Cedar Blanks

[chartle]

My niece has asked for a cedar pen. She is in Texas and there is cedar everywhere. Is cedar cedar like aromatic cedar with kind of a sometimes pinkish grain or is Texas cedar something different like maybe Spainish cedar?

 

[Edgar]

Nope, most Texas cedar is the aromatic Eastern Red Cedar species.

You do have to be careful though as we also have several varieties of juniper that resemble cedar. We also have Western Red Cedar which is not as aromatic as ERC, but that's mostly in the western part of the state.

 

[MTViper]

I've used Spanish Cedar and Aromatic Cedar. Both turn out to be beautiful. Woodturningz has both available.

 

[pcranch]

I have lots of red cedar pen blanks from our property in SE Oklahoma. I can send you a few

 

[Edgar]

Cliff - are you looking for Texas cedar blanks or where you just inquiring about the types of cedar we have here in TX?

If you need blanks, I have some old growth ERC (aromatic cedar) from the Beaumont/Port Arthur area. It's a deeper red than most ERC & makes really nice pen blanks. I'll be glad to send you a couple if you want to try them.

 

[Herb G]

You are in the middle of cedar town. There is all kinds of cedar in Pa.
The Amish make furniture from it in York, Pa. all day long.

Look around locally. It's easier, faster, & cheaper.

 

[chartle]

You are in the middle of cedar town. There is all kinds of cedar in Pa.
The Amish make furniture from it in York, Pa. all day long.

Look around locally. It's easier, faster, & cheaper.

Western PA? York is a 4+ hour drive and on the other side of what we call mountains.

But I've been through all our forrests around here and not sure I've seen a cedar tree though not sure what one looks like.

 

[chartle]

But anyway I'm super confused now between here and Facebook. I have no idea what she means.

What 12 year old girl knows about cedar wood?

 

[Edgar]

But anyway I'm super confused now between here and Facebook. I have no idea what she means.

What 12 year old girl knows about cedar wood?

Where does she live, Cliff?
If she lives in central Texas, particularly in "hill country" area and if there's "cedar everywhere" as you mentioned in the original post, my guess is that it might be Ashe Juniper rather than cedar. Ashe Juniper looks a lot like cedar & is sometimes called post cedar, mountain cedar, rock cedar, blueberry juniper, Texas cedar or Mexican cedar.

Eastern red cedar grows mostly in the eastern third of the state, but both Ashe Juniper & ERC can be found outside their most common areas. I have both on my farm in DeWitt Co.

There are also a few other species of juniper & cedar in Texas that resemble Ashe Juniper or ERC and all are various types of Juniperus.

Check out the http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/ornamentals/natives/ web site. Type in juniper or cedar in the search field to get info & photos on our varieties of native cedars & junipers.

 

[Herb G]

You are in the middle of cedar town. There is all kinds of cedar in Pa.
The Amish make furniture from it in York, Pa. all day long.

Look around locally. It's easier, faster, & cheaper.

Western PA? York is a 4+ hour drive and on the other side of what we call mountains.

But I've been through all our forrests around here and not sure I've seen a cedar tree though not sure what one looks like.

Here's where it grows.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Juniperus_virginiana_vars_range_map_3.png
You are in cedar country. Call a local sawmill or buy the blanks online.
Tons of companies sell them online.
Aromatic Cedar Pen Blank - WoodTurningz

 

[chartle]

But anyway I'm super confused now between here and Facebook. I have no idea what she means.

What 12 year old girl knows about cedar wood?

Where does she live, Cliff?
If she lives in central Texas, particularly in "hill country" area and if there's "cedar everywhere" as you mentioned in the original post, my guess is that it might be Ashe Juniper rather than cedar. Ashe Juniper looks a lot like cedar & is sometimes called post cedar, mountain cedar, rock cedar, blueberry juniper, Texas cedar or Mexican cedar.

Eastern red cedar grows mostly in the eastern third of the state, but both Ashe Juniper & ERC can be found outside their most common areas. I have both on my farm in DeWitt Co.

There are also a few other species of juniper & cedar in Texas that resemble Ashe Juniper or ERC and all are various types of Juniperus.

Check out the http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/ornamentals/natives/ web site. Type in juniper or cedar in the search field to get info & photos on our varieties of native cedars & junipers.

San Antonio

 

[Edgar]

But anyway I'm super confused now between here and Facebook. I have no idea what she means.

What 12 year old girl knows about cedar wood?

Where does she live, Cliff?
If she lives in central Texas, particularly in "hill country" area and if there's "cedar everywhere" as you mentioned in the original post, my guess is that it might be Ashe Juniper rather than cedar. Ashe Juniper looks a lot like cedar & is sometimes called post cedar, mountain cedar, rock cedar, blueberry juniper, Texas cedar or Mexican cedar.

Eastern red cedar grows mostly in the eastern third of the state, but both Ashe Juniper & ERC can be found outside their most common areas. I have both on my farm in DeWitt Co.

There are also a few other species of juniper & cedar in Texas that resemble Ashe Juniper or ERC and all are various types of Juniperus.

Check out the http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/ornamentals/natives/ web site. Type in juniper or cedar in the search field to get info & photos on our varieties of native cedars & junipers.

San Antonio

Odds are quite high that what she has around there is actually Ashe Juniper. The leaves will have the characteristic cedar aroma, and so will the wood to some extent, but not nearly as strong or long-lasting as "aromatic cedar" (ERC).

The cone pods of Ashe Juniper are a fairly dark blue, resembling wild blueberries. Those on ERC are a much lighter blue.

Other possibilities in that area are red-berry juniper (coppery-reddish colored cone pods) and one-seeded juniper (blue-green colored cone pods), but the primary range for those starts a little NW of San Antonio.

The cone pods should be apparent if she wants to check them out. A-J pods start growing in Feb-Apr and continue to ripen until about Nov, then open & release seeds over the next several months.

 

[chartle]

Odds are quite high that what she has around there is actually Ashe Juniper. The leaves will have the characteristic cedar aroma, and so will the wood to some extent, but not nearly as strong or long-lasting as "aromatic cedar" (ERC).

The cone pods of Ashe Juniper are a fairly dark blue, resembling wild blueberries. Those on ERC are a much lighter blue.

Other possibilities in that area are red-berry juniper (coppery-reddish colored cone pods) and one-seeded juniper (blue-green colored cone pods), but the primary range for those starts a little NW of San Antonio.

The cone pods should be apparent if she wants to check them out. A-J pods start growing in Feb-Apr and continue to ripen until about Nov, then open & release seeds over the next several months.

Not the greatest but I'm pretty sure this is the road we followed where he said all these trees were cedar.

https://goo.gl/maps/k2tQFDmFNhm

 

[Edgar]

Odds are quite high that what she has around there is actually Ashe Juniper. The leaves will have the characteristic cedar aroma, and so will the wood to some extent, but not nearly as strong or long-lasting as "aromatic cedar" (ERC).

The cone pods of Ashe Juniper are a fairly dark blue, resembling wild blueberries. Those on ERC are a much lighter blue.

Other possibilities in that area are red-berry juniper (coppery-reddish colored cone pods) and one-seeded juniper (blue-green colored cone pods), but the primary range for those starts a little NW of San Antonio.

The cone pods should be apparent if she wants to check them out. A-J pods start growing in Feb-Apr and continue to ripen until about Nov, then open & release seeds over the next several months.

Not the greatest but I'm pretty sure this is the road we followed where he said all these trees were cedar.

https://goo.gl/maps/k2tQFDmFNhm

It's hard to say for certain without actually looking at the trees, but I'd say that the cedar-looking trees on that drive are almost certainly Ashe Juniper.

If your niece specifically wants a pen from that type of tree, you might have to ask them to gather some wood for you as your not likely to find it commercially available. I've got a few A-J trees on my land, but I've never cut any of it. You can try posting a request in the Deals Trades Gifts & Wants forum - one of our central Texas members just might have some.

If she just wants a cedar pen, you can get ERC blanks quite cheaply from a number of sources. The wood is similar, but not identical to A-J and it is a totally different species, although both are in the same Juniperus family.

Here's a link that tells a little about the hill country A-J

Ashe Juniper is Really More Good Than Bad | Boerne Chapter

 

[SDB777]

Nope, most Texas cedar is the aromatic Eastern Red Cedar species.

You do have to be careful though as we also have several varieties of juniper that resemble cedar. We also have Western Red Cedar which is not as aromatic as ERC, but that's mostly in the western part of the state.

Technically, ERC is juniper{Juniperus virginiana} it is not a 'true cedar'.
Texas also has some White Cedar growing near the coastal areas....having never turned any, I hear it is wonderful to see....



Scott (cypress is more of a cedar then a eastern red) B