Any tips on turning cedar?

[Dan Masshardt]

I have a bunch of aromatic cedar that I'd like to turn for bowls. I know it's not the best for bowls probably but it is too pretty to pass up.

Does anybody have any advice on turning / finishing cedar?


I just rough turned the first one tonight.

I'm wondering how cedar does turning green to finish. Is it more prone to cracking?

I'm thinking of leaving a couple with no finish.

Thanks.

[John Keeton]

My experience with it was not good. It is soft, of course, which makes it not very durable for a bowl and it is really prone to crack.

[Joe Meirhaeghe]

Number one thing about cedar is to always wear a respirator. It's dust is a known carcinogen. Like John said it is soft and it can be hard to get lower grit sanding scratches out of it. However I have had good luck turning it with out any cracking problems. I like a gloss varnish on it, it can really reflect it's colors.

[Thomas Canfield]

I have turned several green or partially dried and coated with Anchor Seal. There was some cracks, but the cedar had some sap, bark inclusions, and heartwood so a lot going on. The cedar is hard to get an oil finish requiring many coats to get the uniform finish. It will also darken with time whatever the finish. Dust protection is required and some have allergic reactions to dust so be careful. The turning will give a lot of smell to your area. I have not tried turning thin and packing in shavings prior to finishing. Sanding the green or wet wood will pack your sandpaper very quickly. Tell us how you make out.

[Mel Fulks]

I've heard of some civil war type canteens being made from cedar. Don't know if any were turned,but there are a number
of different designs. In that use some tear out wouldn't be a problem.

[Brad Adams]

I just turned a bowl from aromatic cedar. I found that you need to turn it in one session to final thickness. On the first try, I turned the bowl partially and went in the house for lunch. When I went back to finish it a half hour later it was cracked.

[Dan Masshardt]

I just turned a bowl from aromatic cedar. I found that you need to turn it in one session to final thickness. On the first try, I turned the bowl partially and went in the house for lunch. When I went back to finish it a half hour later it was cracked.

So you turned it to final size and bagged it for awhile?

I rough turned one today and no cracks yet. Anchor sealed the whole thing right away.

[Brad Adams]

I turned the second one to final size, and covered it in blo. It never cracked. I didn't bag the first one when I went in for lunch.

[Scott Brandstetter]

I want to start this by saying, I am a newbie. Cedar was one of the first I worked with simply because our builder brought down a nice size tree and I figured I could use it for practice. I was amazed at the finished product and the fact that it did not crack or warp. I turned and finished from a green piece....again, I was simply looking for anything to turn. I still have my first bowl on the shelf in front of me and I have to say, for a first turning, it looks great. It's been a couple months and the color is still there and there are no cracks. I was told that over time it would lose it's color...don't remember why though. I say give it a turn, finish it off, and see what you get. Of course, include pictures when you are finished.

[Dan Masshardt]

Thanks all. I have about 10 blanks cut so I can experiment with some different methods.

[robert baccus]

Living way down south we find cedar has about a 95% cracking record regardless of treatments. Guys further north report much better luck. I would avoid any oil finishes on red cedar as they are oily and tend to fight you. Good luck. Also the color will leave period.

[Robert Henrickson]

Allergic reactions can be a real problem, at least for some people. I can't be in a room where cedar is being turned, let alone sanded.

[Dan Masshardt]

Well, the nice thing about green turning is that dust isn't yet any prob.

I will hear respirator when doing so.

I don't have any issues with cedar reactions but I will take precautions none the less.

[Cliff Hill]

I live in coastal North Carolina where hurricane damaged Red Cedar trees are plentiful. Red Cedar in my experience is a great wood for green turning. I always turn to the final dimensions and let the piece air dry after wet sanding on the lathe using Mirka Abranet abrasives (120 - 320 grit). I find cedar does not have much dimensional change or cracking during the drying process. I have a 15 inch diameter salad bowl set with 7 individual bowls (8” dia) turned back in 2003 none have cracks. The large bowl even has the pith incorporated near the rim.


If you cut a cedar log without coating the ends and observe it over time in comparison to any hardwood you will see it will develop very few end check cracks while the hardwood will have very large cracks. I have an uncoated 4” dia x 8” red cedar branch on my work bench for several weeks – It has no end cracks. I assume this stability is due to the high quantity of resin in the wood.
As for finishing I use Mahoney’s walnut oil followed by his paste wax on salad bowls and urethane varnish on cedar hollow forms. Note: if the white resin comes thru the walnut oil just wipe it off and re apply the oil. After 2-3 coatings that will stop. Keep the piece out of direct sunlight to preserve the beauty and color contrast.


Red Cedar has some of its best color and figure near the base and roots of the tree. You will also find highly figured wood in the buttress roots of cedar. The down side as others have pointed out is the dust, resin and odor.


Hope this helps.

[Scott Hackler]

I turn some cedar and I have found that the best advise is to turn to final thickness while green and try to finish the piece with a finish cut, uninterrupted from the top to the bottom.. so there are so tool marks to sand out. Then start with 180 or higher with a light touch on the sanding. Getting the sanding marks out of cedar when you use 80 or 100, will make you want to smash the bowl! I found cedar, around here, doesn't move too much at all, but the thickness seems to dictate whether or not it cracks while drying.

[Gary Baler]

Dan,
I just finished turning 22 bowls from green juniper (Colorado Cedar). They range in size from 8" to 16". 5 have cracks, (but they will be saleable) the rest are going to be ok. I've turned a lot of cedar and it works fine if you cut the bowl in one session and keep your walls thin and even all the way through ... including the bottom. You don't want to leave it on the lathe ... period. Turn it, sand it and put a finish on it.

The only finish I've found to work well on cedar is lacquer. I use rattle cans ... and apply 2 coats of sanding sealer ... sand between coats... and finish it with 3 or 4 coats of gloss lacquer. Oil finishes create nothing but problems over thelong haul with cedar.

You can sand it down pretty good on the lathe, but you'll still get some trouble spots you can't sand out. I've found I can usually clean those up with a few minutes of hand sanding with the grain.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Good luck ... you should get some fabulous end results.

[Sid Matheny]

I love cedar but it hates me! Even with a respirator it will take me a week to get over turning it. Cedar can dry rather quickly so don't leave it on the lathe overnight.


Sid

[Aric Krueger]

Most of the cedar I have access to in California is Incense Cedar. It is soft and cracks easily. It also makes me sneeze like nothing I've ever experienced before (even though I wear a respirator. I don't want to imagine what would happen if I wasn't wearing a respirator! If I use it, it is for decoration, accent pieces or other outdoor items as it is naturally rot and insect resistant.

[Garth Sheane]

I have a small supply of aromatic cedar, not enough for anything but small bowls. The color won't hold for any oil based finish in my experience. What I've done with a cedar peppermill is coat it with water based varathane, then top coat it with WOP or Tung Oil and that seems to hold the color.

I'm doing a large yellow cedar burl bowl right now, and just finished a red cedar burl. I really like the look of the red cedar after it is oiled ... almost like flames.