Aaughhhh... stupid cedar..

[Firefyter-emt]

It's one of those nights!! I have a Cedar Churchill order and that dang wood just keeps cracking on the cap blank! I never crack wood when drilling After the second blank in the trash can, I gave up for tonight.

 

[stevers]

Sounds like me when something goes awry. I just leave the shop and hope tomorrow will be a better day.
By the way. Well,,,,,,,,,,,do I have to ask?

 

[Firefyter-emt]

Oh, yes... My order came in tonight and I have your stuff all ready to go out. I will try to drop it off tomorow in the mail. I have not had a chance to finish turning the pen yet though. This is my first day back from Vac. and you know how those Mondays are!! [xx(]

 

[Rifleman1776]

Even though cedar is very soft, it is also very brittle. Turning cedar is a love/hate affair. I used to sell cedar blanks but rarely ever turned it.

 

[redfishsc]

If it is cracking when drilling, have you tried using your 7mm bit to hog out a pilot whole first, followed by the appropriate size?

I haven't drilled Cedar in a long while, but I've drilled some very punky spalted stuff and a TON of acrylics this way with superb success (drilling with the lathe)

 

[Brewmeister35]

I've had cedar break after being a pen for months.

 

[Firefyter-emt]

Yea, I am stepping up with about 4 bits to be honest. It's that last bit for the cap. It's nice and sharp because it was resharpened with a drill doctor a while back.

 

[Chasper]

I've been using low limb cedar for turning.

Across the midwest when farm or pasture land is abandon for farming and allowed to return to woodlands, the first trees to flourish are the eastern red cedars. After 5-7 years the cedars dominate but other saplings of hardwood species have a good start. After 10 years or so the other species are about as tall as the cedars and after 15 or so years they have overtaken the cedars in height. The cedars don't give up easily and for the next 15-20 years they will keep growing taller, trying to keep up with the hardwoods.

When the cedars are small and dominate they are busy with many low limbs growing from low on the trunk. At they begin to fight for sunlight in later years the low limbs begin growing less and less every year until they dry and the main trunk keeps getting taller. After 30-50+ years the low limbs are 2-4 inches in diameter, totally dried and ready to turn, and they may have as many as 50 growth rings.

I cut those low limb branches and use them for knife handles and pen blanks. The wood tends to be a deeper red than the main trunk, it is still softer than most hardwoods, and it is very tough and crack resistant because of all of the growth rings. The tiny knots in the wood are really firm and they add character.

It is a lot of work and long explination to go through for a pen blank, but it is a good story.

Gerry

 

[Fred]

Good story and interesting to read about. Ya done good, Gerry! Now for the obvious question... how many blanks you got to sell to those that turn Cedar? []

 

[tommyrobbins]

I have had those days, you start out making a leg for a table and end up with a nice tooth pick. A sharp drill bit and 650 RPM works for me.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Originally posted by Fred_erick
<br />Good story and interesting to read about. Ya done good, Gerry! Now for the obvious question... how many blanks you got to sell to those that turn Cedar? []

My guess is, not many. Cedar is very knotty, clear is best for milling into blanks and it is hard to find unless you have many very large trees and your own sawmill. Also, it has a high silica content that dulls bandsaw blades very quickly. And, since it is basically a trash wood, almost a weed, folks don't want to pay high prices for blanks from it. Selling at 50 cents per is a money losing proposition. DAMHIK [:0]

 

[Firefyter-emt]

BTW... I found out why they were cracking on me. Stupid move on my part, my wood pen clamp holds a standard 3/4 blank nice and tight and I have a habbit of holding it shut with a spring clamp. Well, given the size of the Churchill and the weak wood the extra clamp preasure was enough to break it. Without the clamp it drilled just fine. [B)]