Cherry

With roots meandering as far back as the Colonial period of America’s history, the J. Gibson McIlvain Lumber enterprise can trace beginnings back to 1740, even before the American Revolution. Just in time for the urban sprawl of Philadelphia and westward expansion of our fledgling nation, Hugh McIlvain established a new lumber business on the banks of the Schuylkill River, perfectly positioned to accommodate the direction of growth.

Over the years McIlvain lumber would be used to build iconic buildings of our nation: our Capitol Building, the White House, the Supreme Court, and Smithsonian buildings all contain lumber from McIlvain-family-owned lumber companies. Since those early days of the McIlvain lumber dynasty, we’ve considered Cherry a marquee product of ours. In fact, we’re still working with some of the same local mills across the Ohio River Valley that we forged relationships with centuries ago, sourcing premium American Cherry to meet our current customers’ needs.

Cherry Sourcing

Cherry trees grow across much of the U.S., but we’ve noticed that the Appalachian region, including Ohio and Pennsylvania, produces the Cherry with the greatest degree of consistency in color and quality. As with the imported lumber species that we carry, we carefully source our domestic Cherry lumber from mills with which we have individually worked to ensure that we get consistently high quality lumber for our customers. Our attention to detail includes travel to each individual mill in order to regularly inspect the Cherry we order; we take special care to ensure optimal heartwood-to-sapwood ratios that our customers request. Because of the extensive network of mills with which we work, we’re able to offer you plenty of options when it comes to length, width, and thickness of Cherry boards.

Cherry Characteristics

With its subtle grain and warm coloring, Cherry is an ideal species for interior applications such as furniture, mouldings, doors, and windows. When properly dried, Cherry moves in predictable ways and can be easily worked — two characteristics that make it a treat for woodworkers everywhere. Rough-sawn Cherry is much lighter than many people realize. The rich, reddish brown color which many consider a “Cherry finish” is actually something caused by decades of chemical reactions, combined with dirt and finishing techniques. Even though giving your Cherry a “sun tan” can help its pinkish color to deepen into a brown, dyes and stains are often used to expedite the process. For restoration work, the process of matching antique woodwork can be a daunting one.

While Cherry remains one of our favorite products, today J. Gibson McIlvain carries more than domestic hardwoods; we also carry a variety of exotic hardwood species as well as hardwood plywood, including architectural plywood with Cherry veneers. By ordering all the lumber products you need from a single dealer, you can avoid extra shipping costs, saving you and your customers time and money.

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J. Gibson McIlvain Company

Since 1798, when Hugh McIlvain established a lumber business near Philadelphia, the McIlvain family has been immersed in the premium import and domestic lumber industry. With its headquarters located just outside of Baltimore, the J. Gibson McIlvain Company (www.mcilvain.com) is one of the largest U.S. importers of exotic woods.

As an active supporter of sustainable lumber practices, the J. Gibson McIlvain Company has provided fine lumber for notable projects throughout the world, including the White House, Capitol building, Supreme Court, and the Smithsonian museums.

Contact a representative at J. Gibson McIlvain today by calling (800) 638-9100.

Cherry wood is one of the most famous species of wood used in the United States, and it has a long history of use in various applications. Traditionally, Cherry lumber was used by furniture makers to manufacture handcrafted masterpieces, and although its uses today have expanded, it still finds itself perhaps used most commonly in the crafting of furniture.

One of Cherry lumber’s main appeals is its extremely beautiful appearance. The wood displays warm tones of brown and reddish orange undertones, and its grain pattern is subtle and attractive. When purchasing Cherry, however, it is important for consumers to be aware of the existence of a “break in period.” The rough and freshly sawn boards of Cherry tend to be a much different color than older finished boards. The freshly sawn lumber is a light pinkish color, but with time and UV exposure and oxidation, the lumber’s color will deepen into the beautiful brownish red for which it is so prized.

Cherry lumber moves very predictably when properly dried, and it therefore makes for fine finished projects. As mentioned above, Cherry is often used to create furniture pieces, many of which act as the beautiful centerpieces and focal points of America’s homes, and it is also popular for use in door, window, flooring, and moulding projects.

Like other types of wood, Cherry’s quality varies as a result of the region in which it is grown. Therefore, high quality lumber dealers will search far and wide to find the regions of the world that produce the finest Cherry. One such region – the region preferred by one of the countries oldest and most reputable lumber wholesalers, McIlvain Company – is the Appalachian region of the United States. This area, which includes Pennsylvania and the Ohio River Valley, tends to produce Cherry with consistent coloration, fine grain patterns, and other characteristics of top quality Cherry that customers have come to love.