Spansih Cedar Question

[Anthony Whitesell]

Once upon a time I did a project for my MIL made of spanish cedar. Since I can't hardly tell Maple from Poplar, I put my scraps in to trays made from paper box lids and store them between the ceiling joists of the shop with the species written on the bottom, so I can tell whats where by just looking up.

I'm in the process of doing a quick project for the LOML made of spanish cedar. I grabbed the boxed labeled 'Spanish cedar' to use the scraps first. When I grabbed one piece, most of them came out of the box at once in one big mass. That was neat but...what gives? Why were they all stuck together?

[Charlie Doret]

Spanish Cedar exudes sap for its entire life, which is why it smells nice and makes good humidors, etc (unless you seal it with shellac). Presumably the boards are stuck together with that sap. You can remove any surface ooze by wiping with acetone after you pull your boards apart, though it'll likely continue to slowly show up on the surface pretty much forever.