When we say "Cherry", we mean that the wood the moulding is made from came from a Cherry Tree.

Most (though certainly not all) of the mouldings you see today that are referred to as "Cherry", "Walnut" or other natural hardwoods are softwoods or secondary woods that have been stained to resemble their namesake.

Raw

All of our mouldings are stocked raw. There is no finish whatsoever on them. If you want to do your own finishing you may buy your moulding raw. Our moulding is run through a Weinig Moulder by trained personnel for a smooth consistent surface. Additionally, the wide flat surface of most of our mouldings is sanded by our wide belt sander (i.e. the 1-1/2" surface of moulding #132, or the 1-3/4" surface of moulding #333 would be sanded).

Raw, Sanded

If you want to do your own finishing, but prefer to have the hard part done (just joking), we'll do the sanding for you. We will sand and prep the surface just as we do for our own Premium Finish. This involves hand sanding with a random orbit sander on flat surfaces, hand sanding all curves, and then a special fiber removal process to clean the surface and open the pores of the wood for proper finish penetration. When you get it all you need to do is put your own finish on (there may be a spot or two that you'd want to touch up first).

Premium Finish

For the ultimate in ease and beauty you owe it to yourself to try our Premium Finish. We first use the method described under Raw, Sanded to prepare the surface. We then apply an oil finish which is allowed to dry for 1 - 2 days depending on the type. After the oil is hardened we smooth it with synthetic steel wool and apply a liquid wax. When the wax is dried, the finished product is buffed to a rich soft luster.

We use Watco^© Natural Finishing Oil for Cherry, Mahogany and Walnut, and Tung Oil on Ash, Maple and Oak. The reason for this is that the Watco Oil^©, even though it doesn't actually add color to the wood, tends to darken it. Most people choose Maple or Ash for their light color. Oak is another story. When Watco^© is used on Oak it "bleeds" back out of the open pores, sometimes literally for days. We feel the Tung Oil looks great on Oak, so it has become a solution to a problem.

Vermont Hardwoods
386 Depot St  --  Chester, VT  05143  --  1-888-442-7396