Bending Curly Cherry

[carld05]

Not all Windex does either. You need Windex Original.

[jread]

One of the best things about this forum is the depth of information you can find in the old posts either through the forum search box or just using Google which does a nice job of pulling up old stuff here.

Just got these curly cherry back and sides for my next project. All my questions already answered. Sweet.

[MaineGeezer]

Wow! That looks like some primo cherry!

[Diane Kauffmds]

It's very similar to the crazy cherry in my Delilah. It'll be a beautiful guitar.

[MaineGeezer]

It may be even more spectacular than the yellow birch I used in guitar #3:

download/file.php?id=9683&mode=view

I did have problems bending that to a cutaway. (The bass side, however, bent okay.)

[jread]

It does feel a lot like the birch I used in my 1st project. Replaced the top and back on my old Stella. I was so new I sent this set to John to join it.

[Diane Kauffmds]

Your cherry has even more figure than the birch it seems. Although the grainlines seem similar, the cherry has a lot more figure. The figure is harder to see until you apply finish.

I know that folks new to Woodworking may not understand how figure works. Since we're on the subject, I thought I'd mention it.

Wood grainlines are the result of how cells line up when wood grows. Wood figure is secondary to the grain and has almost a ghost-like quality, that often changes depending on which direction you look at it. Figure can occur for any number of reasons as wood grows. It really comes out when finish is applied, because figure is the result of a pattern of end grain being mixed in with the grain lines. End grain is usually what you see on a cut end (hence the name). End grain will soak up dyes, stains, finish, much faster.

I prefer to leave the figure natural on cherry, because popping the figure just makes it blotchy. I've found that shellac alone is more than sufficient to pop the figure. Maple is always a good candidate for figure popping. Cherry, not so much. But shellac is ideal for cherry, because it results in almost a 3D quality when used.

You'll see. When you french polish that guitar, the figure will come out in spades.

[jread]

Here's my finished curly cherry build. I bent the sides at about .075" and just spraying with a water bottle front and back before putting into the bender. Also sprayed the paper layer. I found this a rather easy wood to bend at regular temps. It's an 0 body, 24.9" scale.

It sounds just fantastic w/ the adi top. Very mature, expressive, and musical tone to this guitar. It seems more lively and open right away than usual w/ a fresh adi top.

French polished shellac. No need to pore fill.