American Cherry for outdoor use?

[thedman]

Hi Folks,

I'm just getting into woodworking, I've made a few simple things indoors but now I want to make an outdoor dining table - before the mrs buys a rubbish one...

I dont want the table top to go grey though. I don't mind it going darker or even black. And obviously I want it to be durable so it can last. (I will cover it over the winter). I saw on Good Timber's website: "American Cherry is very durable and is suitable for both indoor and outdoor use" but other sites list it as Moderately Durable, Ideally I would like the table to last for 25 years... Is American Cherry suitable? If not what timbers would you recommend? Durable and not greying. I'd like it to be about 45mm thick.

For what its worth I'll make the base/frame from Cedar (so that will grey...)

Thanks in advance,

Dave.

 

[Racers]

I would have said Iroko for outside, I don't know which one is cheaper.

Pete

 

[thedman]

I'm sure iroko will grey, but american cherry should go a dark brown...

Padauk might be an option, goes from Orange to black... anyone any experience with this??

 

[RobinBHM]

All timbers left untreated will turn grey. UV kills off the lignin so the original colour of the timber will disappear. Horizontal surfaces may be prone to algae turning it black or green.

A surface coating, will protect against this happening, but only tinted finishes have long term resistance against UV. Generally the colour generically known as 'light oak' is the palest colour that lasts a few years at least. Many companies have tried offering clear varnishes for outside, but only pigments can stop sunlight breaking down the coating.

Iroko is great outside, others include oak, cedar, siberian larch, chestnut.

 

[custard]

Hi Folks,
I'm just getting into woodworking, I've made a few simple things indoors but now I want to make an outdoor dining table - before the mrs buys a rubbish one...

Dave, for someone just getting into woodwork American Cherry is a superb timber. Kind on tools, planes easily, takes glue and screws well, reasonably consistent colour and texture from tree to tree, fairly stable, widely available in a good range of dimensions...but (there's always a but isn't there) it's a lousy choice for outdoor projects, simply because it rots too easily.

As has been said, all woods fade to a silvery grey in the sun (when was the last time you saw a dark brown piece of driftwood). But there is one interesting feature about American Cherry and sunlight, some people try to use stain to achieve the look of hundred year old Shaker originals, but Cherry can occasionally go a bit blotchy with stain, so increasingly it's becoming accepted practise to move a freshly made piece of furniture into bright sunshine for a few days, which accelerates the natural ageing process and significantly darkens the wood. But leave it in the sun for months instead of days and it will, like every other timber, fade to silver.

For someone with a bit more experience iroko or oak are good outdoor timbers, but I'd be hesitant recommending them for a newcomer to woodworking. They're both much. much tougher woods to work with hand tools, you can't use steel screws with oak (they turn oak black) and iroko is tricky to glue. Mahogany would be a good bet but it's expensive and a lot of timber gets called mahogany when it's not. I'd suggest larch or spruce for a first project.

Good luck!