Cedar wood for turning

[John Torchick]

I have a friend that has a cedar tree that was cut down a while back. I now look at trees with a different attitude- what would they look like after turning on a lathe! How is cedar for turning? How can I tell if it is dry enough for turning? I could turn small parts with it and section the trunk and make bowls, plates, etc. Your advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[waltben]

Been a while since I turned this piece, but I remember that I had to resharpen frequently and had to wipe it with mineral spirits before applying a wipe-on poly finish. Cedar's oily enough that nothing would stick otherwise, but this was to be a serving tray.

 

[LHauch]

I agree with Walt, Cedar is very oily. I've only made some hollow forms, with cedar, and decided to just sand them down to about P600 and not put a finish on them. The pieces feel great, appear to have a satin finish and you have that nice cedar aroma.
Living up here in the Pacific NW, cedar becomes available from time to time. We need permits to carry anything bigger than than 19" length, 7 1/4" width and thicker than 1 3/4", due to poachers cutting down trees out in the state and national parks.

 

[Bill Weaver]

another piece of advise. I have been told that you need to ventilate well and wear dusk mask......wood dust has resporitory affects. Supposedly Cedar is really bad for this.

 

[Steve Worcester]

Personally, if it is a red or aromatic cedar, I run the other way. Just too nasty on my respiratory system and even if I clean the shop right afterwards, a little bit of it's dust goes a long way later. Have the same issue with camphor. Just too many other woods out there I like better.

 

[waltben]

I didn't have any problem with the dust, but then I'm on the Mid-Atlantic area. Maybe that west coast cedar is nastier than our east coast stuff?

 

[n7bsn]

Walt

Maybe, the stuff you have out there is Juniperus Virginiana (obviously a Juniper), where as on the west coast we have Port Orford Cedar (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana , a Cypress), Yellow Cedar (Nootka Cypress, another Cypress) and Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata), still another Cypress).

Some people have very strong reactions to any/all of these and obviously none of these are really Cedars

I've never tried Western Red and don't think I would want to. In an open forest it grows way fast with large soft rings. I have a bunch of old-growth "salvage" Alaska Yellow, with nice tight rings that turns great. Never tried Port Orford, so I don't know it at all.
I have tried some local Junipers and they do fine, but the Juniper around here tends to be small bushy types.

TTFN
Ralph

TTFN
Ralph

 

[John Torchick]

Cedar

Thanks for the replies. I might cut some as I was pondering turning a gavel for our club president. It should look good without any finish except natural wood sanded down with a very fine sandpaper.
Port Orford cedar is used to make arrow shafts. I don't know what makes this particular wood special as opposed to others.

 

[Gretch Flo]

gaval from cedar

Thanks for the replies. I might cut some as I was pondering turning a gavel for our club president. It should look good without any finish except natural wood sanded down with a very fine sandpaper.
Port Orford cedar is used to make arrow shafts. I don't know what makes this particular wood special as opposed to others.

John-the aromatic or red cedar I have turned scratched REAL easily. The gavel if used would get beat up, I think, Gretch

 

[MichaelMouse]

Go with Gretch and don't use aromatic (eastern red) or eastern white cedar for a gavel. It's going to show every point of order in use.

One other drawback to aromatic is its tendency to surface check if you press a bit too much when sanding. It'll even crackle on endgrain if you try to give a good hard buff occasionally.

Port Orford cedar would make an excellent arrow shaft, being light, and in old growth, straight and close grained for strength.

 

[n7bsn]

...Port Orford cedar is used to make arrow shafts. I don't know what makes this particular wood special as opposed to others.

Tends to be very straight grained. BTW, one of my friends is a Turner and Fletcher, he made one set of arrows with Port Orford and now has a reaction so strong to any of the Cypress type cedars he can't work any of them

 

[Mr. Don]

Gavel

John...you may want to consider an alternate such as Black Locust Burl or Mountain Mahogany or White Oak Burl or Spalted Holly....all of which I have a very limited supply of, and are hard enough and beautiful enough for a very fine gavel!! Also, recently made a pair of wine glasses out of Mtn. Mahogany for a client, and he liked them so much he ordered 3 more sets!!! A fine day!:cool2:

 

[John Torchick]

Cedar

Again, many thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences. Scratch the cedar and look for something else. Dang, this turning stuff is addicting.

 

[Mr. Don]

Cedar

O.K., John...Now you are getting it!!!! Not only is it adictive, but there is no known cure!! (fun, huh???)

 

[Robert Manning]

Free wood

http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/zip/1693798302.html

 

[alexc]

depends on what type of cedar. Here are a few pieces of white eastern cedar I have turned. I personally love the stuff, it's rather soft though, sharp tool is a must when your finishing.

The smell is definitely bad for some people, I got lucky enough to like it though. Even if you don't like it though, the finished product won't smell as much in a week or so.

Another perk is that the stuff doesn't really crack. All of the pieces below were done in one day, no dna, no waiting for it to dry, nothing. If it were me I'd go for the stuff.

 

[John Torchick]

Cedar

Alexc, you anticipated a question I was going to post. I might just cut up the tree for some projects I have in mind that would allow use of a softer wood. I know a guy who has a lamp shop and said he would be interested in looking at some turnings he could wire up as finished lamps. The guy is very creative- uses anything from old toys to old carbide lamps to make nice electrical lamps. Just thought, I might have to buy a chainsaw! Will it never end??????????
This might be a different subject. If so, moderator, move to an appropriate category. OK, forum, how would you price such work??

 

[alexc]

personally I like stihl, I have an ms310 with a 24" bar, a lot of people prefer the 20" bar but I only use this saw every few months when I get a big haul, otherwise i just use an electric. Buy stihl and you won't have to buy another for a very long time.

Though I have no experience with it, the same can be said for a husqvrana.

 

[John Torchick]

Chain saw

Alexc, we have an anniversary coming up in a couple of months. Here's the scenario: "Dear, just think of all the nice furniture I can make just for you." The you see the aftermath of the Tennessee Chainsaw Murder on CNN!

 

[alexc]

haha, just be sure to mention my name when they asked why you used a stihl.

 

[Mr. Don]

Cedar

A big yup on the Stihl!!!! As for the Cedar, depend on the cut...I prefer crotch for a lot of figure....can be very nice...hardness depends a lot on this feature. I cut a 18" Red cedar out of my back yard, and it gave me some PURTY bowls and platters! Definately worth the trouble. I finished with natural Danish oil, seal coat, and 5 coats wipe-on poly. Turned out very nice.:cool2:

 

[John Torchick]

Drying time?

I'm not sure how long this cedar tree has been down but, to be on the safe side, how long should I let it dry indoors (air conditioned basement)? Or....best way to air dry? Don't have a "kiln" set up....yet (although some forum posts have me thinking).

 

[Mr. Don]

Cedar

John.. I just turn to finish from green...it will pretty much dry as you go down thru the sanding grades. No sense in kicking a dead horse! Just go for the gusto and enjoy!! You guys tend to over-do stuff. If you have a bunch of it, so waste some, and savor the experience!

 

[alexc]

turning green and letting the wood dry naturally may work for some types of turning(super thin) and some types of wood(eastern white cedar) but if you use that method in all your turning your gonna have major warping and cracking on a large percentage of your work.

 

[MichaelMouse]

I'm not sure how long this cedar tree has been down but, to be on the safe side, how long should I let it dry indoors (air conditioned basement)? Or....best way to air dry? Don't have a "kiln" set up....yet (although some forum posts have me thinking).

Aromatic "cedar," which seems the most likely candidate in Tennesee, is pretty dry when it's alive. Adaptation to a dryer climate. Eastern white is a tree which likes its feet damp, and carries a bit more water.

You can TDT with air dry in a nice basement, or with a barefoot shed and a shelf to keep things humid. As long as you don't go too broad at the base and vertical at the sides to overstress the piece mechanically, you can expect good results.

Turn with good ventilation, sand with a dust mask. The fumes contain a whole chemical plant's worth of oils and resins, like most durable woods.

Turn and warp can make some nice pieces too, so you can do that while the TDTs are curing.

 

[kevinkabby]

turning green and letting the wood dry naturally may work for some types of turning(super thin) and some types of wood(eastern white cedar) but if you use that method in all your turning your gonna have major warping and cracking on a large percentage of your work.

The warpage varies from wood species to species. The grain orientation is the most important. When I turn a vessel from the green, I turn it with the grain, and sometimes with the pith still in the blank depending on the size of the log. The key is to keep it at or under 1/4 of an inch thick, and it will move a minimal amount. if there is a lot of figure, you will see more movement just because of the grain orientation.

 

[John Torchick]

Definition?

Not able to figure out- TDT?

 

[MichaelMouse]

TDT - Turn, Dry, Turn. Pretty much the only way to get something round from green wood. Or something without cracks, given the stresses on wood in the large. Much less risky.

 

[Mr. Don]

Cedar

To all of you people that have comments on the qualities (or lack of) cedar, please refer to the pix on the AAW forums opening page at the top for Don Leydens' work....kinda speaks for itself, huh? Now this is some nice work!!

 

[Gretch Flo]

red cedar

One problem I have had turning somewhat green or green cedar is getting the red into the white locations, making it tedious to sand areas by themselves. Dryer wood seems less of a problem, especially using cellulose sanding sealer. Am I mis-remembering???? Gretch

 

[Bill Boehme]

Go with Gretch and don't use aromatic (eastern red) or eastern white cedar for a gavel. It's going to show every point of order ...

Clever! Those species are a bit soft. Texas cedar (actually juniper) is heavy and hard. It used to be used for fence posts and will last for the better part of a century.