edge grain or face

[brian]

What machines better in 3d,edge grain or face grain.
I'm doing a sign from western red cedar and wanted to get an opinion on this before I purchase any wood

Thanks Brian

[dlcw]

Western red cedar is a pretty good wood for exterior work. I've used it for all the signs I've done so far. I carve on the face. Grain and color match glueups to make it look good.

It carves fairly well but can tend to chip out and have small areas break off. It is a little brittle in this regard. I do my rough carving pass across the grain to minimize the chip out. Roughing with the grain can lift and pull large chunks out of the wood (don't ask me how I know this). I've had to do a little bit of patching on signs but not to bad.

Make sure you seal it before applying any paints or stains. I use a couple of coats of Benite to do this. Paints and stains will bleed pretty bad and make a really nice sign not so nice. I use either Deft Oil (wipe on/wipe off) or One-Shot sealer (spray on for good finish) to seal everything - front and back.

[brian]

Thanks
If I seal it with an oil will paint adhere to it as well ?
I'm planing on painting the raised letters.

Brian

[dlcw]

I've sealed with 2 lights coats of rattle-can urethane and have had no problems.

I switched to the Benite because it is a lot less expensive and seals really well. Stone masons use it to seal wood fireplaces before they start putting on mortar and it really protects the wood well.

[brian]

Don on the rough and finish pass do you use climb cut or conventional.
I have some diamond coat varnish I though I would seal the wood with before painting
One thing I find about living in the great white north is most of the products that are mentioned here are hard to find here more so in smaller communities.

Thanks Brian

[dlcw]

Brian,

I use a conventional direction for rough cutting. As far as sealing goes, only seal the areas you are going to paint. After painting, sand off the excess sealer and then apply your final sealer over everything.

[ajf]

I just finished a sign for our local community center out of red cedar and had the same question before I started cutting. I couldn't find an answer, so seeing the sign was made up of 3 separate sections, I glued up one section using edge grain and the other two as face grain. I did seal all the cedar before cutting. The face grain sections cut with no problems, however the edge grain section did give me issues with long tear outs as well creating long shavings that kept clogging the dust collector. I tried quite a few different cutting settings but just didn't find a happy solution. So from my experience I think I'll stick with face grain when using local red cedar.

[brian]

Thanks guys
I just glued up some face grain old growth I got at the local sawyer.
I let Ya know how it turns out
Al I used to live in that area
I worked for seven years in Dawson city from late 79 to 86.
White horse was the big city for us.

Brian

[ajf]

Brian
Dawson City was my home in the early 70's before moving down to Whitehorse in 75. Still end up in Dawson every year after my wife's team ( http://www.nfb.ca/film/river_of_life/ ) finishes the Yukon River Quest.
Was quite pleased how face grain red cedar cut when the wood was sealed prior to cutting. But did find that even with the dust collector running there was enough fine cedar dust in the air that I did end up having to wear a dust mask while the shopbot was running.

[joe]

I'm also very interested in seeing the finished signs.

I've found it helpful to use a down spiral on cedar since it has a tendancy to to tear out. A couple of good coats of shellac will help.

Because Cedar expands and contracts more than redwood, it doesn't do very well with hard coat paints like eurthanes. It will crack and splinter. For stains I like Log & Siding, by Sikkens, which has lots of UV protection.

Joe