Purchasing Cherry

[mbartlett99]

Hi All

Looking to get hold of about 0.5 cbm of rough sawn cherry for a kitchen porject - to be machined down to 20mm x 95mm (approx). Does anyone have an idea of competitive prices? Scawton Sawmills are selling at £27 cubic foot which seems the best I've found so far.

 

[custard]

Kiln dried, American Cherry?

£27 a cube seems exceptionally cheap unless you're buying a boat load. Are you sure it's not locally felled, waney edged English Cherry and that's a "sap no fault, take your own moisture meter" price?

 

[mbartlett99]

It is just precisely (well its European and I haven't asked for details yet) that which will no doubt mean a whole bunch of messing around that I'd as soon avoid.

 

[custard]

I like English Cherry. For moderate sized, leisurely paced furniture builds in the 2-5 cubic feet range it's a hugely undervalued timber. For a kitchen it's just a giant headache.

Stick to kilned, sawn American Cherry from a reputable supplier. It'll be about twice the price but in real terms it'll work out cheaper and half the hassle.

Good luck!

 

[tomatwark]

The other thing to consider with Cherry is to allow a bigger wastage factor than if you were using Oak for example, as there will be colour variation even with American Cherry.

This may not be a problem for you but it can be a real pain if you want the colour to be even through the job.

 

[mbartlett99]

The other thing to consider with Cherry is to allow a bigger wastage factor than if you were using Oak for example, as there will be colour variation even with American Cherry.

This may not be a problem for you but it can be a real pain if you want the colour to be even through the job.

Yeah, I've used cherry a fair bit before - my only local place is ok but not great. So can anyone reccomend a good supplier or know going prices?

 

[RobinBHM]

There are a few around the Essex area, as timber comes into Purfleet docks (US timber probably Liverpool docks)

brooks Bros
eoburton
thorogood
and Purfleet there is Blumson and Lathams

I buy from Brooks Bros, but I dont know how helpful they are with non account customers, their hardwood depot is Maldon.

 

[John15]

[/quote]Yeah, I've used cherry a fair bit before - my only local place is ok but not great. So can anyone reccomend a good supplier or know going prices?[/quote]

I have used Good Timber for my American Cherry and Oak, and found them satisfactory. It has been my only source so I don't know how it compares with other suppliers - maybe a bit dearer. They have a price list on their website. http://www.goodtimber.com/cgi-bin/newbuild.

John

 

[custard]

Given your location I'd suggest Tylers, which should be on the list for any woodworker in the South East. They frequently carry some excellent products, like waney edged unsteamed ABW and huge waney edged boards of 15mm Cedar of Lebanon for shingling which is actually perfect for drawer bottoms.

http://www.tylerhardwoods.com/page/home

Also Moss & Co. I haven't visited them since they moved from the East End to the West of London, but besides absolutely all the normal stuff they usually have something really interesting in stock,

http://www.mosstimber.co.uk

 

[mbartlett99]

Cool thanks guys will have a look. Goodtimber are definitely a bit on the pricey side and I've emailed thoroghgoods.

 

[mbartlett99]

Cool thanks guys will have a look. Goodtimber are definitely a bit on the pricey side and I've emailed thoroghgoods.

 

[mbartlett99]

Thought I'd update this thread for future folks. Phoned around everyone and emailed sadly many didn't reply but check this out for price difference;

1) Chiltern Timber - my closest supplier £85 cft lady was nice on the phone but knew little. Hardwoods are not their main business and it would probably have to be ordered.
2) Thorogoods - featured cherry/walnut big style on their website and the salesman positively oozed when talking about the cherry (he was very nice and knowledgeable). They stock product from the Horizon Sawmill in Pennslyvania. Cost was £64 cft
3) Tylers Hardwoods - Custard recommended these guys. Talked to Geoff the owner who was super - also stocked the Horizon Product but the price was £42 cft! Was a bit of a drive for me but worth it as they also had the Cedar of Lebanon I wanted and some 100mm Maple. Super nice guys on the floor, took account of the wane and cut to length FOC. Timber was totally uniform in colour and as a close to clear as cherry gets. They had serious stocks of oak, abw, utile and heavens knows what else. I've never used Cedar of Lebanon before - serious wastage there - glad I doubled up.

So, in a bizarre coincidence service, quality and price collided - Tyler are officially the bol***cks.

 

[custard]

Tylers is a big, serious, industrial scale yard, and many people would be too intimidated to ever go there. But as you've shown it really isn't that difficult. Tylers are prepared to open their doors to the smaller customer, and as long as you don't mess them around (i.e. know in advance what you're looking for and then make a decision in reasonable time) they'll bend over backwards to oblige the small maker or serious hobbyist.

Good luck with your kitchen build!

 

[mbartlett99]

Couldn't have been nicer, like you say be organised and I did spend a grand. Only issue was the motor could only fit 210 cm - luckily the short bits won't be wasted.

Tell you what though Custard - my meter shows 10% moisture but its not got cherry on the list (loads of SE Asian woods - go figure). Would cherry be on the same scale as maple? Would 10% be ok?

 

[custard]

Moisture meters primarily need to know the specific gravity of the timber species. There's always a range so it's an estimate, but Cherry is normally about 0.60, so a bit more than say Poplar at 0.50 or Walnut at 0.55, similar to Soft Maple or Honduran Mahogany, and a bit less than Hard Maple, Oak, or Ash which are about 0.65-7.0.

10% is fine for interior applications, that's pretty much where you want it to be.