cherry & birch compatibility

[Holzhacker]

Hi guys, I have a question about wood compatibility which I hope the guys who combine different woods a lot will know.
I have a cherry staircase coming up soon. However, she doesn't want the whole staircase cherry since it might be too dark. Her original idea was to do poplar risers and paint them white. I managed to kill that idea. I've done oak stairs with white painted poplar risers. Looks great to start but then not so after awhile. Repainting doesn't go well, since so many 'painters' can't seem to cut a clean line.
I came up with the idea of using birch risers. I like birch and it looks great next to the cherry. On the risers compatibility shouldn't be an issue. However, I'm thinking of doing some inlays on the skirts, posts and maybe somewhere on the winder. 3/8" depth routered out of the 1x cherry, width maybe +/- 1" haven't decided yet for sure.
Staircase will be mission/bungalow style. Any comments on compatibility or concerns would be great.
Thanks, Markus
BTW, I want that Toaster

 

[mwhafner]

I love working with cherry, but you have stumbled across one of the major issues, complimenting the color.  Is there any chance you could talk her into doing the risers in cherry also?

 

[nickao]

There is absolutely no compatibility problems at all.  I have mixed and matched almost any woods you can think of, never ever head of nor had any kind of compatibility issues with inlay work. Go with Curly Birch or Curly White maple. Use Titebond III to glue the inlays in.

Depending on the Birch and the Cherry you get there may not be enough contrast. Some Cherry is very light and can take years to get a nice darker Patina and some Birch is fairly dark. So make sure you get the lightest Birch you can find and the Darkest Cherry or just use a White Maple which is very nice with American Cherry. I assure you the contrast is going to look fantastic, its all in the glue and the Titebond III is the bomb.

 

[Holzhacker]

Thanks for the replies guys. She's not interested in a full cherry staircase because she feels it would be too dark. I'm not thrilled about doing a full cherry staircase either. They are a dime a dozen around here. I prefer to build things with some type of signature so it stands out. (i.e. referrals) I don't want my work to look the same as 100 others.
A local supplier has really nice dark cherry and really nice light birch. I like white maple and have used it. Putting the 3 pieces side by side, the grain patterns of the birch looked much better than the maple up against the cherry.
I guess the next question is ... can I bid the job well enough to justify a new OF1400 or do I just stick with my dinosaur Bosch that still ploughs like a Clydesdale?

 

[butzla]

No compatibility issues no matter what you choose.  I like the painted poplar idea a lot.  I think if you are going with another natural wood,  birch will look to close to cherry....over time.  Choose a higher contrasting wood like maple.  Here's a vanity I built some time back.  I think maple and cherry go together like peas and carrots.  I use the combination most of the time.
[attachthumb=1]

 

[Neill]

No compatibility issues no matter what you choose.  I like the painted poplar idea a lot.  I think if you are going with another natural wood,  birch will look to close to cherry....over time.  Choose a higher contrasting wood like maple.  Here's a vanity I built some time back.  I think maple and cherry go together like peas and carrots.  I use the combination most of the time.
[attachthumb=1]

Stoolman,

I don't mean to hijack this thread but I have to comment on your beautiful vanity.  Nice work!

Neill

 

[butzla]

Thanks Neil.  I used maple for the drawer fronts because I didn't have enough cherry.  I made the whole thing from shop scrap.

 

[tbellemare]

I'd be happy to clean up your shop, Mr. Stoolman...

Tom