Expert: Jamie Yocono - 11/9/2008

Question
My father is making a mission style bed (queen) for me.  He currently has plenty of cherry, but it's mostly sapwood.  He's not sure how much is white since that will depend on what boards need to be used for different parts of the bed.  I have the choice of purchasing heartwood, but that is going take a bit of saving on my part.

Will the sapwood be okay for a mission style bed?  I've read some and I've found that it can be a weaker wood and more susceptible to fungus.  This lumber is rough, but already dried naturally near a wood stove.  I don't mind the color variations as they add character, but I want this bed to survive years of family life with bouncing kids and 100 lb dogs.

Answer
Hi Sarah,

I've answered a question (sort of) similar to this before, so I am going to cut and paste parts of that answer here. I'll also address some of your questions, too.

The light wood that you mentioned is, indeed, sapwood, which grows closest to the bark. The dark wood is heartwood, which is the older wood.  The thing that kills me is that lumber graders don't consider sapwood to be a defect. They say the only difference is appearance. Even more curious - most lumberyards charge MORE for wood that is free of sapwood. So the "experts" says that sapwood is fine lumber, but then charge more for wood without it. Go figure. It's a lose/lose situation.

My opinion?  I don't feel that sapwood is inferior to heartwood. On a personal level, I don't particularly care for the look of sapwood intermingled with heartwood. I prefer wood that's very straight grained, and with little color variation. But I've built things for people who request wild grain, or lots of knots, or streaks of sapwood. So - my feeling is - different strokes for different folks.

As far as it's integrity goes, I think if the wood has been dried properly and is free from infestation (like bugs, worms or carpenter ants) - there is little difference (strength-wise) between the two.

It sounds like you're OK with the sapwood, you're just worried if it's strong enough. So I think you'll be fine using the sapwood.

But to me, the REAL difference when working with sapwood is the way it takes a finish. Cherry is difficult to stain, as it tends to get blotchy. So add in the sapwood and you're really in a bind. So when finishing a piece of furniture that contains both heart and sapwood, you have to finish it a little differently. The best way is to use a gel stain when staining a cherry piece that has both sap and heartwood. Bartley makes a good brand.

The second way is to use a wood toner, but frankly, this is a more labor intensive method.  A toner with a colorant will add the reddish color to the sapwood, without highlighting the blotchiness. So you would use toner on the sapwood only. Once you've achieved the proper color, you finish the whole piece with your varnish. This is more the method that larger manufacturers use, although I suppose anyone could to it. It's just more difficult, requires a better "eye" for blending the color, and also requires more finishing products. And it's usually applied with a sprayer. Why would the average woodworker ever want to mess with it?

Another method you could try is a water soluble wood dye, like Lockwoods. You want to dye the sapwood streak to match. Once again, it's not perfect, but it's better than not doing anything about the color difference.

So I go back to my first suggestion- gel stain.  It's sort of goof proof. I would try staining the lighter parts first. Then once they sort of match, apply the gel to the whole piece.

Since you mentioned your father has a good deal of wood on hand, he might want to practice finishing some scrap pieces, to see what will give him the nicest effect. It would be a shame for him to build a great bed, and then have it look blotchy after finishing it. So I really recommend he practices a bit before starting to apply a finish.

By the way, my dad passed away a few years ago, and I treasure the things he made for me. He wasn't a woodworker; he made jewelry. The pieces he made for me are so special. So... you're one lucky girl to be getting a bed made by your pops. :)  How cool.

OK, good luck, I hope this helps. Please feel free to write back if you have any further questions after reading this. And if this answer was helpful... please take a minute and rate my service. Thanks!

Jamie Yocono
Wood It Is! Custom Cabinetry
Las Vegas, NV
www.wooditis.com