Aromatic cedar for bowls?

[Jeff Horton]

I have access to a large downed aromatic cedar tree. I have turned a lot of cedar limbs for ornaments but I don't think I have ever tried a bowl with it. Just wondering what to expect? I know the knots can be harder than the HSS the tools are made of. ;)

[Andy Hoyt]

I got a bunch of it last December. Roughed a few items and decided I'd wait to do the rest until I can open the doors and windows. The smell is nice for five minutes and then it "gets to you". The day after roughing they would crack like crazy, so these are also prime candidates for the alcohol dunk. But they do turn easily. Didn't have trouble with any of the knots.

[Curt Fuller]

I've never noticed the knots to be that hard although they're quite a bit harder than the rest of the wood. Cedar is pretty soft. The knots will sometimes shrink and fall out though.

[Jim Ketron]

Yep, Andy is right DNA soon as it comes off the lathe!
It turns nice and finishing is great!

[George Troy Hurlburt]

There is better wood out there to turn than cedar. Too many cracks can appear in no time. Even if one bowl cracks ,there can go maybe 2 hours down the tube. Even if the wood is free I turn it down. GT

[Bruce Shiverdecker]

I've turned some AWESOME goblets from it. The curves really show off the grain.

Bruce

[John Timberlake]

In December, I turned both a bowl and a hollow form from dry aromatic cedar. No problems with cracks or knots. The blank had been in my basement for about two years and was 4" thick. I would cut the log into long blanks, seal the ends and wait. If you don't like the turning, you can always resaw for lining chests, etc.

[Dennis Peacock]

Cedar is nice to turn and I recommend it to learn bowl turning with. I've turned several bowl out of cedar....and only ONE out of Five didn't crack on me. Maybe I'll get some "fresh" cedar and try another one. All the previous attempts were with 1 to 2 year old cedar that were cut into blanks and turned.

[Jim Bell]

Rough turn wet cedar to 1'', put it in a lidded cardboard box for at least a year then finish turning to your specs. I have turned a lot of smaller pieces and so far no problems.
Jim :)

[Mike Ramsey]

I think most cracks in Cedar happen while sanding, for me anyway.
Turn you lathe speed way-way down to keep the heat down while
your sanding.

[Stephen Hibbs]

I got some dry cedar planks off a friend, cut the planks into squares and made a pretty big blank. I'm not sure what kind it was, but it smells something awful, and was increadibly easy to turn. I recommend trying some hollowing with it since it's so soft, that's what I did, and I turned out a decent-looking chamber pot-like thing in little time. I don't know if it's because I got impatient with the sanding or what, but it seems like the 60 grit gouge caused some tearout on that soft wood. I had to use a higher grit since the 60 would eat the wood but left the tearout intact.

[Glenn Hodges]

Jeff, cedar can be overpowering to some people while turning and sanding it. I think it can make some attractive pieces. Yep, it will crack, but most of the cracks are small hairline cracks which I glue up. I have heard it crack while I was holding a roughed out bowl in my hand. Not all of it has this bad a cracking tendency. Dry cedar will really soak up the finish. Here are some examples of cedar bowls which will give you an idea of what to expect. I hope it helps.

[Gil Jones]

Sanding heat = cracks.
Cedar makes some great looking weed vases.

[John Timberlake]

Nice bowls, Glenn. I really like the form and the finish. And you are right, they really soak up the finish. When I turned the dry cedar, the wall thickness was under 1/4". Didn't see any cracks.