Cedar questions

[Gary Batten]

I've been using cedar fence pickets for small projects...bird house, squirrel feeder, bottle opener etc. Although it does have some smell, I would think it's not the best to line an old blanket chest with.

That being said I can get cedar from a couple of saw mills here in SW Missouri...5/8 x 4 1/4 x 48 or at the big box store in either single boards or "aromatic" cedar packages that cover 15 sq.ft. each that are 1/4 x 3 1/2 random lengths. The cost per sq.ft. is not much different but it is about a half hour farther to get the saw mill stuff and I can get it in all different sizes.

To build a chest/box/etc. I would go with the boards. But to just line a chest or put on a closet wall it would just be the surface area and the thickness would not matter...right? So the prepackaged 1/4" stuff with edge groves would be faster/easier to work with...right?

[Mel Fulks]

Yes,I would use the 1/4 inch product. It will work and not look clunky. I would keep the cedar at least a half inch lower
than the sides of the chest,looks neater. Might want to bevel the top of the cedar a little.

[Lee Schierer]

You will want the aromatic cedar rather than the western red cedar for your chest.

[John K Jordan]

What kind of cedar? The cedar chests I've seen are made from or lined with Eastern Red Cedar.

It has a great smell but will fade over time to nothing. You can get cedar oil to add smell. Note that the traditional concept that cedar protects clothing from bugs has been largely debunked.

JKJ

[Stan Calow]

Gary, the western red cedar used for fences and decks, is not even the same family as eastern red cedar (common as weeds in Missouri). ERC is a juniper, also known as aromatic cedar, and is what is used for hope chests, hamster cage shavings, etc. I don't know that WRC has the same insect repellant properties that ERC is suppose to anyway.

But I've tried working with ERC and find it too splintery to work easily, and never found a finish that looks good for a furniture piece. I'd use the prepackaged liner to get it thin enough, or, if looks aren't important, you can even find 4x8 ERC chipboard panels.

[Brian Holcombe]

Most aromatic cedar I’ve seen is very knotty. I’d personally buy the highest quality that you can reasonably attain if either white cypress or yellow cedar and use that. Line it with the other stuff when complete but good clear material makes life much easier during the build.

[John K Jordan]

Most aromatic cedar I’ve seen is very knotty. I’d personally buy the highest quality that you can reasonably attain if either white cypress or yellow cedar and use that. Line it with the other stuff when complete but good clear material makes life much easier during the build.

I haven't bought any but I cut it myself from the logs and dry. Much of it has few knots but I can work between any knots for what I use it for.

I don't use it for furniture but for woodturnings. I find it a dream to turn, very fine grained, cuts cleanly (with sharp tools), finishes nicely with a variety of finishes: beeswax, lacquer, "danish" oil, shellac. I like to find it variegated with red and white. Some turned cedar examples:

cedar_vessel.jpg cedar_bowl.jpg cedar_lid_comp_IMG_7331.jpg penta_platter_cedar_IMG_7434.jpg
cedar_and_ebony2_IMG_7528.jpg wands_distressed.jpg

[Bill Dufour]

I believe pencils are made of California cedar. China seems to use MDF to make theirs.
Bil lD

[Gary Batten]

Thanks guys!
I think Stan and Brian have a good idea. Find something pretty and easy to work with to build the chest/box/whatever...then line it with the 1/4" eastern cedar pieces.

John, that's some beautiful turning work! That's an art form in itself!

[Art Mann]

I don't know about using it to line a chest but I have been using some Western Cedar 2 X 4 salvaged from an old porch railing to make slats for some deck chairs. Even though it is well over 30 years old, the freshly cut wood smells strongly spicy and aromatic. I was very surprised.

[Bill Dufour]

I just did some research and found that incense cedar is not even in the same family as eastern cedar. It is in the cyprus family instead.

[John K Jordan]

...
John, that's some beautiful turning work! That's an art form in itself!

Thank you for the kind words! I don't have much time for "real" woodworking but I love woodturning, especially smaller things. Good clean fun.

JKJ

[Andrew Hughes]

Neither is Eastern red cedar its really more cypress family. Not a true cedar.

[Art Mann]

According to the USDA, eastern redcedar (Juniperous virginiana) is a Juniper.

https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=JUVI

[Andrew Hughes]

Yes that it.
It’s part of the Cupressaceae family of cypress too bad it lacks the rot resistance like Wrc and Alaskan yellow cedar.
Out here around my area we have the Leland cypress it also has a nice smell and the little berry things like junipers.