Hi Folks,
I have about a 4′ x 24″ log of this wood and am not sure what it is. Is dentable with your thumbnail so it’s not really hard. It has somewhat of a pungent smell to it.
Wish I could give you more info.
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Replies
It looks like one of the many cedar/cypress/juniper species, maybe western redcedar. Does the log have any bark?
-Steve
Bob, no real clue but the way it has split, the color, the smell, and your description of softness, it seems almost like a coniferous species like Cedrus, Juniperus, Cupressus and the like. Actually, it looks a lot like Cryptomeria but that won't survive your neck of the woods. Do you know it came from a local source? That would negate many of the conifers.
If you find out I'd like to know the answer. There aren't a lot of really really soft domestic deciduous, so if it is deciduous, I'd like to know what it is.
Steve & Den,
I think it's Red Cedar as what you say fits or seems to anyway. I've never seen red cedar in log form before. 'Bout the closest was in Homely Desperate and most of that was white.
Not a large amount but should make for some nice drawer bottoms. I'll resaw it on the BS.
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
I'm assuming you mean Western Red Cedar, and not Eastern Red Cedar (which isn't a Cedar at all: it's a Juniper)?
Here's a couple more pics. Quite sure its Western RC. Doesn't have any bark on it.
View Image
View Image
Just power washed it so it's still a bit wet.
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Edited 5/2/2008 3:48 pm ET by KiddervilleAcres
Did you power wash it with shellac, and if so, what technique did you use?
Shhhh... don't mention shellac or Frenchy, excuse me, I mean BS, will pipe in about how he shellaced his entire house with a pressure washer and a toothbrush.
Edited 5/3/2008 1:34 am ET by pzaxtl
Crap, and I thougt I'd discovered a new way of shellacing.
Back to the drawing board............
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Edited 5/3/2008 7:26 am ET by KiddervilleAcres
Hey, I wonder if I sliced (q-saw) this cedar log would it make good staves for the cylinder in a cylinder fall secretary? Whatta ya think?
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Stirring Stirring Stirring
blew,
You got some competition with pz. His mind is sharper than a Marcou, a Cohen shooting board and a touch of Lataxe now and then.
:-)
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Edited 5/3/2008 8:13 am ET by KiddervilleAcres
Bob,Looks like WRC. You mentioned staves (coopered) for the desk. I think that would depend on wether or not you were going to veneer the roll.
In my distant memory, I seem to remember problems with veneer over cedar. Maybe some one has some knowledge on that.
They didn't seem to have a problem with the gold overlays on Lebanon cedar in Pharaoh's days.
Maybe they shellacked it.Duck - Incoming!John
I'am thinking that it may be Hemlock. It does have a distinctive smell. Was it a local log ?
Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
Edited 5/3/2008 8:14 pm ET by BruceS
Hi Bruce,
Your pic looks a lot like the wood I have. I came into the landfill so I doubt that is is local as few of the trucks that come in here are local haulers. Most of the cuostruction debris comes in here from MA or the very southern part of NH.
There is no bark on it and it looks like part of a telephone pole. The outer layer (~ 1½" looks to be very fibrous with a greenish tinge to it, sapwood? I'll get more pics this afternoon.
Your response sort of echoes that of my supervisor who was a forester for many years; he's undecided between WRC and Hemlock?????
There was mention from another poster that if it is WRC then it's considered unstable. When I first saw it I was thinking that it might be good for coopering into the base for a cylinder for a cylinder fall secretary; maybe I should rethink that.
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
"There was mention from another poster that if it is WRC then it's considered unstable."
Unsuitable, but not because it's unstable. The problem being that the volatile compounds in cedar can interfere with adhesion and curing of glues. I think standard veneering glues (like Unibond) work okay. You're more at risk with a PVA glue, and I have no idea how hide glue would react.
-Steve
Well now here's an interesting little tidbit for yall.
I went to my sawyer last night to cut up some hardwood for the stash. I also brought along the wood that prompted this discussion, not knowing what it actually is. On his first glance at the wood he said it looked like Red Pine so I asked him what about the greenish color near the surface.
Pressure treated was his response! Red flags went up all around. I would not recommend anyone using this wood for obvious reasons.
Sooooooooooooo, I did a bit of Googling and found that some telephone companies actually used Chestnut for poles. Red Pine was also used and sometimes it was pressure treated too. There were also poles called blackjacks which were treated with creosote - nasty stuff too. Most poles have either a metal plate that identifies the species as well as other info.
I wanted to make you folks aware of this should you think about recycling telephone poles into wood for your projects.
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
"On his first glance at the wood he said it looked like Red Pine so I asked him what about the greenish color near the surface.
"Pressure treated was his response!"
I was going to say something about that when I read it the first time (it was my first thought, too), but completely forgot about it. I think he's right. Telephone poles are pretty much all pressure-treated these days. Not only that, but they're very heavily pressure-treated, so they contain even more CCA than the stuff you used to get at the lumberyard.
-Steve
Steve, Den and ALL,
That's why I wanted to give everyone a heads up. On some poles it is obvious when you look at them - the greenish color. There are quite a few that look natural i.e. the pressure treatment has faded so they look like natural wood. But, underneath lies the tell tale greenish color.
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Bob, that's why I never cut down telephone poles.
Been there done that. I retired from a municipal power plant. I used to salvage the broken cedar poles and made a great split rail fence out of them. Made a 600' corral for the cow, goat and sheep, sure couldn't do that now.Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
recycling telephone poles into wood for your projects.
I never.. But I have been known to pick up RR Ties along the tracks!
Bob... it looks like that Redwood bark I get fer mulch!
It looks like Western Red Cedar. Seen lots of it here in Oregon. I think you can dry it and use it for something but I do not think anything in the furniture realm will be practical. It will react to moisture in the air so it is not dimensionally stable. We use it a lot on the out side of houses, siding and the sort.
Dale
View Image
Here is some Eastern Hemlock, Looks good to me.
Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
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