This morning I was helping a friend to clear it river view in front of his house. We felled a bunch of white Canadian Eastern cedar trees. In the lot we had some at 10-14 inched OD at the bottom. I could not resist so I bucked several pieces and ripped them in two halves. I planning to bowl blanks out these halves. I wonder if anyone has ever use that type of cedar for making bowls.
Yep. It's like any other conifer - big difference in density between early and latewood. As you cut you can crush the brittle late into the softer early. Scrapers make an unholy mess of it.
It has some good pitch, too, so keep some mineral spirits around to clean yourself and your tools.
I just finished making the blanks. As you have stated the use of scraper does make a big mess. Even when using a 1/2" gouge it has to be very sharp. I still have some pitch on my hand. The problem with turning newly felled eastern white cedar is the water coming out and blinding the face shield. Now I have to wait until its dry to finish the blanks.
Another reason for cutting the way I do - out of the firing line. I stay dry, except for an occasional wash near the left shoulder. Glasses stay clean, too.
Check your shop carefully for tools left in the firing line. I now have a towel to drape in front of my disk sander on the far wall for those days I'm roughing really wet.
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