Utz Cedar - have you used it/heard of it?

[Jerry Strojny]

I am considering using Utz Cedar for my next project, a sleigh crib. But I'll be honest, I've never heard of this type of wood. Don't know how it machines, stands up.... LOML wants the color to match the color of some brown wicker baskets in the nursery. So I first started with trying to find a wood that would take stain evenly. The guy at the lumber yard suggested hard maple. The color of the baskets are sorta like mohagany. Thats when he said to take a look at the Utz cedar. I like the idea that I may not have to stain the project. I understand it's a great "stand-in" for mohagany when price is a concern. He also stated that this should not be used for any exterior project. "It may be cedar but this stuff really swells when moisture gets in it." Is Utz good for a crib? The crib will definitely not be used outside, but I live in a 65 year old house with no A/C. We live with the windows open during the summer and whatever the humidity is outside, same inside. Would I need to worry about joints swelling and breaking? shrinking and breaking? Or are the individual peices on a crib to small to really worry about that much movement? Any opinions would be greatly appreciated?

(Am I overthinking this? I've just never heard or seen any Utz Cedar cribs out there.)

[Jerry Strojny]

Maybe I should have asked, have you ever heard of Utz Cedar? Maybe there is another name for it that someone can enlighten me with?

[Jim DeLaney]

I've never heard of Utz cedar, but if it's akin to any of the other cedars I've used or seen, it'll be way too soft to use as a furniture wood - especially a crib that'll inevitably get chewed on.

Most cedars are so soft that you can mark them - often quite deeply - with just a fingernail.

[Jerry Strojny]

This is definitely not soft wood. I took a chunk of it home. It's almost as hard as oak. It's got some "heft" to it.

[Jim Becker]

From a Google.com search:

"Utz Cedar- Often used in place of Honduras Mahogany because of its similar look and grain, but at a lower cost."

[Jerry Strojny]

Jim,
That quote is from the Kettle Moraine hardwoods website right? That is where I got the sample piece from. I'm about 20 mins from their showrooms. I find no other info than their website for utz.

[Jim Becker]

It was the only reference...maybe they made up the name?

[Jerry Strojny]

Don't know if anyone really cares, but I finally found out a little more about this stuff. (I guess it all depends on who you talk to....even within the same store...) Utz Cedar is not it's real name. (The guy I spoke to couldn't/didn't know how to pronouce the the name.) The wood is from Brazil. It is sold at only 3 places in the US. Kettle Moraine Hardwoods in Milwaukee is one of them. There is also only one supplier for this stuff....and this is the guy's bread and butter. He has very little info regarding it's properties. Just a couple of sheets that are all in Malaysian. No translation available. (aparrently it sells well enough he doesn't see a need to have the normal info woodworkers like to know regarding it's properties avaialble.)
The guy at Kettle Moraine now tells me that it is widely used outdoors. They just sold a bunch for some seating benches at a local University. There have been mailboxes and wine cellars made out of it. He send it tends to burn when they run it through their belt sander and it does warp some when it finally dries. It dries very slow. Apparenly the last 3 days he has been constantly answering questions about this wood. They've had for some time now, but these last few days have just been crazy with questions about it. The cost is about 1/3 of Mahogany. But it finishes just beautifully.

Well, I hope someone may find this info interesting and maybe useful.

[Charlie Plesums]

Sounds interesting... sounds a little like Lyptus, which has similar grain to mahogany, stains almost identically, is heavier/more durable, and less expensive. Lyptus is a cross-breed of some eucalyptus trees, so if Utz cedar is related to eucalyptus, you may be in good company.

One question might be toxicity, since it will be chewed sooner or later. But I would probably try it... I may be a little careless, but I was raised in a house with lead water pipes, and used many buckets of the "better" taping compound that had the asbestos in it. I appreciate the care communities have about toxic waste from leaking oil tanks... then dispose of the contaminated soil as road fill in front of the same house that paid a fortune to get rid of it. Oops... starting that rant again.