[whtelk]

At work we got some large round steel bars shipped to us. The guy that unloaded the shipping box asked me if I wanted it. I can't believe they used 1 inch thick cherry! beautiful wood! I will knock this box apart and should end up with at least 8 pieces 8" X 24" :thumbsup:
Cherry? really? still can't believe it.

 

[Steve Neul]

If you have a moisture content meter you might check it. There is a good chance if the wood was used for crates it's still green and you may need to wait for it to season. Good find though.

 

[cabinetman]

At work we got some large round steel bars shipped to us. The guy that unloaded the shipping box asked me if I wanted it. I can't believe they used 1 inch thick cherry! beautiful wood! I will knock this box apart and should end up with at least 8 pieces 8" X 24" :thumbsup:
Cherry? really? still can't believe it.

That's a nice haul for what you paid. You might check for KD (kiln dried) stamp somewhere. If nothing else, and you have a good scale, you can weigh the wood. When the wood stops getting lighter, it's about as free of moisture as possible. Lumber can retain moisture vapor and exceed a good working percentage. If it's critical for a project you could get it kiln dried. That will kill any critters living in it. In this area, lumber can be 6-8% one day and over 10% the next.

You could cut some veneer from it, and that would be more stable than the thickness that you have.

.

 

[whtelk]

Thanks guys. I don't plan on using the wood for quite some time but I do need to use 2 small pieces soon.
My 80 year old Dad has been an antique picker/dealer all my life and we just picked up 2 super nice quality mahogany chests of drawers. Bad thing was one was missing the top and the other missing the base. Go figure. I looked at the 2 and saw that we could make a chest on chest (high boy) out of the 2. Went from having 2 chests worth $100 to one being more like $300. We wholesale rather than retail our finds.
I will try to post a picture of the find before fixing up.