Aromatic cedar

[coach]

Had a guy stop in my shop stating he had 1,000 bd ft. of aromatic cedar. Said it has been drying for about 6 months.
He wants $1.00 per bd ft. Is this a good price. Is 6 months sufficient drying time.
What can I do to insure I don't get ripped off?
Thanks in advance.
David

[joe]

Did you have a good look at the material

What thickness?
What are you going to use it for?
Is it finished, good four sides?

[coach]

Haven't seen it Joe. Told me it was about 1". As for uses, I am not sure but I figure it would be good for exterior signs. I can use your input there for sure. Also maybe make some chairs or chests. Just trying to find info if it is a good deal and what to be wary of.
Thanks Joe.

[myxpykalix]

A board foot is 12" wide X 12" long by 1" thick. I haven't seen any 12" wide cedar in a long time. Most cedar trees aren't that thick so make sure you measure and count your board feet.

unless you make lots of furniture, by the time you get around to using the first 100 feet this should be plenty dry.
$1.00/ft is a decent deal. Where are you located? There is a guy local here in va who is selling cedar 1.00/ft. Do you have to buy all 1000 feet?

[coach]

Good advice Jack. 3 weeks ago I was charged for 30 bd ft of oak. This was my 4 th shipment. I decided to take the time to measure and convert to board feet. I was short and charged for an extra 10 bd ft. I can only guess it wasn't the first error they made. I check every thing now.
The supplier made things right for me but that isn't the point.
Thanks, David

[dlcw]

David,

A rule of thumb for drying to a good workable MC is 1 year for each 1" of thickness. If this wood is 1" thick it is only about half way dry. You want an MC of 6% to 8% for it to be good and stable for furniture work. Air dried wood is some of the best.

The other thing to watch out for is any bug infestation. Kiln drying kills any remaining bugs in the wood. However, air drying won't kill them and you would bring them home with you.

Best advice, as stated from the other guys, look it over VERY carefully. I would bulk at claims of 12" wide cedar also.

Don
www.diamondlakewoodworks.com (http://www.diamondlakewoodworks.com)

[wberminio]

David

1st of all Aromatic cedar should be air dried.
The best method to test is with a meter.Otherwise,
1 year for each 1" of thickness.

Expect a lot of knots and narrow boards.

Great for drawer/cabinet liners

Erminio

[coach]

So if it has been drying for only 6 months will there be shrinkage? If so will it matter as far as measuring and losing size?
The guy claimed the boards were 4-8" widths.
If there is bugs can they be seen or do they remain hidden? I don't want to ruin any other material from bringing in bugs. Maybe I should let this deal pass. Is $1.00 per bd. ft. a bargain? I didn't get a chance to call the supply house and get a price from them.

[myxpykalix]

But you are going to love the smell of the shop the first time you put it thru a thickness planer. I usually just leave the sawdust laying on the floor.
I have some empty boxes in the rafters above and had some squirrels gather up lots of sawdust and leaves and made nests in them. I leave it there for them for the winters.
I have some 6"x6"x4' cedar that i have been drying for at least 5yrs now that i put in plastic trash bags to control the drying process and so far no cracks at all.
Also look into getting some "Anchorseal", a milky waxy solution the consistency of thick milk that when applied dries clear and you cover the ends of your boards to control cracking.

[myxpykalix]

There may be some minimal shrinkage but you can always recover that by buying a"board stretcher".
I wouldn't let your fear of bugs deter you from a good deal.

[coach]

thanks, I have a board stretcher but it is stuck under my sky hook.
I may call the guy this weekend and look at the material. I may try to get his price down a bit too. Why not right,,,,everyone is doing it to me.
I v carved some cedar and the shop smelled great for a day or two. They used to sell stuff like that in little bags. Like pine in N.H.

[myxpykalix]

after you plane it down and have some sawdust take some in the house and put it n some small bowls for potpourri(?)

[coach]

Now that you mention it,,,,my Gram used to keep small cedar boards in the cupboards. Said it kept (I think it was) ants away.

[donchapman]

"Aromatic cedar" or "eastern red cedar" isn't a true cedar, it is juniper and can be found in sizes ranging from bushes to very large trees.

There are at least two sawmills in Bastrop County, Texas where I live that mill mostly juniper and I've made dozens of signs from the material over the years.

Most often I've just routed letters and graphic into juniper slabs, but I've also built up sign blanks from multiple boards.

The wood is full of knots and prone to warpage, so you have to choose your boards carefully and there is a lot of waste.

The heartwood is red when freshly cut and weathers brown to gray. It is very rot resistent and is commonly used for fence posts in central Texas. I've seen still sound 100 plus year old cedar piers under houses in termite country. Cedar closets and chests protect clothes from moths.

The sapwood is white and rots easily.


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[donchapman]

This 30"x48" main sign blank I assembled from juniper/"cedar" 1x4's


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[joe]

Those are some handsome signs Don.

You guys are making we want to mill down some scrap, left out behind the shop, jusst to freshen up my place.

Keep up the good work Don and why don't you post more often? I always enjoy seening what your doing.

[donchapman]

Thanks for the kind words, Joe.

Most of my signs are at the plain and simple end of the spectrum with just a couple of contrasting colors, a simple graphic, and one or two easily read and compatible fonts with as few words of text as the customer will allow.

I've gotten lazy in my old age so many of my more recent signs look a whole lot like my earlier signs that I've posted photos of on this forum over the years.

Although I've made hundreds of signs, I still consider myself much more a craftsman than a sign artist and usually think really talented sign artists could improve every one of my designs.

[zeykr]

I buy quite a bit of Eastern Cedar from local sawmills. I pay $1 a board foot for number one and .50 for number 2 select. Pay a little more ($1.30) for wide boards like 1x10's as they're not easy to come up with.

As Erminio says, it needs to be air dried and 6 months is enough for most purposes that aromatic cedar is used for - outdoor furniture, closet liners, cedar chests and rustic furniture. We set it behind the wood stove for an extra couple months for boards we're going to use for table tops or such that need to be dryer.

We make signs from eastern cedar slabs and the Sikkens DEK finish Joe introduced us to works very well on it for exterior applications. We use 5/4 or 6/4 slabs for signs as thinner boards do tend to warp.

[ron brown]

Wood dries ~1" per year .... FROM EACH SIDE. A 2" piece will dry to equilibrium about 1 year in any climate I have lived in.

There is no substitute for a good meter in determining moisture unless one simply oven dries a sample and computes it.

As Don correctly mentions, "Aromatic cedar" is a juniper (I think there are three species indigenous to Texas if not four or more). He has covered the subject well. I don't know where Ken is located but there are at least 3 species called 'cedar' in the east coast area.

Ron

[myxpykalix]

somehow "aromatic juniper" just doesn't work for me! lol