End grain Cedar bowl

[Bruce Perlmutter]

I got a call the other day from a woman asking if I could make a bowl from a tree that she had to have removed. I told her I would be happy to take a look at it. It is a piece of Cedar (type?) about 36" in diameter but only 6" thick. Rut ro! She said that she realized too late that it was not cut properly. I said that I would take it home and see what I could do. The first thing I did was rough out 4 bowl blanks avoiding the pith. The blanks vary from 11" down to 6" dia. I took a couple of the small scraps and roughly turned them to see how they cut. One I mounted cross grain like a normal bowl, the other I mounted end grain.
The wood is totally wet and even with a newly sharpened bowl gauge it wouldn't cut clean on either bowl. I tried a sharp scraper on the end grain bowl and didn't have much success there either. Ok, so they have to dry out, I get it!
Now for my question:
If I seal the end grain of my blanks will they ever dry? Should I let them dry a few days, rough them out and then seal them and bag them for the standard 6-12 months? This would mean that the majority of the surface of the bowl , inside and outside, would be sealed, wouldn't it? How would the bottom of the bowl dry? Or should I rough turn the bowl and then just double bag it without the anchor seal?
After messing with these two small bowls, I read about cedar being somewhat hazardous. Any advise on that account?
As ever, thanks for your help.
Bruce

 

[hockenbery]

Cedar is one of those woods that bothers some people.
I've turned quite a bit and I get a minor irritation of the sinuses from Cedar and mahogany.
Sort of like an oak pollen allergy.

Consider making a salt and pepper mill set.

Drill the through holes in the pieces turn them round they will dry and go oval
Drill the top part turn to rough shape. These you can microwave dry in a few days.
I use 40% power for 3 minutes let the pieces sit for a half hour
Repeat. Until dry. After 4 cycles let it rest over night.
Never leave the wood un attended it can rarely catch on fire usually when you set the oven for 33 minutes instead of 3.

This will make the short mills.

You can make a bunch of little bird house ornaments. The wood should dry when turned in a few days.
Use a glue that can move when the wood shrinks. Flexible epoxy mix.

Eggs from cedar for the sock drawer.

Weed pots. If they crack it adds character.

Cedar splits easily so it doesn't make a good functional bowl.
End grain bowls don't hold up under use as well as side grain bowls.

You should be able to get a clean cut on the wet cedar unless it punky.
I've turned a few hollow forms from wet cedar.

Have fun.
Al