Turning cedar bowls

[Dueane Hicks]

I turned this cedar bowl and man does it tear out easily! forget scrapers, only a razor sharp gouge is going to work on this stuff. I found this chunk in a firewood pile and was surprised to see some curl in it. I used walnut oil but should have probably used a rub on varnish to protect the very soft wood from damage. Does anyone else have experience with turning cedar?


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[Bill Jobe]

Very interesting piece. I love the figuring.

[John K Jordan]

I turned this cedar bowl and man does it tear out easily! forget scrapers, only a razor sharp gouge is going to work on this stuff. I found this chunk in a firewood pile and was surprised to see some curl in it. I used walnut oil but should have probably used a rub on varnish to protect the very soft wood from damage. Does anyone else have experience with turning cedar?


423057423059

Nice figure in that!

Is that eastern red cedar? I turn a lot of ERC and while it's relatively soft it doesn't tear with, as you say, razor sharp tools. I do use scrapers but only after the cutting tools for smoothing but they are negative rake scrapers on the lathe and hand scrapers off the lathe After hand scraping ERC needs very little sanding. BTW, I only turn ERC after it is completely dry, never wet.

I haven't tried walnut oil.

Here are some pieces with examples of different finishes. I've used beeswax, melted beeswax, spray lacquer, and Watco danish oil. The bees wax doesn't change the color much but the danish oil makes a big change.
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This one needed only 600 grit sandpaper after the hand scraping.

This one has Deft spray lacquer, maybe 6 coats:
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This one uses hand-rubbed beeswax, applied without melting:
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Melting the beeswax with a heat gun changes the color a lot, making it darker
423105.

All four samples are wood from the same tree.

Regardless of the finish, ERC can be damaged easily from dents or fingernails.

JKJ

[Peter Blair]

I live here on the Wed Coast of BC and often have access to Western Red Cedar. I currently have a few burls sitting around but I really don't like to turn it for many of the reasons you suggest.

[Dueane Hicks]

Nice stuff! I live in the Olympic mountains in Washington state. Lot's of cedar here. I've seen trees so big that I couldn't believe it. Some had fallen and I sure wish I could get permission to get a few chunks of those!

[Dave Fritz]

Eastern red cedar scares me due to an experience I had with it. I made a fly box with it. I left the inside trays natural thinking it would keep bugs away and smell good. Unfortunately sap came out of the wood and gummed up all the flies and there was a sticky mess inside. Did you have problems with the sap and have any sticky spots?

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

I turn Eastern red Cedar frequently. Never had a sap problem. It is actually juniper and not cedar. I find that it turns easily, except for the knots. I have a few 6 inch diameter pieces drying in the barn for the past 20 years. It might be ready.

[John K Jordan]

Eastern red cedar scares me due to an experience I had with it. I made a fly box with it. I left the inside trays natural thinking it would keep bugs away and smell good. Unfortunately sap came out of the wood and gummed up all the flies and there was a sticky mess inside. Did you have problems with the sap and have any sticky spots?

I also have never seen sap in ERC. I make lots of things with no finish. Was the wood dry?

Perhaps it’s just something I haven’t run into yet. Perhaps use a coat of shellac next time, especially if you still have some of that wood.

BTW, when I dry cedar (or any kind of wood) I write the weight and date on a piece of tape and periodically (every few months) reweigh and record. When the weight quits changing the wood is dry. Small pieces of ERC can be dry in a very short time.

JKJ

[Dave Fritz]

It was dry wood. I eventually took it apart and cleaned with acetone then sealed with spray lacquer. A friend took each fly and cleaned them with acetone. Lucky he was a retired oral surgeon and had good hands. Never heard from the lady who's husband won it at a banquet. Last time I used aromatic red cedar or donated anything other than turnings to a banquet. I do have several logs of it in the shed. They've been their ten years now.