Spanish Cedar Liners - from start to finish

[Damon Stathatos]

With all the talk about the current direction and contributions to the forum, I thought I'd post something that probably hasn't been posted in the past. Among other things, I mill spanish cedar liners (for humidors) for our local Rockler here in Southern California. I recently did a whole new and much more complete website and while I was putting it together, lamented the fact that I hadn't taken or kept 'process' photos of some of my production here. So, after finishing the website, I began documenting some of the processes. This was the next order in line...and so...here it is:



Full size boards, stacked and stickered. Then, selected boards brought into the shop.
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Cut to rough lengths, first step through the jointer to get the first flat side. Then, to the planer to get the opposing parallel side.
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To the 'rip' table saw to uniform widths and stacked on the bandsaw's infeed rollers, ready to be resawn.
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To be continued

[Damon Stathatos]

Set up in the 'resaw' fences then, one good looking and modest son-of-a-gun pushing 'em through the blade.
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Three, 3/16th inch (rough resawn) pieces for each 4/4 piece. Photos missing of subsequent planing to smooth faces. Next, the first row of stacking and stickering.
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Completed stacking and then weighted down.
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[glenn bradley]

Great stuff Damon. Its great to have one of the sources of the stuff we find on the store shelves (or lumber bins) on the forum. Its a real insight into the process.

[Mike Wilkins]

Fine looking operation. Question of curiousity: what type of blade are you using, tooth count, etc. Thanks.

[Sam Layton]

Hi Damon,

Good Post Damon. You sure have great old arn in your shop. I hope the earth beneath your shop is solid... Thanks for the photo's, keep them coming.

Sam

[Larry Fox]

Very cool - thanks for the pics. I bet your shop smells wonderful while you are milling this stock. I love the smell of Spanish Cedar.

[Jim Rimmer]

Great post, thanks.

[Andrew Hughes]

Thanks for taking the time to show us your work.IT must smell like a big cigar box in your shop.Next time I am in Pasadena and have the time I wil stop by.I saw your new web site very nice. Andrew

[Ryan Brucks]

Very cool. I'm also interested in knowing what kind of blade you resaw with.

Curious that the first two pics of your second post show different bandsaw resawing setups... on the first pic you have the fence on one side of the blade then on the other its flipped... any reason for that?

[Damon Stathatos]

Thank you all for the replies.

The blade…
I normally use a 1", 2-3 variable TPI Resaw King variant (sold by Laguna under a different name to Creekers) for almost all of my resawing. I had done smaller runs of these spanish cedar linings in the past but this was a larger run and the Resaw King variant acted differently on this run. After I did about a dozen of the veneers, I couldn't keep the pitch from building up on the blade after every pass. It wasn't gooey pitch, it was getting hot through the cut and crystalized the pitch. If I went for a second pass without cleaning, it was like trying to push a rock through a dull blade. I usually clean pitch off of the blade by running a diesel soaked board through the blade and it usually works pretty good. But because the pitch was so hard and crystalized, the diesel couldn't soak / dissolve and only ended up sort of burnishing it, making it even harder for an eventual wire brush and acetone scrub. I kept thinking it was a function of a dulling blade, but the thumbnail test didn't confirm that. I called Tim at Laguna and talked to him about it. He related others having the same problem, specifically with spanish cedar. He suggested their Shear Force, a bi metal but with an ultra thin kerf. A variable TPI as well but for this application Tim was pretty sure it would rake the waste out better and less heat. Lucky me, they are on sale, three for the price of two. Anyway, I told Tim I'd try them and be down tomorrow to pick them up. Fortunately, Laguna's only about a 45 minute drive for me. I drove down, took my pitchey Resaw King and a sample of the spanish cedar, and began to overwhelm Tim with my questions. He deferred to the resident expert, Morgan (Torgen's son) who had just finished welding my three blades. It was a notable experience being led back into the inner sanctum of Laguna, but to interact with Morgan about the dynamics and physics going on with the my existing blade vs the difference in the new blades with respect to rake, variable TPI, etc., was a real experience for me. I've always been attracted to how open guys in the woodworking industry are to each other, and this is a prime example. And sooooo, the balance of the run went pretty much like a hot knife through butter. I still did need to clean pitch off every pass or two, however this time, the diesel soaked board did the trick, quickly and entirely. The spanish cedar seems innocuous enough but it is a very resinous wood.

The shop does smell wonderful, spanish cedar or not (cocobolo smells pretty good also). Most everyone who walks in, stops dead in their tracks, and remark about it. Unfortunately for me, an ex-smoker of 37 years, my smelling sense has been 'done in,' so I don't get that enjoyment. Yet one more reason I should have listened to my elders when I was young and stupid.

The building was built by a defense contractor and the floors are poured concrete. They ran heavy machinery and as a consequence, engineered it accordingly. Never even the slightest hint of vibration when cranking the big-boys up.

The shots of the fencing set-up…
The first shot was just before beginning the cut, and the second shot was the same board, about half-way through. Since the board was half-way through, the main (taller) fence is hidden. The secondary fence on the off cut side acts the same as a feather board but gives much better support and tracking of the workpiece (for me). The feather board or secondary fence is held in place with Magswitch magnets. They're great, you can turn them on and off with the flick of a switch.

Lastly, any Creeker, local or not, is always welcome to my shop. One of my slogans, which was heartfelt at conception…Don't be shy, just come on by !!! I recently had the pleasure of a visit from Glenn Bradley, welcome him back as well as other Creekers...anytime.

[Bill White]

That kinda info and welcome is what WWing is all about.
Well described, and thanks for your post. Wish I was closer.
Bill