[Woodcarver] red cedar

[George Farrell]

Hi Sylda


> ............   We cut down a cedar tree (in Kansas) and
> are in the process of cutting out a cedar hedge.  There is quite a bit 
> of
> "carving sized" wood in both; is it worth keeping?

Yes ! ! ! Definitely ! ! !

>  How long does it take to
> dry?  Can it be cut fresh?

Cedar is peculiar in that the heart wood (red) can be used without 
"curing"
just as it comes from the tree.  It does not seem to shrink or to absorb
moisture as it ages.  The slip of wood that goes into the mouthpiece of
fipple pipes (like the penny whistle and the recorder) is a red cedar 
because
it does NOT absorb water which would narrow the wind channel and change 
the
blowing characteristics.

>  What is the best method of drying?

We had a lot of cedar come down during hurricane Isobel in Sep 2003.  
Some of
these trees were VERY large.  I collected quite a bit of it.  My 
process for
drying was to cut the block to each side of the center.  These two 
pieces
then sharp corners cut off -- these two pieces are the wainscotting 
pieces.
The remaining piece, still containing the heart, was then cut to each 
side of
the center.  The two pieces on each side are the quartersawn pieces.  
If our
web master would allow a picture, I would draw  one that would better 
show what
I mean -- the best that I can do is - - -

                                    **** v-------the "sharp point"
                                 *--|  |--*
                       heart   *    |--|    *
                         ------------* |    * <-- wainscotting
                               *    |--|    *
                                 *--|  |--*
                                    ****
                                      ^--- Quartersawn


The quartersawn and wainscotting pieces are saved, the rest is thrown 
away --
the heart because it rarely ever cures without cracking.  The "sharp 
point"
pieces are removed for two reasons -- 1) it is desireable to reduce the 
overall
curvature from one side of the sawn block to the other because wood 
changes
dimension radially and tangentially and these stresses are minimized if
the radius and the tangent are nearly perpendicular to one another. The 
difference
in tangent with these two "sharp points" present is very large as 
compared with
them removed and 2) they are generally too small to be useable (BUT I 
generally
save them on the off chance that they can be used).

It would be best to paint the ends with almost anything available from
latex paint to molten wax.

This method is one that I found in a very old book -- "Harvesting Wood 
for the Artist".

>  So far we
> have just stacked it in as large of pieces as we could cut it down in? 
>  This
> wood when freshly cut is light colored about 1/3 all the way around 
> and then
> very reddish 2/3 of the wood in the center.

That description clearly identifies the wood as eastern red cedar and 
maybe up
to about a foot in diameter.

The white sapwood and the red heart wood both carve about the same.  
Red cedar
tends to be brittle and a little splintery and somewhat harder than 
basswood.
It carves clean with a sharp knife and is capable of fairly decent 
detail if
done carefully.  It will NOT take prying to get a chip off.

Hope this helps

Happiness is a tall boat and breeze to fill her sails
Have a good day
http://none332.home.mchsi.com
George
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