dc

dustyone

21/06/2009 8:48 AM

does all wood darken?

Hello all,


Question:

Does all wood darken with age? Cherry, of course, is an example of
such a species. Do other woods behave in the same way? One would
think that most color would fade with exposure to light, and that
cherry is an anomaly.

Curt Blood
Hartford, CT


This topic has 51 replies

LM

"Lee Michaels"

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

25/06/2009 10:29 AM


"Swingman" wrote
>
> Yep ... and, as you know, every time you walk in my house you can see that
> the nice initial effect of inlaying walnut with cherry may not stand the
> test of time.
>
> The walnut lightens and the cherry darkens, making the inlay almost
> disappear.
>
Next time, reverse the woods. Inlay cherry into the walnut. That should do
the trick! Hindsight is 20/20. :-)



MH

"Martin H. Eastburn"

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

22/06/2009 8:34 PM

I turned a bird house out of an oily wood - name escapes me now -
and my beloved put it on a shelf (not for birds) that caught an hour
or so a day. It bleached and dried out and needed oiling to help it.

Might have been Cocobolo - but I can't recall - been 10-12 years ago.
[ wood used for bearings ? ] Hum

Martin

Leon wrote:
> "dustyone" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:1f6fe47b-54e1-4ea0-a33a-1c8440690201@f30g2000vbf.googlegroups.com...
>> Hello all,
>>
>>
>> Question:
>>
>> Does all wood darken with age? Cherry, of course, is an example of
>> such a species. Do other woods behave in the same way? One would
>> think that most color would fade with exposure to light, and that
>> cherry is an anomaly.
>>
>> Curt Blood
>> Hartford, CT
>
>
> NO! some get lighter but most get darker. IIRC Walnut will lighten with
> exposure to light as opposet to Maple, Cherry, Padauh, Cocobolo which get
> darker.
>
>

LH

"Lew Hodgett"

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

23/06/2009 1:46 AM

"Martin H. Eastburn" wrote:

> [ wood used for bearings ? ] Hum

The standard for wooden journal bearings in marine applications has
been Lignum Vitae.

Lew

MD

Morris Dovey

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

21/06/2009 11:21 AM

dustyone wrote:

> Does all wood darken with age? Cherry, of course, is an example of
> such a species. Do other woods behave in the same way? One would
> think that most color would fade with exposure to light, and that
> cherry is an anomaly.

All wood eventually oxidizes to one degree or another - and the woods
I'm familiar with will oxidize until they eventually turn black.

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/

MD

Morris Dovey

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

21/06/2009 12:14 PM

RicodJour wrote:
> On Jun 21, 12:21 pm, Morris Dovey <[email protected]> wrote:
>> dustyone wrote:
>>> Does all wood darken with age? Cherry, of course, is an example of
>>> such a species. Do other woods behave in the same way? One would
>>> think that most color would fade with exposure to light, and that
>>> cherry is an anomaly.
>> All wood eventually oxidizes to one degree or another - and the woods
>> I'm familiar with will oxidize until they eventually turn black.
>
> What time frame are you talking about?

Well, I have unfinished softwood that has browned significantly over the
last ten years or so.

I've paid attention to the effect of time on softwood and hardwood
furniture built in North America in the 1600's - 1800's shown on
"Antiques Roadshow".

And I've seen first hand how wood from 1000 years ago has turned black
as charcoal (without an intermediate oil stage, AFAIK).

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/

DN

David Nebenzahl

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

27/06/2009 10:32 AM

On 6/25/2009 7:56 AM Leon spake thus:

> Stick it out side! IT IS NOT GOING TO RAIN. The Cherry will turn darker
> and the Walnut will lighten, then you will end up with the same result,
> except just the opposite. ;~(

Just a question: why do you always capitalize Cherry and Walnut? They're
not proper nouns, you know, and this ain't German.

Just curious.


--
Found--the gene that causes belief in genetic determinism

DN

David Nebenzahl

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

27/06/2009 11:19 AM

On 6/27/2009 10:37 AM Swingman spake thus:

> David Nebenzahl wrote:
>
>> On 6/25/2009 7:56 AM Leon spake thus:
>>
>>> Stick it out side! IT IS NOT GOING TO RAIN. The Cherry will turn
>>> darker and the Walnut will lighten, then you will end up with the same
>>> result, except just the opposite. ;~(
>>
>> Just a question: why do you always capitalize Cherry and Walnut? They're
>> not proper nouns, you know, and this ain't German.
>>
>> Just curious.
>
> Around here proper respect is paid to JOAT'S wooddorking gods, which
> lurk in the two most elegant of hardwoods, way before any thought is
> given to frivolous pursuits like grammar ... besides, it insures
> wooddorkers cut only once after measuring only once.

Hmm; dunno what JOAT is, but I'll find out soon enough.

And that's sure better than my usual "Damn--I cut it twice and it's
*still* too short!"


--
Found--the gene that causes belief in genetic determinism

dc

dustyone

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

23/06/2009 5:14 AM

On Jun 22, 10:59=A0am, Phisherman <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Sun, 21 Jun 2009 08:48:52 -0700 (PDT), dustyone
>
> <[email protected]> wrote:
> >Hello all,
>
> >Question:
>
> >Does all wood darken with age? =A0Cherry, of course, is an example of
> >such a species. =A0Do other woods behave in the same way? =A0One would
> >think that most color would fade with exposure to light, and that
> >cherry is an anomaly.
>
> >Curt Blood
> >Hartford, CT
>
> Pine, oak, maple, redwood, walnut darken with age. =A0I am surprised how
> much my pine furniture has darkened with age. =A0Not sure if ALL wood
> darkens with sun exposure, but I'd like to know which one(s) do not.
> There have been many times I avoided cherry due to its darkening
> characteristics. =A0What is aggravating is putting a vase, cloth, lamp
> on a table for some months, then you can see the lighter shadow on the
> wood. =A0

Many thanks!

Curt Blood
Hartford, CT

DG

"Denis G."

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

24/06/2009 10:26 PM

On Jun 24, 10:40=A0pm, "Leon" <[email protected]> wrote:
> "Tanus" <[email protected]> wrote in messagenews:[email protected]...
>
> > Walnut will lighten? Does that work the same way as cherry darkens? Mak=
e
> > sure it gets sun exposure and leave it there to lighten up.
>
> Yes
>
>
>
> > I have a walnut bowl that seems a bit dark and if all I have to do is p=
ut
> > it by a southern exposed window, I'd like to see how light it gets.
>
> I don't think it will lighten quite as quickly as the cherry darkens in
> light exposure.

Here is a link to a Japanese book (=93Wood and Cellulosic Chemistry=94 by
David N.-S. Hon, Nobuo Shiraishi)
http://tinyurl.com/knpd6f

According to the book, there are many causes of discoloration:
chemical, biological and physical. Results for light-induced
discoloration is shown in Table 7 for 100 species of wood (but Google
shows only part of the table) Positive numbers show woods that
darken and negative numbers show woods that lighten.

According to the Table 7, American walnut should lighten, but window
glass will block UV from sunlight, so it may take much longer than if
left in full sunlight outdoors.

dc

dustyone

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

21/06/2009 1:24 PM

On Jun 21, 3:59=A0pm, "SonomaProducts.com" <[email protected]> wrote:
> Every species has it's own characteristics. Pine will yellow and brown
> if it is indoors and covered with a varnish of some sort but will Grey
> and black if outdorrs and exposed to mositiure. Red oak will usually
> lighten, agin unless moisture is present than it will black, etc. etc.
>
> On Jun 21, 8:48=A0am, dustyone <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > Hello all,
>
> > Question:
>
> > Does all wood darken with age? =A0Cherry, of course, is an example of
> > such a species. =A0Do other woods behave in the same way? =A0One would
> > think that most color would fade with exposure to light, and that
> > cherry is an anomaly.
>
> > Curt Blood
> > Hartford, CT




Thank you all for your responses. The wood in question is curly maple
finished with rock hard table top varnish. Sounds like the answer is
"it depends".

CB

Rr

RicodJour

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

21/06/2009 9:52 AM

On Jun 21, 12:21=A0pm, Morris Dovey <[email protected]> wrote:
> dustyone wrote:
> > Does all wood darken with age? =A0Cherry, of course, is an example of
> > such a species. =A0Do other woods behave in the same way? =A0One would
> > think that most color would fade with exposure to light, and that
> > cherry is an anomaly.
>
> All wood eventually oxidizes to one degree or another - and the woods
> I'm familiar with will oxidize until they eventually turn black.

What time frame are you talking about? I suppose if you wait long
enough the wood would turn into oil, so yes, it would turn black. But
there's plenty of wood lying around this place that isn't continuing
to darken. I have some unfinished pine window trim that has been
sitting in the sun for years and it isn't getting noticeably darker.
If anything it's lightening up some after the initial darkening.

R

Rr

RicodJour

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

21/06/2009 11:27 AM

On Jun 21, 1:14=A0pm, Morris Dovey <[email protected]> wrote:
> RicodJour wrote:
> > On Jun 21, 12:21 pm, Morris Dovey <[email protected]> wrote:
> >> dustyone wrote:
> >>> Does all wood darken with age? =A0Cherry, of course, is an example of
> >>> such a species. =A0Do other woods behave in the same way? =A0One woul=
d
> >>> think that most color would fade with exposure to light, and that
> >>> cherry is an anomaly.
> >> All wood eventually oxidizes to one degree or another - and the woods
> >> I'm familiar with will oxidize until they eventually turn black.
>
> > What time frame are you talking about?
>
> Well, I have unfinished softwood that has browned significantly over the
> last ten years or so.
>
> I've paid attention to the effect of time on softwood and hardwood
> furniture built in North America in the 1600's - 1800's shown on
> "Antiques Roadshow".
>
> And I've seen first hand how wood from 1000 years ago has turned black
> as charcoal (without an intermediate oil stage, AFAIK).

Well that clears that up. When you said eventually you were talking
about a time frame measured in the hundreds of years. I'm not sure
that's what the OP was asking about.

R

Ll

"Leon"

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

22/06/2009 7:51 AM


"dadiOH" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:DMt%[email protected]...
>
> My experience is that light woods darken and dark woods (walnut, mahogany,
> etc.) lighten. Teak too lightens.

Padauk, Cocobolo, and Cherry darken.



DG

"David G. Nagel"

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

28/06/2009 4:16 PM

David Nebenzahl wrote:
> On 6/27/2009 10:37 AM Swingman spake thus:
>
>> David Nebenzahl wrote:
> >
>>> On 6/25/2009 7:56 AM Leon spake thus:
>>>
>>>> Stick it out side! IT IS NOT GOING TO RAIN. The Cherry will turn
>>>> darker and the Walnut will lighten, then you will end up with the
>>>> same result, except just the opposite. ;~(
>>>
>>> Just a question: why do you always capitalize Cherry and Walnut?
>>> They're not proper nouns, you know, and this ain't German.
>>>
>>> Just curious.
>>
>> Around here proper respect is paid to JOAT'S wooddorking gods, which
>> lurk in the two most elegant of hardwoods, way before any thought is
>> given to frivolous pursuits like grammar ... besides, it insures
>> wooddorkers cut only once after measuring only once.
>
> Hmm; dunno what JOAT is, but I'll find out soon enough.
>
> And that's sure better than my usual "Damn--I cut it twice and it's
> *still* too short!"
>
>
JOAT Jack Of All Trades (master of none).

Like me.

Dave N

Ll

"Leon"

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

25/06/2009 9:56 AM


"Swingman" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Leon wrote:
>
>> That sounds very reasonable. Because I have never built any Walnut
>> furniture that was to be left out side in direct sunlight I have not
>> witnessed it fade "quickly". Cherry on OTOH will darken quickly. You
>> better be cautious about setting any thing on a new piece of Cherry
>> furniture that will block light as in as little as several weeks the wood
>> will darken around the protected/covered spot.
>
> Yep ... and, as you know, every time you walk in my house you can see that
> the nice initial effect of inlaying walnut with cherry may not stand the
> test of time.
>
> The walnut lightens and the cherry darkens, making the inlay almost
> disappear.



Stick it out side! IT IS NOT GOING TO RAIN. The Cherry will turn darker
and the Walnut will lighten, then you will end up with the same result,
except just the opposite. ;~(


dd

"dadiOH"

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

21/06/2009 1:06 PM

dustyone wrote:
> Hello all,
>
>
> Question:
>
> Does all wood darken with age? Cherry, of course, is an example of
> such a species. Do other woods behave in the same way? One would
> think that most color would fade with exposure to light, and that
> cherry is an anomaly.

My experience is that light woods darken and dark woods (walnut, mahogany,
etc.) lighten. Teak too lightens. I used to have a sailboat with an
African mahogany trunk cabin and a teak transom. Both became noticeably
lighter within a few months after sanding and varnishing.

Much also depends on what finish if any. I made my wife's desk of heartwood
hickory with sapwood hickory trim. The heartwood was medium, sapwood quite
light. The desk was finished with linseed oil, all parts became a medium
brown within a few months due to the oxidation of the oil.

Also, freshly cut wood color is different from that exposed to air for a
while; e.g, freshly cut walnut generally has a purplish cast, teak a
greenish one.


--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico


Sk

Swingman

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

27/06/2009 4:06 PM

Leon wrote:

> You don't name your boards??

ROTFL! ...

> I want to emphasize the particular wood.

LOL ... that'll do it, for sure!

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 10/22/08
KarlC@ (the obvious)

Ll

Leon

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

23/02/2018 12:41 PM

On 2/23/2018 11:22 AM, Jack wrote:
> On 2/23/2018 11:59 AM, Leon wrote:
>> On 2/23/2018 9:44 AM, Jack wrote:
>>> On 2/21/2018 5:07 PM, [email protected] wrote:
>>>> On Sunday, June 21, 2009 at 10:48:52 AM UTC-5, dustyone wrote:
>>>>> Hello all,
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Question:
>>>>>
>>>>> Does all wood darken with age?  Cherry, of course, is an example of
>>>>> such a species.  Do other woods behave in the same way?  One would
>>>>> think that most color would fade with exposure to light, and that
>>>>> cherry is an anomaly.
>>>>>
>>>>> Curt Blood
>>>>> Hartford, CT
>>>>
>>>> I want to buy a beautiful Queen Anne table that the owner says is
>>>> cherry.  I leaf is clearly darker, presumably because it was stored.
>>>> I was hoping to put it in the sun to let it lighten up so it will
>>>> match.  Any thoughts on what I can do to get it to lighten up?
>>>
>>> Cherry will not get lighter.  In fact, now that you mention it, I
>>> don't recall ever seeing wood get lighter with exposure to light,
>>> usually light wood turns gray, and dark wood get darker. I don't have
>>> experience with all 60,000 species of wood, so one can't be sure.  My
>>> best guess is the leaf was exposed to sun, and the table wasn't.
>>> Seems strange as normally it would be the other way around.  Possibly
>>> the leaf is different wood from the rest.
>>>
>> Walnut absolutely lightens with exposure to light.
> I'm sitting here looking at a walnut pencil holder I made 40+ years ago
> and it's if anything darker than when I made it. How long should I wait
> for it to get lighter?  Same with my cutting boards also 40+ years old,
> the walnut is definitely not lighter than when made.

Indirect sunlight and or a finish can slow the process. You will
probably have no issue.

BUT. If you believe anything from the internet or FWW,

http://forums.finewoodworking.com/fine-woodworking-knots/wood-and-materials/walnut-fade-and-why-bother


> It's Pennsylvania walnut though, not Texas walnut.  Also not sitting
> outside in direct sunlight and weather so who knows what that would do?
>  Generally direct sunlight might fade colored wood into grayish, but
> don't recall any wood getting lighter from exposure.
>

Wood that is exposed to a lot of UV will turn grey, even walnut. On its
way to turning grey, it lightens.
Swingman and our wives were in Arkansas about 10 years ago and were
looking for wood. We ran across a guy with a band saw sawmill that was
selling fence posts. $4 each IIRC and they were all grey like a typical
fence post. They had been stored and dried outside.

These posts were walnut and until he planed the faded side we would
never have believed that. We left Arkansas with a pick up load of grey
walnut fence posts. $74.

dd

"dadiOH"

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

21/06/2009 5:04 PM

dustyone wrote:
> On Jun 21, 3:59 pm, "SonomaProducts.com" <[email protected]> wrote:
>> Every species has it's own characteristics. Pine will yellow and
>> brown if it is indoors and covered with a varnish of some sort but
>> will Grey and black if outdorrs and exposed to mositiure. Red oak
>> will usually lighten, agin unless moisture is present than it will
>> black, etc. etc.
>>
>> On Jun 21, 8:48 am, dustyone <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>> Hello all,
>>
>>> Question:
>>
>>> Does all wood darken with age? Cherry, of course, is an example of
>>> such a species. Do other woods behave in the same way? One would
>>> think that most color would fade with exposure to light, and that
>>> cherry is an anomaly.
>>
>>> Curt Blood
>>> Hartford, CT
>
>
>
>
> Thank you all for your responses. The wood in question is curly maple
> finished with rock hard table top varnish. Sounds like the answer is
> "it depends".

It will darken.

--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico


dd

"dadiOH"

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

24/06/2009 1:37 PM

Tanus wrote:
> Leon wrote:
>> "dustyone" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:1f6fe47b-54e1-4ea0-a33a-1c8440690201@f30g2000vbf.googlegroups.com...
>>> Hello all,
>>>
>>>
>>> Question:
>>>
>>> Does all wood darken with age? Cherry, of course, is an example of
>>> such a species. Do other woods behave in the same way? One would
>>> think that most color would fade with exposure to light, and that
>>> cherry is an anomaly.
>>>
>>> Curt Blood
>>> Hartford, CT
>>
>>
>> NO! some get lighter but most get darker. IIRC Walnut will
>> lighten with exposure to light as opposet to Maple, Cherry, Padauh,
>> Cocobolo which get darker.
>>
>>
>
> Walnut will lighten? Does that work the same way as cherry darkens?
> Make sure it gets sun exposure and leave it there to lighten up.
>
> I have a walnut bowl that seems a bit dark and if all I have to do is
> put it by a southern exposed window, I'd like to see how light it
> gets.
> Tanus

Not very...it gets redder (than fresh cut) with golden overtones.

--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico


Ll

Leon

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

23/02/2018 10:59 AM

On 2/23/2018 9:44 AM, Jack wrote:
> On 2/21/2018 5:07 PM, [email protected] wrote:
>> On Sunday, June 21, 2009 at 10:48:52 AM UTC-5, dustyone wrote:
>>> Hello all,
>>>
>>>
>>> Question:
>>>
>>> Does all wood darken with age?  Cherry, of course, is an example of
>>> such a species.  Do other woods behave in the same way?  One would
>>> think that most color would fade with exposure to light, and that
>>> cherry is an anomaly.
>>>
>>> Curt Blood
>>> Hartford, CT
>>
>> I want to buy a beautiful Queen Anne table that the owner says is
>> cherry.  I leaf is clearly darker, presumably because it was stored.
>> I was hoping to put it in the sun to let it lighten up so it will
>> match.  Any thoughts on what I can do to get it to lighten up?
>
> Cherry will not get lighter.  In fact, now that you mention it, I don't
> recall ever seeing wood get lighter with exposure to light, usually
> light wood turns gray, and dark wood get darker. I don't have experience
> with all 60,000 species of wood, so one can't be sure.  My best guess is
> the leaf was exposed to sun, and the table wasn't.  Seems strange as
> normally it would be the other way around.  Possibly the leaf is
> different wood from the rest.
>
Walnut absolutely lightens with exposure to light.

Ff

FrozenNorth

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

22/06/2009 2:19 PM

Rusty wrote:
> "dustyone" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:1f6fe47b-54e1-4ea0-a33a-1c8440690201@f30g2000vbf.googlegroups.com...
>> Hello all,
>>
>>
>> Question:
>>
>> Does all wood darken with age? Cherry, of course, is an example of
>> such a species. Do other woods behave in the same way? One would
>> think that most color would fade with exposure to light, and that
>> cherry is an anomaly.
>>
>> Curt Blood
>> Hartford, CT
>
> Generally light woods darken dark woods lighten

In other words, everything becomes dark beige.
;-)

--
Froz...

DM

Doug Miller

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

21/02/2018 11:07 PM

[email protected] wrote in
news:[email protected]:

> On Sunday, June 21, 2009 at 10:48:52 AM UTC-5, dustyone wrote:
>> Hello all,
>>
>>
>> Question:
>>
>> Does all wood darken with age? Cherry, of course, is an
>> example of such a species. Do other woods behave in the same
>> way? One would think that most color would fade with exposure
>> to light, and that cherry is an anomaly.
>>
>> Curt Blood
>> Hartford, CT
>
> I want to buy a beautiful Queen Anne table that the owner says
> is cherry. I leaf is clearly darker, presumably because it was
> stored. I was hoping to put it in the sun to let it lighten up
> so it will match. Any thoughts on what I can do to get it to
> lighten up?
>
If the piece really is cherry, that's not going to work the way you think it will: cherry gets
darker when it's exposed to sunlight, not lighter. If the leaf that was stored is darker than the
rest of the piece which was exposed to light, then it's probably walnut, certainly isn't cherry.

Your first step is to confirm what wood it is. Post a picture on some photo-sharing site so we
can all see it.

LB

Larry Blanchard

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

21/06/2009 9:00 PM

On Sun, 21 Jun 2009 17:04:36 -0400, dadiOH wrote:

> dustyone wrote:

>> Thank you all for your responses. The wood in question is curly maple
>> finished with rock hard table top varnish. Sounds like the answer is
>> "it depends".
>
> It will darken.

Most of the reference books I've read agree. The only question is the
time frame.

I particularly remember a book on turning that emphasized form because no
matter how pretty the wood, it'll all be black eventually. And yes,
eventually was in the 100s of years.

Of course, one could always use paint and bury the stuff in a desert
pyramid :-).





--
Intelligence is an experiment that failed - G. B. Shaw

Ll

"Leon"

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

27/06/2009 2:16 PM


"David Nebenzahl" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On 6/25/2009 7:56 AM Leon spake thus:
>
>> Stick it out side! IT IS NOT GOING TO RAIN. The Cherry will turn darker
>> and the Walnut will lighten, then you will end up with the same result,
>> except just the opposite. ;~(
>
> Just a question: why do you always capitalize Cherry and Walnut? They're
> not proper nouns, you know, and this ain't German.
>
> Just curious.


You don't name your boards??

I want to emphasize the particular wood.

Sk

Swingman

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

25/06/2009 9:09 AM

Leon wrote:

> That sounds very reasonable. Because I have never built any Walnut
> furniture that was to be left out side in direct sunlight I have not
> witnessed it fade "quickly". Cherry on OTOH will darken quickly. You
> better be cautious about setting any thing on a new piece of Cherry
> furniture that will block light as in as little as several weeks the wood
> will darken around the protected/covered spot.

Yep ... and, as you know, every time you walk in my house you can see
that the nice initial effect of inlaying walnut with cherry may not
stand the test of time.

The walnut lightens and the cherry darkens, making the inlay almost
disappear.


--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 10/22/08
KarlC@ (the obvious)

r

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

21/02/2018 2:07 PM

On Sunday, June 21, 2009 at 10:48:52 AM UTC-5, dustyone wrote:
> Hello all,
>=20
>=20
> Question:
>=20
> Does all wood darken with age? Cherry, of course, is an example of
> such a species. Do other woods behave in the same way? One would
> think that most color would fade with exposure to light, and that
> cherry is an anomaly.
>=20
> Curt Blood
> Hartford, CT

I want to buy a beautiful Queen Anne table that the owner says is cherry. =
I leaf is clearly darker, presumably because it was stored. I was hoping t=
o put it in the sun to let it lighten up so it will match. Any thoughts on=
what I can do to get it to lighten up?

Ll

"Leon"

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

24/06/2009 10:40 PM


"Tanus" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>
> Walnut will lighten? Does that work the same way as cherry darkens? Make
> sure it gets sun exposure and leave it there to lighten up.

Yes


>
> I have a walnut bowl that seems a bit dark and if all I have to do is put
> it by a southern exposed window, I'd like to see how light it gets.


I don't think it will lighten quite as quickly as the cherry darkens in
light exposure.

Ll

Leon

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

21/02/2018 5:28 PM

On 2/21/2018 5:07 PM, Doug Miller wrote:
> [email protected] wrote in
> news:[email protected]:
>
>> On Sunday, June 21, 2009 at 10:48:52 AM UTC-5, dustyone wrote:
>>> Hello all,
>>>
>>>
>>> Question:
>>>
>>> Does all wood darken with age? Cherry, of course, is an
>>> example of such a species. Do other woods behave in the same
>>> way? One would think that most color would fade with exposure
>>> to light, and that cherry is an anomaly.
>>>
>>> Curt Blood
>>> Hartford, CT
>>
>> I want to buy a beautiful Queen Anne table that the owner says
>> is cherry. I leaf is clearly darker, presumably because it was
>> stored. I was hoping to put it in the sun to let it lighten up
>> so it will match. Any thoughts on what I can do to get it to
>> lighten up?
>>
> If the piece really is cherry, that's not going to work the way you think it will: cherry gets
> darker when it's exposed to sunlight, not lighter. If the leaf that was stored is darker than the
> rest of the piece which was exposed to light, then it's probably walnut, certainly isn't cherry.
>
> Your first step is to confirm what wood it is. Post a picture on some photo-sharing site so we
> can all see it.
>
+1 what Doug said!

Sb

"SonomaProducts.com"

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

21/06/2009 12:59 PM

Every species has it's own characteristics. Pine will yellow and brown
if it is indoors and covered with a varnish of some sort but will Grey
and black if outdorrs and exposed to mositiure. Red oak will usually
lighten, agin unless moisture is present than it will black, etc. etc.

On Jun 21, 8:48=A0am, dustyone <[email protected]> wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> Question:
>
> Does all wood darken with age? =A0Cherry, of course, is an example of
> such a species. =A0Do other woods behave in the same way? =A0One would
> think that most color would fade with exposure to light, and that
> cherry is an anomaly.
>
> Curt Blood
> Hartford, CT

Ll

"Leon"

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

22/06/2009 7:54 AM


"dustyone" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...





Thank you all for your responses. The wood in question is curly maple
finished with rock hard table top varnish. Sounds like the answer is
"it depends".



We have a Maple wood floor in our master bathroom . A mat sets on top of it
in one spot near a window. The wood has darkened from direct sunlight.
Under the mat it is a lighter shade.

Ll

"Leon"

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

25/06/2009 7:02 AM


"Denis G." <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:4d15c23d-2305-4294-8ccd-2cdd991e4cf2@j12g2000vbl.googlegroups.com...

>
> Yes
>
>
>
> > I have a walnut bowl that seems a bit dark and if all I have to do is
> > put
> > it by a southern exposed window, I'd like to see how light it gets.
>
> I don't think it will lighten quite as quickly as the cherry darkens in
> light exposure.

Here is a link to a Japanese book (“Wood and Cellulosic Chemistry” by
David N.-S. Hon, Nobuo Shiraishi)
http://tinyurl.com/knpd6f

According to the book, there are many causes of discoloration:
chemical, biological and physical. Results for light-induced
discoloration is shown in Table 7 for 100 species of wood (but Google
shows only part of the table) Positive numbers show woods that
darken and negative numbers show woods that lighten.

According to the Table 7, American walnut should lighten, but window
glass will block UV from sunlight, so it may take much longer than if
left in full sunlight outdoors.


That sounds very reasonable. Because I have never built any Walnut
furniture that was to be left out side in direct sunlight I have not
witnessed it fade "quickly". Cherry on OTOH will darken quickly. You
better be cautious about setting any thing on a new piece of Cherry
furniture that will block light as in as little as several weeks the wood
will darken around the protected/covered spot.




dn

dpb

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

21/06/2009 11:54 AM

Morris Dovey wrote:
> dustyone wrote:
>
>> Does all wood darken with age? Cherry, of course, is an example of
>> such a species. Do other woods behave in the same way? One would
>> think that most color would fade with exposure to light, and that
>> cherry is an anomaly.
>
> All wood eventually oxidizes to one degree or another - and the woods
> I'm familiar with will oxidize until they eventually turn black.

That's called "charcoal", Morris... :)

I don't see that at all, though, at least w/o moisture. Cedar, most
pines, cypress, etc., will eventually get a gray outer layer and from
then on are essentially stable as long as don't stay wet.

I'm not thinking on same lines as you; obviously you're not thinking
along same lines as I...

--

dn

dpb

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

21/06/2009 1:32 PM

RicodJour wrote:
> On Jun 21, 1:14 pm, Morris Dovey <[email protected]> wrote:
>> RicodJour wrote:
>>> On Jun 21, 12:21 pm, Morris Dovey <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>> dustyone wrote:
>>>>> Does all wood darken with age? Cherry, of course, is an example of
>>>>> such a species. Do other woods behave in the same way? One would
>>>>> think that most color would fade with exposure to light, and that
>>>>> cherry is an anomaly.
>>>> All wood eventually oxidizes to one degree or another - and the woods
>>>> I'm familiar with will oxidize until they eventually turn black.
>>> What time frame are you talking about?
>> Well, I have unfinished softwood that has browned significantly over the
>> last ten years or so.
>>
>> I've paid attention to the effect of time on softwood and hardwood
>> furniture built in North America in the 1600's - 1800's shown on
>> "Antiques Roadshow".
>>
>> And I've seen first hand how wood from 1000 years ago has turned black
>> as charcoal (without an intermediate oil stage, AFAIK).
>
> Well that clears that up. When you said eventually you were talking
> about a time frame measured in the hundreds of years. I'm not sure
> that's what the OP was asking about.

And a lot of that over that time period is accumulated grime and dirt
not simply the result of surface oxidation...

--

dn

dpb

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

21/06/2009 4:20 PM

dadiOH wrote:
> dustyone wrote:
>> On Jun 21, 3:59 pm, "SonomaProducts.com" <[email protected]> wrote:
>>> Every species has it's own characteristics. Pine will yellow and
>>> brown if it is indoors and covered with a varnish of some sort but
>>> will Grey and black if outdorrs and exposed to mositiure. Red oak
>>> will usually lighten, agin unless moisture is present than it will
>>> black, etc. etc.
>>>
>>> On Jun 21, 8:48 am, dustyone <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hello all,
>>>> Question:
>>>> Does all wood darken with age? Cherry, of course, is an example of
>>>> such a species. Do other woods behave in the same way? One would
>>>> think that most color would fade with exposure to light, and that
>>>> cherry is an anomaly.
>>>> Curt Blood
>>>> Hartford, CT
>>
>>
>>
>> Thank you all for your responses. The wood in question is curly maple
>> finished with rock hard table top varnish. Sounds like the answer is
>> "it depends".
>
> It will darken.

And the varnish will yellow...

--

TT

Tanus

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

24/06/2009 10:36 AM

Leon wrote:
> "dustyone" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:1f6fe47b-54e1-4ea0-a33a-1c8440690201@f30g2000vbf.googlegroups.com...
>> Hello all,
>>
>>
>> Question:
>>
>> Does all wood darken with age? Cherry, of course, is an example of
>> such a species. Do other woods behave in the same way? One would
>> think that most color would fade with exposure to light, and that
>> cherry is an anomaly.
>>
>> Curt Blood
>> Hartford, CT
>
>
> NO! some get lighter but most get darker. IIRC Walnut will lighten with
> exposure to light as opposet to Maple, Cherry, Padauh, Cocobolo which get
> darker.
>
>

Walnut will lighten? Does that work the same way as cherry darkens? Make
sure it gets sun exposure and leave it there to lighten up.

I have a walnut bowl that seems a bit dark and if all I have to do is
put it by a southern exposed window, I'd like to see how light it gets.

Tanus

AB

Andrew Barss

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

24/06/2009 4:55 PM

Doug Miller <[email protected]> wrote:
: In article <[email protected]>, Phisherman <[email protected]> wrote:

:>Pine, oak, maple, redwood, walnut darken with age.

: English walnut, maybe. Black walnut lightens.

So does French walnut. It can get close to a cream color
(after a hundred years anyway).

-- Andy Barss

JC

"J. Clarke"

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

25/06/2009 7:42 AM

Denis G. wrote:
> On Jun 24, 10:40 pm, "Leon" <[email protected]> wrote:
>> "Tanus" <[email protected]> wrote in
>> messagenews:[email protected]...
>>
>>> Walnut will lighten? Does that work the same way as cherry darkens?
>>> Make sure it gets sun exposure and leave it there to lighten up.
>>
>> Yes
>>
>>
>>
>>> I have a walnut bowl that seems a bit dark and if all I have to do
>>> is put it by a southern exposed window, I'd like to see how light
>>> it gets.
>>
>> I don't think it will lighten quite as quickly as the cherry darkens
>> in light exposure.
>
> Here is a link to a Japanese book (“Wood and Cellulosic Chemistry” by
> David N.-S. Hon, Nobuo Shiraishi)
> http://tinyurl.com/knpd6f
>
> According to the book, there are many causes of discoloration:
> chemical, biological and physical. Results for light-induced
> discoloration is shown in Table 7 for 100 species of wood (but Google
> shows only part of the table) Positive numbers show woods that
> darken and negative numbers show woods that lighten.
>
> According to the Table 7, American walnut should lighten, but window
> glass will block UV from sunlight, so it may take much longer than if
> left in full sunlight outdoors.

Whoa, STOP. The UV content of sunlight on the Earth's surface is mostly UVA
(the UVB and higher has mostly been absorbed by the atmosphere) and window
glass unless it has a UV blocking coating on it is about 90 percent
transparent to UVA.

bR

[email protected] (Robert Bonomi)

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

24/06/2009 12:01 PM

In article <Jfx%[email protected]>,
dadiOH <[email protected]> wrote:
>dustyone wrote:
>> On Jun 21, 3:59 pm, "SonomaProducts.com" <[email protected]> wrote:
>>> Every species has it's own characteristics. Pine will yellow and
>>> brown if it is indoors and covered with a varnish of some sort but
>>> will Grey and black if outdorrs and exposed to mositiure. Red oak
>>> will usually lighten, agin unless moisture is present than it will
>>> black, etc. etc.
>>>
>>> On Jun 21, 8:48 am, dustyone <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hello all,
>>>
>>>> Question:
>>>
>>>> Does all wood darken with age? Cherry, of course, is an example of
>>>> such a species. Do other woods behave in the same way? One would
>>>> think that most color would fade with exposure to light, and that
>>>> cherry is an anomaly.
>>>
>>>> Curt Blood
>>>> Hartford, CT
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Thank you all for your responses. The wood in question is curly maple
>> finished with rock hard table top varnish. Sounds like the answer is
>> "it depends".

Nah. The "Law of perverse statistics" applies. Whichever way you _don't_
want it to go is what it will actually do. <grin>

k

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

23/02/2018 6:41 PM

On Fri, 23 Feb 2018 12:41:26 -0600, Leon <lcb11211@swbelldotnet>
wrote:

>On 2/23/2018 11:22 AM, Jack wrote:
>> On 2/23/2018 11:59 AM, Leon wrote:
>>> On 2/23/2018 9:44 AM, Jack wrote:
>>>> On 2/21/2018 5:07 PM, [email protected] wrote:
>>>>> On Sunday, June 21, 2009 at 10:48:52 AM UTC-5, dustyone wrote:
>>>>>> Hello all,
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Question:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Does all wood darken with age?  Cherry, of course, is an example of
>>>>>> such a species.  Do other woods behave in the same way?  One would
>>>>>> think that most color would fade with exposure to light, and that
>>>>>> cherry is an anomaly.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Curt Blood
>>>>>> Hartford, CT
>>>>>
>>>>> I want to buy a beautiful Queen Anne table that the owner says is
>>>>> cherry.  I leaf is clearly darker, presumably because it was stored.
>>>>> I was hoping to put it in the sun to let it lighten up so it will
>>>>> match.  Any thoughts on what I can do to get it to lighten up?
>>>>
>>>> Cherry will not get lighter.  In fact, now that you mention it, I
>>>> don't recall ever seeing wood get lighter with exposure to light,
>>>> usually light wood turns gray, and dark wood get darker. I don't have
>>>> experience with all 60,000 species of wood, so one can't be sure.  My
>>>> best guess is the leaf was exposed to sun, and the table wasn't.
>>>> Seems strange as normally it would be the other way around.  Possibly
>>>> the leaf is different wood from the rest.
>>>>
>>> Walnut absolutely lightens with exposure to light.
>> I'm sitting here looking at a walnut pencil holder I made 40+ years ago
>> and it's if anything darker than when I made it. How long should I wait
>> for it to get lighter?  Same with my cutting boards also 40+ years old,
>> the walnut is definitely not lighter than when made.
>
>Indirect sunlight and or a finish can slow the process. You will
>probably have no issue.
>
>BUT. If you believe anything from the internet or FWW,
>
>http://forums.finewoodworking.com/fine-woodworking-knots/wood-and-materials/walnut-fade-and-why-bother
>
>
>> It's Pennsylvania walnut though, not Texas walnut.  Also not sitting
>> outside in direct sunlight and weather so who knows what that would do?
>>  Generally direct sunlight might fade colored wood into grayish, but
>> don't recall any wood getting lighter from exposure.
>>
>
>Wood that is exposed to a lot of UV will turn grey, even walnut. On its
>way to turning grey, it lightens.
>Swingman and our wives were in Arkansas about 10 years ago and were
>looking for wood. We ran across a guy with a band saw sawmill that was
>selling fence posts. $4 each IIRC and they were all grey like a typical
>fence post. They had been stored and dried outside.
>
>These posts were walnut and until he planed the faded side we would
>never have believed that. We left Arkansas with a pick up load of grey
>walnut fence posts. $74.

You suck!

Ll

Leon

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

24/02/2018 11:40 AM

On 2/24/2018 11:06 AM, Jack wrote:
> On 2/23/2018 1:41 PM, Leon wrote:
>> On 2/23/2018 11:22 AM, Jack wrote:
>>> On 2/23/2018 11:59 AM, Leon wrote:
>>>> On 2/23/2018 9:44 AM, Jack wrote:
>>>>> On 2/21/2018 5:07 PM, [email protected] wrote:
>>>>>> On Sunday, June 21, 2009 at 10:48:52 AM UTC-5, dustyone wrote:
>>>>>>> Hello all,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Question:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Does all wood darken with age?  Cherry, of course, is an example of
>>>>>>> such a species.  Do other woods behave in the same way?  One would
>>>>>>> think that most color would fade with exposure to light, and that
>>>>>>> cherry is an anomaly.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Curt Blood
>>>>>>> Hartford, CT
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I want to buy a beautiful Queen Anne table that the owner says is
>>>>>> cherry.  I leaf is clearly darker, presumably because it was stored.
>>>>>> I was hoping to put it in the sun to let it lighten up so it will
>>>>>> match.  Any thoughts on what I can do to get it to lighten up?
>>>>>
>>>>> Cherry will not get lighter.  In fact, now that you mention it, I
>>>>> don't recall ever seeing wood get lighter with exposure to light,
>>>>> usually light wood turns gray, and dark wood get darker. I don't have
>>>>> experience with all 60,000 species of wood, so one can't be sure.  My
>>>>> best guess is the leaf was exposed to sun, and the table wasn't.
>>>>> Seems strange as normally it would be the other way around.  Possibly
>>>>> the leaf is different wood from the rest.
>>>>>
>>>> Walnut absolutely lightens with exposure to light.
>>> I'm sitting here looking at a walnut pencil holder I made 40+ years
>>> ago and it's if anything darker than when I made it. How long should I
>>> wait for it to get lighter?  Same with my cutting boards also 40+
>>> years old, the walnut is definitely not lighter than when made.
>>
>> Indirect sunlight and or a finish can slow the process.  You will
>> probably have no issue.
>>
>> BUT.  If you believe anything from the internet or FWW,
>>
>> http://forums.finewoodworking.com/fine-woodworking-knots/wood-and-materials/walnut-fade-and-why-bother
>>
>
>>> It's Pennsylvania walnut though, not Texas walnut.  Also not sitting
>>> outside in direct sunlight and weather so who knows what that would
>>> do?   Generally direct sunlight might fade colored wood into grayish,
>>> but don't recall any wood getting lighter from exposure.
>
>> Wood that is exposed to a lot of UV will turn grey, even walnut.  On its
>> way to turning grey, it lightens.
>> Swingman and our wives were in Arkansas about 10 years ago and were
>> looking for wood.  We ran across a guy with a band saw sawmill that was
>> selling fence posts.  $4 each IIRC and they were all grey like a typical
>> fence post.  They had been stored and dried outside.
>>
>> These posts were walnut and until he planed the faded side we would
>> never have believed that.  We left Arkansas with a pick up load of grey
>> walnut fence posts.  $74.
>
> I was wrong.  Walnut does lighten with age.  I looked at the bottom of
> my pencil holder and it is definitely darker than the exposed part.
> Mea culpa.

No problem Jack, Time plays tricks on everyone's memory.
One memory deception that has always confounded me is when I see some
thing from my childhood, many years later, is how much smaller it looks now.
When I was in elementary school I thought the campus was HUGE.

When I revisited about 40 years later it was tiny. LOL

Jj

Jack

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

23/02/2018 10:44 AM

On 2/21/2018 5:07 PM, [email protected] wrote:
> On Sunday, June 21, 2009 at 10:48:52 AM UTC-5, dustyone wrote:
>> Hello all,
>>
>>
>> Question:
>>
>> Does all wood darken with age? Cherry, of course, is an example of
>> such a species. Do other woods behave in the same way? One would
>> think that most color would fade with exposure to light, and that
>> cherry is an anomaly.
>>
>> Curt Blood
>> Hartford, CT
>
> I want to buy a beautiful Queen Anne table that the owner says is cherry. I leaf is clearly darker, presumably because it was stored. I was hoping to put it in the sun to let it lighten up so it will match. Any thoughts on what I can do to get it to lighten up?

Cherry will not get lighter. In fact, now that you mention it, I don't
recall ever seeing wood get lighter with exposure to light, usually
light wood turns gray, and dark wood get darker. I don't have experience
with all 60,000 species of wood, so one can't be sure. My best guess is
the leaf was exposed to sun, and the table wasn't. Seems strange as
normally it would be the other way around. Possibly the leaf is
different wood from the rest.

--
Jack
Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions.
http://jbstein.com

Jj

Jack

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

23/02/2018 12:22 PM

On 2/23/2018 11:59 AM, Leon wrote:
> On 2/23/2018 9:44 AM, Jack wrote:
>> On 2/21/2018 5:07 PM, [email protected] wrote:
>>> On Sunday, June 21, 2009 at 10:48:52 AM UTC-5, dustyone wrote:
>>>> Hello all,
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Question:
>>>>
>>>> Does all wood darken with age? Cherry, of course, is an example of
>>>> such a species. Do other woods behave in the same way? One would
>>>> think that most color would fade with exposure to light, and that
>>>> cherry is an anomaly.
>>>>
>>>> Curt Blood
>>>> Hartford, CT
>>>
>>> I want to buy a beautiful Queen Anne table that the owner says is
>>> cherry. I leaf is clearly darker, presumably because it was stored.
>>> I was hoping to put it in the sun to let it lighten up so it will
>>> match. Any thoughts on what I can do to get it to lighten up?
>>
>> Cherry will not get lighter. In fact, now that you mention it, I
>> don't recall ever seeing wood get lighter with exposure to light,
>> usually light wood turns gray, and dark wood get darker. I don't have
>> experience with all 60,000 species of wood, so one can't be sure. My
>> best guess is the leaf was exposed to sun, and the table wasn't.
>> Seems strange as normally it would be the other way around. Possibly
>> the leaf is different wood from the rest.
>>
> Walnut absolutely lightens with exposure to light.
I'm sitting here looking at a walnut pencil holder I made 40+ years ago
and it's if anything darker than when I made it. How long should I wait
for it to get lighter? Same with my cutting boards also 40+ years old,
the walnut is definitely not lighter than when made.

It's Pennsylvania walnut though, not Texas walnut. Also not sitting
outside in direct sunlight and weather so who knows what that would do?
Generally direct sunlight might fade colored wood into grayish, but
don't recall any wood getting lighter from exposure.

--
Jack
Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions.
http://jbstein.com

Jj

Jack

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

24/02/2018 12:06 PM

On 2/23/2018 1:41 PM, Leon wrote:
> On 2/23/2018 11:22 AM, Jack wrote:
>> On 2/23/2018 11:59 AM, Leon wrote:
>>> On 2/23/2018 9:44 AM, Jack wrote:
>>>> On 2/21/2018 5:07 PM, [email protected] wrote:
>>>>> On Sunday, June 21, 2009 at 10:48:52 AM UTC-5, dustyone wrote:
>>>>>> Hello all,
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Question:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Does all wood darken with age? Cherry, of course, is an example of
>>>>>> such a species. Do other woods behave in the same way? One would
>>>>>> think that most color would fade with exposure to light, and that
>>>>>> cherry is an anomaly.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Curt Blood
>>>>>> Hartford, CT
>>>>>
>>>>> I want to buy a beautiful Queen Anne table that the owner says is
>>>>> cherry. I leaf is clearly darker, presumably because it was stored.
>>>>> I was hoping to put it in the sun to let it lighten up so it will
>>>>> match. Any thoughts on what I can do to get it to lighten up?
>>>>
>>>> Cherry will not get lighter. In fact, now that you mention it, I
>>>> don't recall ever seeing wood get lighter with exposure to light,
>>>> usually light wood turns gray, and dark wood get darker. I don't have
>>>> experience with all 60,000 species of wood, so one can't be sure. My
>>>> best guess is the leaf was exposed to sun, and the table wasn't.
>>>> Seems strange as normally it would be the other way around. Possibly
>>>> the leaf is different wood from the rest.
>>>>
>>> Walnut absolutely lightens with exposure to light.
>> I'm sitting here looking at a walnut pencil holder I made 40+ years
>> ago and it's if anything darker than when I made it. How long should I
>> wait for it to get lighter? Same with my cutting boards also 40+
>> years old, the walnut is definitely not lighter than when made.
>
> Indirect sunlight and or a finish can slow the process. You will
> probably have no issue.
>
> BUT. If you believe anything from the internet or FWW,
>
> http://forums.finewoodworking.com/fine-woodworking-knots/wood-and-materials/walnut-fade-and-why-bother

>> It's Pennsylvania walnut though, not Texas walnut. Also not sitting
>> outside in direct sunlight and weather so who knows what that would
>> do? Generally direct sunlight might fade colored wood into grayish,
>> but don't recall any wood getting lighter from exposure.

> Wood that is exposed to a lot of UV will turn grey, even walnut. On its
> way to turning grey, it lightens.
> Swingman and our wives were in Arkansas about 10 years ago and were
> looking for wood. We ran across a guy with a band saw sawmill that was
> selling fence posts. $4 each IIRC and they were all grey like a typical
> fence post. They had been stored and dried outside.
>
> These posts were walnut and until he planed the faded side we would
> never have believed that. We left Arkansas with a pick up load of grey
> walnut fence posts. $74.

I was wrong. Walnut does lighten with age. I looked at the bottom of
my pencil holder and it is definitely darker than the exposed part.
Mea culpa.
--
Jack
Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions.
http://jbstein.com

Jj

Jack

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

25/02/2018 10:11 AM

On 2/24/2018 12:40 PM, Leon wrote:
> On 2/24/2018 11:06 AM, Jack wrote:
>> On 2/23/2018 1:41 PM, Leon wrote:
>>> On 2/23/2018 11:22 AM, Jack wrote:
>>>> On 2/23/2018 11:59 AM, Leon wrote:
>>>>> On 2/23/2018 9:44 AM, Jack wrote:
>>>>>> On 2/21/2018 5:07 PM, [email protected] wrote:
>>>>>>> On Sunday, June 21, 2009 at 10:48:52 AM UTC-5, dustyone wrote:
>>>>>>>> Hello all,
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Question:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Does all wood darken with age? Cherry, of course, is an example of
>>>>>>>> such a species. Do other woods behave in the same way? One would
>>>>>>>> think that most color would fade with exposure to light, and that
>>>>>>>> cherry is an anomaly.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Curt Blood
>>>>>>>> Hartford, CT
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I want to buy a beautiful Queen Anne table that the owner says is
>>>>>>> cherry. I leaf is clearly darker, presumably because it was stored.
>>>>>>> I was hoping to put it in the sun to let it lighten up so it will
>>>>>>> match. Any thoughts on what I can do to get it to lighten up?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Cherry will not get lighter. In fact, now that you mention it, I
>>>>>> don't recall ever seeing wood get lighter with exposure to light,
>>>>>> usually light wood turns gray, and dark wood get darker. I don't have
>>>>>> experience with all 60,000 species of wood, so one can't be sure. My
>>>>>> best guess is the leaf was exposed to sun, and the table wasn't.
>>>>>> Seems strange as normally it would be the other way around. Possibly
>>>>>> the leaf is different wood from the rest.
>>>>>>
>>>>> Walnut absolutely lightens with exposure to light.
>>>> I'm sitting here looking at a walnut pencil holder I made 40+ years
>>>> ago and it's if anything darker than when I made it. How long should I
>>>> wait for it to get lighter? Same with my cutting boards also 40+
>>>> years old, the walnut is definitely not lighter than when made.
>>>
>>> Indirect sunlight and or a finish can slow the process. You will
>>> probably have no issue.
>>>
>>> BUT. If you believe anything from the internet or FWW,
>>>
>>> http://forums.finewoodworking.com/fine-woodworking-knots/wood-and-materials/walnut-fade-and-why-bother
>>>
>>
>>>> It's Pennsylvania walnut though, not Texas walnut. Also not sitting
>>>> outside in direct sunlight and weather so who knows what that would
>>>> do? Generally direct sunlight might fade colored wood into grayish,
>>>> but don't recall any wood getting lighter from exposure.
>>
>>> Wood that is exposed to a lot of UV will turn grey, even walnut. On its
>>> way to turning grey, it lightens.
>>> Swingman and our wives were in Arkansas about 10 years ago and were
>>> looking for wood. We ran across a guy with a band saw sawmill that was
>>> selling fence posts. $4 each IIRC and they were all grey like a typical
>>> fence post. They had been stored and dried outside.
>>>
>>> These posts were walnut and until he planed the faded side we would
>>> never have believed that. We left Arkansas with a pick up load of grey
>>> walnut fence posts. $74.
>>
>> I was wrong. Walnut does lighten with age. I looked at the bottom of
>> my pencil holder and it is definitely darker than the exposed part.
>> Mea culpa.
>
> No problem Jack, Time plays tricks on everyone's memory.
> One memory deception that has always confounded me is when I see some
> thing from my childhood, many years later, is how much smaller it looks
> now.
> When I was in elementary school I thought the campus was HUGE.
>
> When I revisited about 40 years later it was tiny. LOL

Took my young son to a couple of fish'n holes I frequented when I was
12... Wow, they were nothing like I remembered, despite nothing at all
had actually changed.

The walnut pencil holder I've been looking at every day for 40 years.
The slow change was not noticeable to me. It wasn't until I looked at
the bottom that the gradual change became sudden. What bothers me is I
never thought to look at the bottom until I read the fine woodworking
article you referenced and he tipped me off.

--
Jack
If you can't make a mistake, you can't make anything.
http://jbstein.com

Ll

"Leon"

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

22/06/2009 7:51 AM


"dustyone" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:1f6fe47b-54e1-4ea0-a33a-1c8440690201@f30g2000vbf.googlegroups.com...
> Hello all,
>
>
> Question:
>
> Does all wood darken with age? Cherry, of course, is an example of
> such a species. Do other woods behave in the same way? One would
> think that most color would fade with exposure to light, and that
> cherry is an anomaly.
>
> Curt Blood
> Hartford, CT


NO! some get lighter but most get darker. IIRC Walnut will lighten with
exposure to light as opposet to Maple, Cherry, Padauh, Cocobolo which get
darker.

Sk

Swingman

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

25/06/2009 9:39 AM

Lee Michaels wrote:

> Hindsight is 20/20. :-)

You're right .. might as well be blind for the impact the effect has. :)


--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 10/22/08
KarlC@ (the obvious)

RR

"Rusty"

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

22/06/2009 10:19 AM

Generally light woods darken dark woods lighten
"dustyone" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:1f6fe47b-54e1-4ea0-a33a-1c8440690201@f30g2000vbf.googlegroups.com...
> Hello all,
>
>
> Question:
>
> Does all wood darken with age? Cherry, of course, is an example of
> such a species. Do other woods behave in the same way? One would
> think that most color would fade with exposure to light, and that
> cherry is an anomaly.
>
> Curt Blood
> Hartford, CT

sD

[email protected] (Doug Miller)

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

22/06/2009 3:19 PM

In article <[email protected]>, Phisherman <[email protected]> wrote:

>Pine, oak, maple, redwood, walnut darken with age.

English walnut, maybe. Black walnut lightens.

Pn

Phisherman

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

22/06/2009 10:59 AM

On Sun, 21 Jun 2009 08:48:52 -0700 (PDT), dustyone
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Hello all,
>
>
>Question:
>
>Does all wood darken with age? Cherry, of course, is an example of
>such a species. Do other woods behave in the same way? One would
>think that most color would fade with exposure to light, and that
>cherry is an anomaly.
>
>Curt Blood
>Hartford, CT


Pine, oak, maple, redwood, walnut darken with age. I am surprised how
much my pine furniture has darkened with age. Not sure if ALL wood
darkens with sun exposure, but I'd like to know which one(s) do not.
There have been many times I avoided cherry due to its darkening
characteristics. What is aggravating is putting a vase, cloth, lamp
on a table for some months, then you can see the lighter shadow on the
wood.

Sk

Swingman

in reply to dustyone on 21/06/2009 8:48 AM

27/06/2009 12:37 PM

David Nebenzahl wrote:
> On 6/25/2009 7:56 AM Leon spake thus:
>
>> Stick it out side! IT IS NOT GOING TO RAIN. The Cherry will turn
>> darker and the Walnut will lighten, then you will end up with the same
>> result, except just the opposite. ;~(
>
> Just a question: why do you always capitalize Cherry and Walnut? They're
> not proper nouns, you know, and this ain't German.
>
> Just curious.

Around here proper respect is paid to JOAT'S wooddorking gods, which
lurk in the two most elegant of hardwoods, way before any thought is
given to frivolous pursuits like grammar ... besides, it insures
wooddorkers cut only once after measuring only once.

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 10/22/08
KarlC@ (the obvious)


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