Cedar log

[Rusty Nesmith]

I went to our Tuesday turning meeting today and one of the guys asked if anybody wanted some cedar. One other guy and myself were interested. I got a 10’ log. He will get the bottom of the next tree. I cut it into chunks, cut the pith out and sealed the ends. I will have to get busy rough turning them soon.

 

[Darryn Achall]

Got some good wood there. I'm hoping to find some red cedar one of these days. My sources tend to have maple, cherry and elm.

 

[Richard Coers]

I've found the sapwood loves to crack in cedar. Better get turning.

 

[Michael Anderson]

I've found the sapwood loves to crack in cedar. Better get turning.

Same experience here. Even when sealed.

 

[Don Wattenhofer]

There are many more things that could be made with that besides bowls. If there is another tree to be cut down I would suggest that you find a Woodmizer operator and have it milled into boards, which can be used for segmenting/staves etc.

Note that the urn below was turned on the pith which is only visible in the base and presented no problems with checking.

 

[Randy Anderson]

Ditto on the cracking. I gathered a pile about that size a number of years ago. Sealed and stored and still cracked a lot. Ended up burning most of it before I could turn it. It can make some beautiful pieces but as Don notes, not every log is a bowl waiting to be turned. If you get more you might want to leave as logs, quite a bit longer than needed and consider some hollow forms. Have fun.

 

[Craig Hertzog]

I recently got my hands on some red cedar too. Don't mind the cluttered bench, but 3 of these are from that last haul. After turning these, I got ahold of the guy and said I'll be back for some more. Not only does it look gorgeous and turn beautifully, but the shop smells great too

 

[Art Chamberlin]

I absolutely love turning cedar! Not only does the shop smell great, but the colors are always amazing.

 

[Richard Coers]

I absolutely love turning cedar! Not only does the shop smell great, but the colors are always amazing.

That great color is short lived though.

 

[Art Chamberlin]

That great color is short lived though.

Yes, you are correct. But I’ve found that it depends on the piece. The bowl I pictured browned up a bit, but still is really nice. I sold it for $140 and that person is still happy. The other piece is still in my house, and looks as good as the day I made it.

 

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Eastern Red Cedar, its real name is Juniper Virginiana.
Grows at a lot of places around the northern part of the world.
Called "Jenever bes" in the Netherlands, as it was used to make the Gin as we know it.

Yes Juniper does smell nice and looks good, at least for a while.
I believe that where it grew and when it was cut down does make a difference, though it just prolongs what will happen eventually.
LOML did want the shavings, she would put it in close form bowl and enjoyed the smell of it, again lasting just for a while.

Checks and splits are not bad, but yes it likes to do that often,

 

[Don Wattenhofer]

Eastern Red Cedar, its real name is Juniper Virginiana

If you look up Eastern red cedar or aromatic cedar the scientific name is "juniperus virginiana".

Yes Juniper does smell nice and looks good, at least for a while.

I have found that a danish oil finish seams to maintain the color longer although I don't have any pieces much older then 5 years. The segmented pedestal bowl that I posted earlier on this thread was done in 2021, finished with 3 applications of Watco Danish Oil and is still a nice bright red.

Checks and splits are not bad, but yes it likes to do that often,

The problem with checks is no different then most other woods you can not store it for long periods of time in log form. The wood should be milled to a uniform thickness or rough turned to a uniform thickness. Sealing the end grain does not stop the drying process, it just controls the rapid loss of moisture out of the endgrain.