Prunus Serotina
Cherry Lumber: A Furniture Wood Like No Other
The Appalachian region of the United States produces beautiful Cherry wood, and J. Gibson McIlvain buys directly from many sawmills in Pennsylvania and other areas throughout the Ohio Valley.
Over the years, we have discovered that this region tends to produce the consistent color and characteristics of top quality Cherry lumber that our customers value.
The warm tones and subtle grain pattern of Cherry wood make it an excellent interior wood for doors, windows, mouldings, and, especially, furniture. The predictable movement of properly dried Cherry lumber and the ease with which it can be worked have made the species a staple material in many craftsmen’s projects.
Many people love Cherry wood for its color, but rough sawn Cherry lumber is a much lighter pink than what most expect. Today, many Cherry finishes are much deeper browns and reds, and this can cause some confusion. Over time and with UV exposure and oxidation, Cherry wood’s color deepens into a beautiful brownish-red, so although freshly sawn cherry may not display the species’ famous colors, rest assured that it eventually will.
Many customers choose to expose their Cherry lumber to the sun to speed up this process, while others rely upon dye and/or stains to achieve the deep red color. This “break in” period is something of which everyone should be aware, especially when doing restoration work to match existing trim or furniture.
Cherry Wood Characteristics
| Character | Green | Dry | Units |
| Bending Strength | 7900 | 13250 | psi |
| Crushing Strength | 410 | 965 | psi |
| Max Crushing Strength | 3435 | 7865 | psi |
| Static Bending | 3600 | 9900 | psi |
| Impact Strength | 38 | 36 | inches |
| Stiffness | 1380 | 1655 | 1000 psi |
| Work to Maximum Load | 13 | 11 | in-lbs/in3 |
| Hardness (Janka) | – | 950 | lbs |
| Shearing Strength | – | 1700 | psi |
| Specific Gravity | 0.47 | 0.54 | – |
| Weight | 46 | 36 | lbs/ft3 |
| Radial Shrinkage | – | 4 | % |
| Tangential Shrinkage | – | 7 | % |
| Volumetric Shrinkage | – | 12 | % |
Cherry Applications
Cherry Wood has long been a furniture wood and the tree size and typical grades are a perfect match for smaller furniture sized parts. However, Cherry flooring is highly common due to the lesser grades required (shorts, narrow, 1 face clear) for the typical hardwood floor. Cherry cabinetry is common in kitchens and not just in the typical kitchen but now into additional environments like boats, aviation, RVs, and a lot of commercial constructions like ballrooms, offices, and institutions. The warm tone is one of the central Cherry wood characteristics that makes it so appealing across so many different applications.
Cherry Lumber Sources
As with all of our lumber, we travel to the mills to inspect the Cherry lumber we buy in order to obtain consistent color, clear grain, and good heartwood to sapwood ratios. Our extensive buying network allows us to provide Cherry in just about any thickness, width, or length.
Cherry has been a marquee product for J. Gibson McIlvain since we opened our doors over 200 years ago. As such, we have built solid relationships with local mills across Pennsylvania and much of the Ohio River Valley.
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