Curly Cedar?

[QuillandQuiver]

I've turned some cedar pens from smaller cedar trees.. and they've been a nice, straight-grained and a pale red color. But this one was from a giant, old cedar (on the property of my old high school) and I had no clue cedar could have so much figure. Is there such a thing as curly cedar? Nonetheless, the pictures don't do the wood justice. I even put a filter on these photos to try to accurately capture what my eyes are seeing by way of color and figure. The Wall Street III kit isn't my favorite kit but it's simple. CA finish. Turned lightning fast because it's a softer wood. As a result, I had a hairline crack that is hidden somewhere in these pictures... maybe it can be a scavenger hunt...

Also, I've loved seeing everyone's pens and the stories behind them. I feel like I've posted just about every recent pen I've made but simply because I am CERTAIN that people are making beautiful pens that don't make it to the forum. So all that to say, I think it would be great see those best-kept secrets you're making!

 

[Kcimdrib]

Wow that's one awesome piece of wood. Turned into a fantastic pen.
Acrylic could never match this in my opinion. Well done.

 

[TDahl]

Very nice timber and excellent craftsmanship. Looking at the amount of material on the trailer, I'd say you must have enough to last you through the rest of the year.

 

[Monty]

Looks like you have enough wood for one or two more pens.

 

[Painfullyslow]

beautiful work and beautiful timber!

 

[egnald]

Nice!

 

[PatrickR]

looks great!
i cant remember seeing cedar with any figure. I wouldn't consider it curly but there is some in there. I'd call it wild grain, like what you would find in root stock.

 

[QuillandQuiver]

looks great!
i cant remember seeing cedar with any figure. I wouldn't consider it curly but there is some in there. I'd call it wild grain, like what you would find in root stock.

"Wild grain" sounds fitting to me! That's what's strange about this piece of wood to me is that the grain runs diagonally, but whatever figure/shine is in there runs perpendicular to that... It makes a sort of "cross-hatch" look. It's a bit clearer in this picture:

 

[PatrickR]

i recently made a pen with yellow heart that had a very similar look. Cross grain combined with straight grain.
my guess is that it came from an area around a branch, knot or crotch.
around me cedar used to be the choice for fence posts. I have several very old pieces salvaged from field fences.

 

[montmill]

Looking closely at the picture of the cedar on the trailer I see much more figure in the larger pieces than the smaller ones. I think generally wood that's closest to the ground on a tree has the most figure due to supporting all the weight of the tree. No reason cedar shouldn't have figure, I suspect all species have figure somewhere. Some are quite allergic to eastern red cedar.