Turning cedar

Anybody have any opinions about turning cedar. I have an abundant supply of "recycled" cedar from a chainsaw artist friend of mine. Have used it for birdhouses up to this point.

-- Papa Chuck

Reply to
PapaChuck
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I have seen some really pretty things turned from cedar, especially if some of the light sapwood is left on the piece to give it contrast.

However, it isn't for me. It is soft, tears out easily and the tear out is annoying hard to get rid of on some pieces. When you can use a sharp skew or spindle gouge on a spindle turning, it isn't too bad. I also found out that some types of cedar (some more than others) seem to really aggravate my allergies in a big way, even with a good dust mask.

If I have to wear my cartridge mask to turn, sand and clean up, I pass.

It does indeed make a dandy bird house, though.

Robert

Reply to
nailshooter41

Cedar makes beautiful pieces, but I've decided not to use it any more. It's very brittle, almost like glass when finished. I've had best luck by turning the piece to finish rather than turning to rough and then finish turning later. Lately, the only cedar I've turned has been to make, as you mentioned, birdhouses.

Reply to
JD

Lots of "cedars," none of which are, growing around the US. Eastern white turns and finishes beautifully. Eastern red has so much oil all it needs is burnishing, and the sapwood intrusions can be displayed quite strikingly. Western red makes great ornaments, as does western yellow. They start out light in weight, so you don't have to be so careful about hollowing.

Lots of insecticide in the heartwood, so it's a cinch it'll irritate the nose and perhaps beyond. Dust carries the oil, but the oil is enough to cause respiratory problems for some.

Reply to
George

I had my first experience with Cedar last week - not sure what kind of cedar it is, but the result was beautiful (at least to me!!!). It was soft - but sharp tools and sanding handled it pretty easily. I can't figure out how to upload a photo - - but I'll try to send you one or two - -

--Hought

Reply to
hwahl

I turn some cedar and I try to confine it to cedar burls. Yellow cedar is great to turn, oily and like butter (similar colour too). Some cedar wood is similar to the wood one finds in pencils and it is a royal pain to turn. Plus it hasn't much charater when turned. A caution here; I have welts on my wrist similar to poison ivy and as itchy as hell. This was caused by yellow cedar and every time I get near it agin the rash comes back.

Tom

Reply to
Tom Storey

Got some deador cedar big branch segments pruned abuot three years back and left outdoors since then - so the 12-14" diameter logettes were pretty dry. Dry - but cracks and check only allowed for a few useable pieces maybe 5" square by maybe a foot.

Pic of turned lidded box made with this stuff in a.b.p.w.

Sharp tools a must. This one done with a curved cutting edge 3/4" skew.

charlie b

Reply to
charlieb

Reply to
william kossack

Hey Papa C, I fell into a load of cedar, and since I didint have any and had never turned it harvested a load.

What an experience that was!

It is delicate. My first vessel came apart while spinning on the lathe. Sounded like a bomb went off.

By my third I was over the learning curve hump. I had yet to learn how to finish it, in dealing with the oils.

But man o man, what beautiful pieces it makes. I have sold a few pieces from cedar, this exemplifies how attractive it is.

I have a tip sheet I will add to my website one day. The very first tip...make sure you mount it in a way that is extra firm, turn a foot and grip the outside of the foot if making a vessel. If making a bowl, use a recessed hole or counterbored foot that has at least .75" of outside wall.

2nd, tools must be kept very sharp. This means stop and sharpen often. Use light tough and cut, dont scrape. Reserve scraping for very last finishing and use just a feather weight of pressure.

When you think you have a finished piece, and are ready to sand...stop. Dismount it, take it to your house and let it sit around at room temp for a week. This will allow oils and tensions to relax some. Then after this finish the surface.

3rd, sanding and finish. You will probably have some warpage and distortion. If it isnt too bad, patient light scraping is in order. If the distortion is more than a .25" out of round, go back to a very sharp small diameter gouge and take super light cuts to get it in round. Then scrape to final surface.

Sanding will try your patience. Be prepared to use a lot of paper. Buy cheap sand paper for 60, 100, and 150 grades. It will clog fast and the oil will make it impossible to remove. This wood heats up very fast when sanding too. So take light pressure for only a few seconds in one spot. Best thing is to make sure you keep the paper moving all the time to prevent heating any one spot too much.

When you get to 200 grit, you wont need to use this grit or subsequent finer grits much.

I highly recommend you add sealer the way I do all my works. Spray Deft sanding sealer on the piece while it turns. Let it continue turning to dry it, this only takes about 2 minutes. Turn off the lathe and check to make sure its dry. If you did it even and there are no runs, get a strip of white felt, or white linen.

Turn on the lathe and while the piece spins, hold the strip by both ends and apply it lightly to the work as it spins. Keep the strip moving so it will not heat the sealer too much and melt it. You will see a gloss develop on the sealer if you are doing it right.

Do this 3 times. You will build a hard, glossy coat to the work that looks like glass. BE careful though. If you get the coat too hot, it will melt onto your strip, and leave ugly streaks on the coat of sealer.

If that happens, you will have to backtrack and sand it off, and do this process all over again.

Once you have 3 good coats of sealer on it, you can spray a coat of polyurethane on it. Dont polish this. Let it dry naturally for a few days dismounted from the lathe.

I recommend you find an old record player, the kind we used to play LP or vinyl records. Make a wood hub that will fit the spindle of the record player. Turn the other end of the hub to fit the foot or counterbore of your bowls. Put the hub on your record player.

Now when you want to spray finish your bowls, put the bowl on the hub of the record player, turn it on speed of 16 rpms. Spray your finish on the bowl as it spins on the rec. player. You will get a very even finish. Take your time though, it is easy to spray too much and wind up with runs. Leave the piece spinning on the player and go do something else for an hour. This helps prevent runs and speeds drying.

I fog my piece on the record player each time. Usually taking at least

3 applicatoins, to get the desired glassy appearance.

I have a few pieces of cedar left in stock at my site if any of you want to purchase some. I hope to get more soon. My iste is:

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Happy cedar turning. jimmy holland (cad)

Reply to
cad

Reply to
william kossack

I've had really good luck with cedar for both turned pens and boxes. It is a softwood that can be dinged easily, but the turning results when finished can be outstanding. See link for some recent cedar efforts.

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Reply to
PaulD

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