# Woods that stink when you cut or sand them.



## starringemma (Aug 15, 2012)

I've noticed that different woods have different smells when cut or sanded. One wood that has a very weird odor is a very blonde and dense wood with hardly any grain lines. What kind of wood could it be?


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## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

Let's see, smeelllly woods, I have had some bad smelling wet Oaks, got a batch of Pisselm one time.

Like the smell of Aromatic Red Cedar.

Cottonwood stunk.

As for your's? Not sure. Maybe a sap wood of sorts?


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

poplar?


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## bondogaposis (Dec 18, 2011)

White cedar?


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## pintodeluxe (Sep 12, 2010)

Probably Yellow Alaskan Cedar. Stinks to high heaven when you mill it.


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

some willow is as you describe too.


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## TrBlu (Mar 19, 2011)

Holly has very little visual grain. It is also very dense and very blond.

Box Elder is another possibility.

Both of these stink when cut or sanded.


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## DanLyke (Feb 8, 2007)

The most "oh my this is positively grotesque" smell I've had in my shop was working Ipe on the router table. You said "dense", I'm wondering what other exotic hardwoods might be blonde? Maybe one of the pseudo-teak variants?


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## mojapitt (Dec 31, 2011)

Maybe ash. Possibly box elder with no color. Most cedars are distinctive. Willow maybe.


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

Good ole *Pine* makes you think you're in the mountains… Great smell!


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## mojapitt (Dec 31, 2011)

Poplar is possible, cottonwood?


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## rrww (Aug 12, 2012)

+1 on White Cedar - very nasty


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## jat (Oct 24, 2010)

Emma, the worst I've ever come across is cutting zebra wood to expose the end grain. That stuff smelled just like you'd expect a zebra cage to be at the zoo. I made an end grain cutting board and the center 3" width was the zebra wood. The thing was unusable and I had to throw it out because it made the shop smell like an animal had died in there.


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## starringemma (Aug 15, 2012)

Thanks everyone! I wish I could describe the smell. As Joe mentioned some wood is very pleasant smelling. I have a Black Bear fur shawl that is over 120 years old that I got when my great grandmother died. I want to make a cedar box for it. Cedar is supposed to be best for storing clothing because the smell repells bugs but smells great to humans.

Would that be red cedar?


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## starringemma (Aug 15, 2012)

Bandit571

Pisselm even sounds like it would smell bad.


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## shampeon (Jun 3, 2012)

You're going to want eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana), not western red, incense, Alaskan yellow, Port Orford, etc.


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

*Yes, I think you could say that about Red Cedar Aromatic... Wonderful Smell!*


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## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

Pee-elm sometimes gets used around here in Wood burners that people heat their homes with. Like being downwind of an Outhouse….

It does burn good, though. Around here it is called Aromatic Red Cedar..









about like this?









Just leave the inside un-finished..


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## Alexandre (May 26, 2012)

The worst wood i've smelled was some random wood I found rotten in a pond the other day…
I had a recip saw, but no camera . It had a brilliant grain and texture, but for wood like that… I'll take a pass.


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## starringemma (Aug 15, 2012)

Bandit571,

Yes, like a small Hope Chest. Just large enough to fold it loosly and screw the top down to discurage any attemps to take it out a lot causing wear and tear. I'd like my great grand children to have it some day.


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## mojapitt (Dec 31, 2011)

Aromatic Red Cedar is what you want. It isn't the smell that keeps the bugs away, it actually produces a natural insecticide. That's why it doesn't rot. Great for storing clothes in.


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## Kentuk55 (Sep 21, 2010)

Maybe Basswood.


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## rossboyle52 (Dec 31, 2012)

Yellow Heart. Smells nasty!


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## patcollins (Jul 22, 2010)

Stink is a relative term


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

Emma, Yes, *this is why we call them Cedar Chests... * to do exactly what you want to do.

*The whole chest does not have to be made from Cedar* however… You can make the cabinet out of anything you like and LINE THE INSIDE of the cabinet with the Cedar… That will work fine too!

Do a Google search on "Cedar Chest"... you will see a great variety, I'm sure…

You want a "Cedar Chest".


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## starringemma (Aug 15, 2012)

Pat Collins,

Yes, one mans stink is another mans aroma.


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## starringemma (Aug 15, 2012)

Thanks Joe,

I live near both a saw mill where I we often pickup scrap wood for heating. I always pick out choice peaces and stick-stack them in a corners of the barn. The other is a home hard wood business that I can pick-up his floor scrapes for cheap or nothing. The Black Bear fur shawl hope chest shouldn't take much more that scrape. Even floor sweepings can provide you with black walnut wedges for tenon oak joints.


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## moke (Oct 19, 2010)

A friend of mine built some chairs out of piss elm in my shop….the DC system still stinks a month later!!


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## foneman (Mar 11, 2007)

Cottonwood is the worst I have ever smelled. It had the odor of a feedlot on a hot summers day!!!


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## elingeniero (Aug 16, 2012)

On the other hand, I spent part of my childhood in Brazil, and I remember going to the cabinetry shop where my mother bought some custom rosewood furniture (in the 60's, don't get any ideas). Let's just say they call it rosewood for a reason … just wonderful smelling wood.


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## harrymontana (Dec 8, 2012)

should post a picture, most woods that we handle (hardwoods) have a particular smell, we differentiate the species by its smell, so very important characteristic. I love your picture Emma Walker.


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