# Cedar Question



## RussellAP (Feb 21, 2012)

There are two kinds of cedar that I know of, regular fencing cedar and aromatic cedar. My question is do they come from different trees or is aromatic just the heartwood of a cedar tree?


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

This should answer your question

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cedar_wood


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## RussellAP (Feb 21, 2012)

Thanks Jim. 
I just got back from Home Depot where I found some cedar that has been planed on one side. The dimensions needed for adirondack chairs is perfect. I never saw these at Lowes. I got enough for two chairs and it cost me about 70 bucks.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

How many feet of cedar do you plan on for each chair.Did you buy western read cedar?


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## RussellAP (Feb 21, 2012)

They don't say what kind of cedar it is. 
So far I've been using one 2×6x6, one 1×6x6, one 2×4x3 and about three 1×4x6 for each chair.


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## WoodyG (Sep 17, 2009)

Russ, Aromatic or eastern red cedar is not a good material for outdoor use even though I have seen it used
that way. The stuff is soft and about half of it is sap wood. It is wonderful anything interior and lends itself well to trinkets where it will be seen for its highly figured grain and sap wood. I have several storm damaged 
trees laying behind the shop that I will bandsaw up and make something out of. Good Luck


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## RussellAP (Feb 21, 2012)

I'm not using the aromatic WoodyG. I have seen an aromatic cedar chair at Lowes made by someone here locally for sale at $325.00 which I think is way too much. I plan to sell mine for about $160.00 base model White Pine. It goes up from there based on what kind of wood they want. I think the Cedar will sell for the same price and I'm considering just making the production chairs and tables out of cedar anyway as a base model. If they want other woods I'll have to price them out for a quote, but I'd be glad to sell them in cedar only.


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## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

Aromatic Cedar-useful for closet and chest linings to deter insects. Strong odor.
Western Red Cedar-No.2 pencil variety. Sometimes favored by Native American Flutemakers.
Alaskan Yellow Cedar-light yellow in color, cool looking, fairly dense-Unsure of primary usage.

..and that's all I have to say about that.


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## Bagtown (Mar 9, 2008)

DS251 - Don't forget Eastern White Cedar.


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## jordanusmc (Oct 17, 2011)

Russell are you using the cedar they sell for decking i think it is 5/4? Or are you using the cedar that they sell for window casings and such?


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## DS (Oct 10, 2011)

Bagtown: I can't forget what I never knew. hehehe

What are the primary characteristics of Eastern White Cedar?


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## Bagtown (Mar 9, 2008)

DS251 - It's what grows around here. (Eastern Canada)
Grows well in swamps.
Used for shakes and shingles, decks, etc.
Good natural rot resistance.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

In the link I gave above if you click on any of the (hi-lighted links)for trees it gives a very detailed info sheet on each tree. I looked at western red cedar and it said it was really cauterized as a cypress ,I already knew that Port orford cedar was really a cypress.


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## Finn (May 26, 2010)

Aromatic cedar is a different tree than western cedar. I use a LOT of eastern red cedar ( aromatic) to make trunks and boxes. I find it to be a stronger wood than the western cedar. Western cedar is used here for fencing. Buyers really like the smell of the eastern cedar so that is what I use mostly. I buy it by the truckload about every 9 months or so. Here it costs about what oak costs.


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## RussellAP (Feb 21, 2012)

Jordanusmc- The stuff I bought today is for window casings I would think. It's planed on one side. It's all 8' and comes in several convenient dimensions which will require a lot less cutting on my part.


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## cuttwice (Jan 18, 2011)

Russell, I'm pretty sure the cedar they sell at Home Cheapo is what's called "STK" (select tight knot), western red cedar. I've made several pieces of outdoor furniture with it (mostly potting benches for my mother, wife, sister-in-law, etc), and it works great for that. It's pretty strong, and should be fine for chairs too, but I haven't built any chairs with it.

Hope this helps,
- John


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## RussellAP (Feb 21, 2012)

cuttwice- I was concerned about the knots in the seat slats. I will have to be careful to use some knot free pieces for that part of the chair. I chose some 2×2 stock that has about 25 inches between the knots. There will be more waste than with pine, but it's not that expensive.


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## gfadvm (Jan 13, 2011)

Russell, Check out cypress as you aren't that far from a source. The price you quoted for cedar seems high to me.


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## RussellAP (Feb 21, 2012)

gfadvm- After reviewing the lumber I got today, it looks like I can get 3+ chairs out of it. Checking my receipt it does look a bit high at least compared to pine. 2×4x8 was 6.62, 5/4×6x8 was 7.37 ea. 4×6x8 was 8.98.


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## TCCcabinetmaker (Dec 14, 2011)

There are a few different types of cedar, but what you really want to find is a wood wholesaler or a lumber yard to buy your lumber from, I hate to say it but lowe's and home depot both typically have about a 400% mark up on hardwood.


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## cuttwice (Jan 18, 2011)

Russell, working around the knots sounds like a good plan (along with picking your boards carefully). I'd be leery about seat slats with knots in them too - even if they don't break, they might pinch.

I'd expect the price to be higher than pine, but the wood is way more bug and rot resistant, so that's OK with me. A quick coat of exterior wood oil (for what it's worth, I've had good luck with a Cabot product called Australian wood oil, a mixture of tung oil, linseed oil, and alkyds), and the cedar should last for years (with a follow-up coat every spring or two).

I agree that the borg stores have pretty brutal markups for hardwoods (as well as a thin selection), but I pay about the same at HD for STK cedar as I do at my lumberyard.

Maybe it's time to change lumberyards.


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## JCantin (Jan 21, 2009)

WRC is what you want to use. You can find local dealers on the WRC Lumber Assoc website http://www.wrcla.org. My local dealer carries several grades both rough and surfaced. I've made some nice chairs for myself from their clear grades with my cost around $150 per chair. You'll want to use good quality corrosion resistant fasteners too, stainless or brass screws.


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## RussellAP (Feb 21, 2012)

JCantin- I'm pretty sure that it is WRC. I'll check the tags on them later. Fasteners I have, I only buy the outside rated, but the stuff is expensive. I wish I could find a garage sale that has about 50 lb of them for about 5 bucks. wouldn't that be nice.


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## zwwizard (Mar 30, 2008)

I am going to confuse you more, Port Orford cedar and Alaskan Yellow Cedar aren't cedars, they are cypress.


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