Ed Zachary! *I just don't understand all this yap about forcing Cherry to
darken using noxious chemicals, and it goes right back to what I said about us
living in a world of instant gratification. *I don't know that I've ever seen
"forcibly" darkened Cherry, but I'd be damned surprised if it looked anywhere
near as good as Cherry that's been left alone to do its own thing.

I like instant gratification. Especially if I can get it a few times
in a row.

To be honest, the first time I darkened Cherry using my chemical soup
I almost gratified in my pants I loved the look so much.

There is a long and proud tradition of using the chemicals nature gave
us in my area of furniture design, namely Craftsman, Stickly
influenced, etc. They used amonia fuming for 100 years. Other than
shellac every film finish is a chemical mix.

As far as how good it looks? I have a 100+ year old rustic Cherry side
table and the chemical treatment is the only thing that every got
close to the lovely deep color of that piece. 100 years of oxidizing
in an instant. Trust me, a little sunshine ain't gona do anything like
this in 10 years.

I have never understood this religious adherance to the natural color
of Cherry. I stain it, **** on it, use minwax ploy shades, aniline
dyes, water based pigment stains, toned lacquer and all sorts of
abominations and every piece more lovely than the last.