I work with a lot of cherry. It's one of my favorite woods, and I would never stain it. The lighter sapwood is not considered a defect so there will usually be some on most boards. For something like a frame where the pieces you need are relatively narrow, just rip off the light sapwood and use it for firewood. Cherry with a natural finish like tung oil will darken over time to a beautiful rich color. If you try to stain the sapwood to match, the color won't change and eventually it will be very obviously different.
Right on, Joe! And cherry is uber UV sensitive. Leave a book there for a few months and you'll always know where it was.
Totally agree about coloring certain areas and not others showing as it ages, especially with chehwy, since it changes color so much over time.
Problem is that you're trying to match a particular existing wood color that she likes.
Hellbound!
