# Make oak look more like cherry?



## interpim (Dec 6, 2008)

I have been commissioned to build a small craft table for someone I work with, and She wants it to have a Cherry finish. We have agreed that the best bet is to use plywood for the carcass and top to cut down on overall costs. She has also mentioned she absolutely hates pine, and wants it with something else.

I don't want to spend more that $45 a sheet for the plywood, so I was thinking of using the 3/4" oak plywood.

There in lies the problem. How do I finish Oak plywood with solid wood banding to look like cherry? Or is there an alternative to get a better looking finish that is more like cherry. Solid wood is going to be cost prohibitive.


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## waho6o9 (May 6, 2011)

http://lumberjocks.com/topics/36959

Another LJ had the same question. HTH, good luck on that.


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## BillWhite (Jul 23, 2007)

Ain't gonna happen 'cause of the grain of the oak. Color is another issue. I suggest that SHE pick the color stain that SHE likes. Then proceed.
Bill


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## BilltheDiver (Jul 2, 2010)

I would suggest birch plywood instead of oak. Cherry plywood is available, but does cost more.


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## knotscott (Feb 27, 2009)

I think the suggestion for birch ply makes more sense than oak ply to look like cherry. If you do opt for oak, I'd use a grain filler and gel stain to tone down the contrast of the oak grain.


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## MoPower (Feb 6, 2009)

How about a cherry veneer ?


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## Sawkerf (Dec 31, 2009)

Can you get Alder ply? It's as close to Cherry as you can get.


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## Viking (Aug 26, 2009)

I agree with Sawkerf. Try to find some alder PW?


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## MichaelR (Oct 1, 2011)

I've had a lot of success using Maple ply. Where I'm at it's close to Oak in cost. To get an aged Cherry look I use a Dark Mahogany stain. And if you're lucky Maple will give you that realistic blotchy stained look just like real Cherry.


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## pmayer (Jan 3, 2010)

I agree with Michael. I would use maple. Then take a piece of natural cherry down to a good paint store and have them custom tint a stain to match the color of cherry. If the store does this well, it will fool just about everyone. Sherwin Williams offers this service for free in my area.


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

I'd go with birch. Have her pay you to do a finish test if she has
a need to be picky about finishes and price at the same time.

Maple closely resembles cherry in terms of grain structure, but
you may want to assess if your client can tell the difference.
She may just think pine looks cheap (it does) no matter what
finish you put on it.

You can get plastic laminate and melamine with a photographed
stained cherry grain on it. Edge band with plastic cherry
banding in the same shade and you may meet the client's
needs. Consider all the time you'd save on messing with
a finishing schedule to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear
trying to fake cherry in a cheaper wood. It's your time.

There are some water-based stains on the market that behave
more like water-seal than conventional wood stains. They
penetrate wood fibers but a lot of the color stays on the
surface more like a thinned-out paint. This allows you to 
basically create a faux layer between the wood and the
top coat. These stains are often sold as a solution to staining
pine. I had some Varathane stuff of this sort and it worked
really nicely on alder… but I am not sure they sell it anymore
under that label. I don't use stains much. I prefer dyes. 
I also don't get into situations where I am tilting at windmills
to try to please a client with champagne taste and a 
beer budget.


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## interpim (Dec 6, 2008)

I disagree with you on the pine looking cheap Loren. Pine can look really good if it is done right.

As far as the finish or wood goes, it isn't so much that it has to be oak… It's I am on a fairly strict timeline since she is leaving in a few weeks. Where I am, the availability of ply/solid wood outside of your borgs is fairly limited, and I haven't been able to find cherry plywood and solid wood close by. I am more looking for quick not necessarily cheap. I am leaning toward birch plywood, her main concern wasn't pine looking cheap, but the softness of it.


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

Then buy cherry ply if price is not the issue. Plenty of access
to anything you want in So. California. The area is dripping with
money and the suppliers are in the B2B phone book under 
"lumber" and "plywood". Go to the library and you'll find them.

People ask me all the time if they can have work that looks
like fine walnut without the cost. The answer is no. Same
with cherry. Only cherry has the magnificence of cherry.


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