. 14a), and thedrawer can be glued together.

The drawer looks like there’s a frameand panel on the front, but as you can seein Fig. 14, these are just 3/16"-thick piecesof applied trim (X) that are cut to sizeand glued to the front of the drawer.Then you can add the two knobs to each.

GUIDES & RUNNERS. To guide the drawersin and out of the case, there are someguides and runners to add. The twoguides (Y) are sized to fit under eachdrawer bottom, as in Fig. 15. (My guidesended up 1/4" thick.) When gluing thesestrips to the bottom of the drawer, I useda 1"-thick spacer (the same thickness as

the runner) and a square to positionthem. Then I cut a notch in the bottomedge of the drawer back and added acouple bumper glides to the upper backcorners (Fig. 14b).

With the guides in place, you canmake the runners (Z) that go in thecase. These are 1"-thick pieces that arecut to length to fit in the case front toback. And they have notches cut in themjust like the frame cleats earlier. But thistime, you want the top of the cleat to stickup 1/4" above the front rail (Fig. 16a).

Installing each runner in the case iseasier than you might think. I set it inplace and slid the drawer over the top ofit. Then when the drawer was centeredin the opening, I reached under andmarked the position of the runner, asshown in Fig. 16. Then it can be attachedwith screws and a stubby screwdriver.

The last thing to do is add stops (AA)to the back of the case. The goal here issimply to make sure the front of thedrawer ends up flush with the front of thecase (Fig. 14a).

14"

YY

DRAWER GUIDE( " x )!/4 #/4"

Temporaryspacer

(1" thick)

Cut notchin back

of drawer

Square

15

CROSSSECTION

Y

DRAWERGUIDES

#/4"

W

Z

a.

RUNNER

THIRD: Removedrawer and

attach runner

SECOND:Mark position

of runner

FIRST:Center drawer

in opening

Z

16

!/4"

!/2"

1!/2"

1!/2"

#8 x 1 "Fh screw

!/2

SIDESECTION

VIEWZ

a.

A A!/16"

!/4" !!/16"!/4"Glide

SIDESECTION

VIEW

SDrawer flushwith front

a.

BACK

TOP VIEW

!/8"

V

U

W

Bumper glide

#/8"

!/4"

#/4"

b.

14



#/16"-dia. hole,countersunkfrom bottom

%/16"-dia.hole

2 "!/4

14 "!/2

Scrap backs upworkpiece DD

DD

Glue coveflush with

top of case

19

{ To prevent the wide top panelfrom cupping, I applied severalcoats of finish to both faces beforescrewing it to the case.

18

The console is pretty close to beingcomplete. All that’s left is to add theshelf, top, and some cove molding.

GLUE UP PANELS. The first thing I didwas to glue up panels for the shelf(BB) and top (CC), as shown in Fig.17. I decided to use 1"-thick stockhere. The top looks better with athicker edge. And the shelf has lessof a tendency to sag in the center.

SHELF. The shelf is going to expandjust like the bottom, so when sizingit, I allowed for a 1/16" gap at both thefront and back. (There also has tobe a 1/16" gap at each end so it will fit

over the spoon-style shelf pins thatare shown in Fig. 17b.)

TOP. The top is sized to overhangthe case 11/4" at the front and eachend. (It’s flush with the back, as inFig. 17c.) And the lower, front edgeand ends have a 1/2" roundover.

Before you can mount the top,there are two things to do. First,shank holes will need to be drilled inthe frame stretchers, as in Fig. 18.But note that I used different screwsat the front and back. A flatheadscrew is used in the back to hold thepanel flush with the case (Fig. 17c).

In the front, I drilled an oversizedhole and used a roundhead screw(and washer). This way, the panelcan expand and contract at the front.

The second thing to do is addcove molding (DD) to the front andsides. (By doing this now, you don’thave to put nails through the mold-ing.) The molding has a 1/2" coveand is mitered to wrap around thecase, flush with the top, as in Fig. 19.

When you’ve sanded the moldingflush with the case, you can applythe finish and then screw the topdown, as in the photo below. W

SIDE SECTIONVIEW

!/2"round-over

!/2"cove

CCTOP

COVEDD

a.

Shelfpin

B BSHELF

b.

#8 x 1 "Fh screws

!/2

CC

DDCOVE

MOLDING

Top expandsat front

Top staysflush in back

#8 x 1 "Rh screw& washer

!/2

SIDE SECTIONVIEWc.

17

Shelf & Top



SHOP NOTES

31a.

Both the Craftsman wall shelf andstorage bench have pieces with fourshouldered tenons. Normally, cuttingthe top and bottom shoulders is justanother table saw task.

But the arms and top rail of thestorage bench and the top rail of thewall shelf have profiles that createreally tall shoulders. And this was alittle different challenge. I had todecide whether to cut the tall shoul-ders before or after the pieces werecut to shape. And then how to do it.

I’ve never had much luck cuttinga really clean, tall shoulder on thetable saw. If the blade is just a bit outof square, has a little runout, or youpush too hard against the fence, thecut can be too deep. At best youmight have a bad fit, at worst thepiece might be ruined.

But trying to run these piecesthrough the saw after they were cutto shape didn’t seem like a goodidea. So I used a couple differentmethods to solve this problem.

TABLE SAW & CHISELOn the top rail of the Craftsman wallshelf I rough cut the top shoulderson the table saw before I cut the pieceto final shape. And then I finishedthem up with some hand work.

As you can see in Fig. 1, I usedthe same setup (after raising theblade) that was used to cut thecheeks and bottom shoulder.

The only difference is that youdon’t want to cut clear up to theshoulder. Using an auxiliary fenceon the miter gauge to steady thepiece, start at the outside of thetenon and nibble toward the shoul-der, leaving a short step (Fig. 1a).

Now after the top bevel is cut, youcan finish up with a sharp chisel.This is pretty straightforward. Justtake light cuts and work down to theshoulder. As you can see in thephoto at right, I came in from anangle using a slicing motion. If thechisel is sharp, the tough end grainwill “curl” away easily.

BACK SAW & CHISELOn the arms and back rail of thestorage bench the deep curves ofthe profiles would have createdreally long shoulders. So it mademore sense to cut the pieces toshape and then cut the shouldercompletely by hand.

After the pieces were shaped, Iused a small back saw to rough cutthe shoulder. As you can see in Fig.2, the first cut is down from the endof the tenon to the shoulder line.Stay back from your layout line anddon’t cut too deep.

Now cut down along the shoulderline to remove the waste (Fig. 3). Besure to stay away from the shoulderso the saw teeth don’t chew up theclean shoulder line.

The final cleanup goes just likethat described for the top shelf rail.But after you clean up the shoulder,you’ll also want to use the chisel toclean the top side of the tenon andto form a nice, square edge.

2

{ A sharp chisel makes paring away the step easy. Justtake a shallow cut and the wood will “curl” away.

Cutting Tall Shoulders



et a room full of woodworkerstogether and ask them whether

they like to stain cherry or let it agenaturally, and you’re likelyto start an argument thatwill last most of the day.

Not only will they argueabout stain vs. no stain,but they’ll also argueabout what type of stain touse, what brand, and whatcolor. It can be a prettytouchy subject.

CHERRY. The thing thatcan make decidingwhether or not to staincherry, such a head-scratcher is that withcherry what you see isn’t

always what you get. I can remem-ber the first time I planed a piece ofcherry. I looked at it and thought tomyself, “How in the world will thislight, pinkish-tan piece of wood everhave that rich, reddish-brown‘cherry’ color I’m looking for? Well

eventually it did,but it took quitea few years anda really largedose of patienceon my part.

If you want tosee what I’mtalking about,take a look atthe two photosof the Shakertable. The tablein the photo above is fresh from thefinishing room after just a few coatsof rubbed-on oil varnish. The coloris a little uneven (notice the darkerlegs) and just barely hints at thatbeautiful aged cherry color. Butafter several years, my patiencefinally paid off. The same table(photo at left) now has an even,dark, reddish-brown color thatyou’ll usually only see on a true,classic, cherry antique.

What’s the secret here? Thisgradual darkening in color is actu-ally caused by exposure to the sun’sultra-violet (UV) light rays. You’ll seeit in other woods as well, but incherry it can be really noticeableand it can start pretty fast. In fact, I’lloften see a slight change in the colorof cherry even before I’m finishedbuilding the project.

So the decision you have tomake with cherry is — Do I wantto use a natural finish and let timeand light do the work, or do I wantto speed things along and go witha stain? And it’s best to ask your-self this question before you evenbegin building the your project.

NATURAL FINISH. The reason for thisis that if you’re leaning toward a nat-ural finish, you want to be pretty

picky about choosing and laying outthe lumber. I go for the best colormatch I can get and try to hide oravoid any sapwood. And then I savethose really nice boards for theparts that will show the most.

Take the cherry console in thisissue, for example. From the begin-ning, I thought it was a perfect can-didate for a natural finish. With itssimple lines and minimal detail, arubbed-on finish really comple-ments the look of this project. I justtook a little extra time picking outsome really nice pieces of wood.And after rubbing on a few coats ofvarnish, nature will do the rest.

THE SHORT TERM. If you decide to gowith a natural finish, there are a fewthings you should be prepared for.First, you’ve got to be willing to takethe wood as it is. No matter howcareful you are selecting your lum-ber, there are bound to be someinconsistencies in the color andappearance of the wood.

Take a look at the photo of theconsole drawers at left for example.You’d probably think I did a prettypoor job of choosing wood for thetrim. Well, believe it or not, all thepieces came from the same board.It’s just the play of the light that

STAIN CHERRY

G

{ After years ofexposure to natu-ral light, thischerry table has“aged” to a beau-tiful rich reddish-brown color.

{ The drawer trim on the cherry console was allcut from the same board. The light plays dif-ferently on the vertical and horizontal pieces.

WHEN TO

…& WHEN NOT TO



WOODSMITH’S CHERRY STAIN

In the past when I applied thin oilstains to cherry, I had problemswith blotching. Thick, gelled oilstains work really well to controlthis. But since they don’t flow likea thin stain, they can be a pain toapply, especially to a large proj-ect. So I decided to mix a gelledstain with a thinner oil stain to geta nice color that wouldn’t blotchand was easy to apply. After a lit-tle experimenting, I cooked upjust the right “recipe.” Now I usethis mixture exclusively on cherrywith great results.

Woodsmith CherryWoodsmith Cherry

Ingredients 3 parts Zar Cherry Stain1 part Jel’d Cherry Stain

• Combine ingredients in a suitablecontainer. Shake or stir until mix-ture is creamy and lump free.

• Apply with a brush or soft cloth.Let stand 5 minutes. Wipe offexcess working with the grain.

• Let dry overnight.

causes the color of the horizontaland vertical pieces to look different.After a time all the pieces will blendtogether, and in the short run it’ssomething I can easily live with.

PATIENCE. Another thing to con-sider if you plan on using a naturalfinish is how long you’re willing towait to get that warm, dark cherrycolor. There are several factors thataffect how fast your cherry ages —light exposure, the finish you use,and the wood itself. But you need tobe prepared to wait at least a fewyears to get that “antique” look.

If you want to speed up theprocess, I’ve learned that a rubbed-on oil finish that soaks into the woodwill darken faster and even a littledeeper than a built-up finish like var-nish or lacquer. But then if you wantto use a heavier finish, just put on acoat of linseed oil or tung oil first toget a little head start.

RESULTS. There’s one other thingto consider when using a naturalfinish and that is the fact that it canbe hard to predict how the projectwill look after it has aged.Although the wood will eventuallydarken, there’s really no way tocontrol how much it darkens. Sowith a natural finish, you are reallyat the mercy of the wood itself.

STAIN. As nice as a natural finishcan look on some projects, thereare times when I think it makesmore sense to use a stain on

cherry. And there are a couple ofreasons that might make medecide to take this route.

THE WOOD. Sometimes the woodyou are working with will dictate thetype of finish you use. Now and thenI’ll find some cherry that looks sonice it would break my heart tocover it with stain. So I don’t. ButI’m not always this lucky.

When you shop for cherry, you’llfind that much of the lumber that’savailable today has some color varia-tion and little “defects.” Small pinknots, dark sap streaks, and boardswith a good amount of light-coloredsapwood are common. On a natu-rally finished piece, the sapwoodwon’t darken and will stick out like asore thumb. So I’ll use a stain as away to even out the variations incolor and hide any defects, as yousee in the upper photo at right.

I also like to use a stain wheneverI’m building a project that mixessolid cherry with cherry veneer ply-wood. The plywood is often justenough darker than the freshlyplaned solid wood to make mereach for the stain can.

DETAIL. Using a stain on cherry hasanother nice benefit. On a projectlike the blanket chest shown atright, the stain “tones down” thewood a little bit and allows the beau-tiful detail of the moldings and thebracket feet to take center stage. Onmost of my more “formal” pieces, I’ll

go this route and I’m usuallypleased with the result. Plus, youget the bonus of having that classiccherry look without the wait.

Finally, keep in mind that when itcomes to finishing cherry, you can’treally lose. Whether you decide touse a stain or a natural finish, it’shard to beat the beauty of cherry. W

{ I put a coat of Woodsmith’s cherry stain on this blanketchest to even out the color and highlight the details.

{ The light sapwood in this board won’t darken with age.But a single coat of cherry stain can hide it.

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