How prone to cracking is eastern red cedar?

[Roger Chandler]

A friend and fellow member of our turning club brought over an eastern red cedar log yesterday that he said had been laying on the ground for around 18 months. He drives a school bus, and got permission from the owner to take it out of the way.

I turned a box from it yesterday, and will make the lid out of the same log piece over the next few days. It had a small crack in it when I started, and I put a good bit of CA glue on it, but today it has opened up to a good 1/16th inch, and I am hoping it will not widen any more, as this is a box for the owner to show appreciation for them giving us the wood.

Any ideas on further cracking, or should I just start over with another piece. In all the turning I have done over the last decade, this is my first piece of cedar.

[Jack Mincey]

I turn a lot of small stuff out of it after it is dry with no problems. As far as bowls or HF's I've never tried it but out of the dozens of bowls shown at our local club turned green and then dried, I've never seen one that didn't have a crack or a repaired crack in it so I would have to say it is prone to cracking. Being that it has been down so long it might have a lot of checks all ready.
Good Luck,
Jack

[Bernie Weishapl]

I have had pretty good luck keeping bowls from cracking by coating the whole thing in anchorseal. Small lidded boxes I soak in DNA for a week and have had pretty good luck. It can be cracky but when it is finish is about as pretty a wood as you will get.

[IMG]file:///C:/Users/jimmer/AppData/Local/Temp/moz-screenshot.png[/IMG]Here is one I did and posted. Will give you a idea.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=148687

[Kim Ford]

Rodger,

I turn a lot of eastern red cedar. In fact I have about a dozen cedar bowls going to a craft fair over Thanksgiving this year. This is what I do to keep cracking to a minimum. Most logs I get are a least two years dead or more.

Don't cut the log until you are ready to rough out the blank.

Rough it out quickly and do not even leave it on the lathe while taking a phone call without covering it with a plastic bag. I rough almost all sizes to 3/4" walls and be carefull with the type of base you choose.

As soon as it is roughed I put it in a barrel of cedar shavings and let it rest for a couple of days. I then pull it out and see how much cracking has occurred. If it is savalageable then bag it immediately with a hand full of shavings in the bag. (Yes, you can immediately bag it after turning, but cedar has a tendency to crack because of the wild grain and what I hate to do is open the bag in two weeks only to discover a blank that has split so bad that it can't be repaired.) I do use CA on crack but very little because it will stain the wood and you will see the stain when you finish the piece.

It will dry quickly, couple of weeks, however, don't pull it out of the bag until you are ready to final turn. When you are, pull it out of the bag, chuck it up, turn and finish in one session. The wood is soft and you want to be careful, thin might look cool, but it can crack readily if you turn it too thin. The reason is because of the stress you put on the wood in the turning process and the beautiful grain and color. For this reason I usually stop at about 5/16" and then sand to 1/4". When you sand, do not let the wood get hot. If you do you will be able to hear it crack while you are sanding.

If you have a vacuum chuck be careful you do not put too many inches on a larger piece. Last week I had a very nice 10"x 3" x 1/4" bowl and when I put it on the vacuum it pulled about 20" on the gauge and I heard the bowl crack. I was able to glue it back together but you can see the CA stain.

When I am done sanding and buffing, I usually sand to 600 and then buff, I put it back in the shavings for a day or two to let it rest and then finish with oil.

Just my way of working cedar, hope it helps.

[John Keeton]

I applaud Kim! I turned one piece of cedar and that was it for me. Way too much effort required, and I don't really care for it that much anyway. I guess I saw too much of it growing up - half our house had red cedar paneling on the walls!

[Roger Chandler]

Thanks guys for the tips. Kim, your information is helpful and I appreciate your description of your process. I kind of agree with John that it is a lot of process to go through not to know how it will turn out.

John,

I like the looks of cedar in some turnings.....it is different for me, and I can certainly understand your reluctance given the paneling in the house growing up! I might feel the same way.

[James Combs]

Roger, I just turned a small cedar vase yesterday and posted its photos a few minutes ago. See it here. http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=152027

It is from an eight inch log that had been blown down in the woods a couple years ago. The log has several larger cracks in it but most of what I have turned from it and even some short 24" planks that I cut from it seem to be holding up pretty good. There were some hair line cracks in the blank when I started but I dosed them with thin CA and never noticed them again. I will watch the new vase and let you know if it develops any problems.

[Christopher K. Hartley]

Roger, I have turned quite a bit of eastern red cedar without cracking problems from drying; however, where you have to be very careful is in the sanding process. As cedar starts to get hot from the friction you will actually be able to hear it cracking, Now, the cracks are generally pretty fine but they take away from the beauty of the work. Slow speed and light touch sanding coupled with taking your time will keep the wood cool and help you avoid many cracks. Also, using a boiling protocol will help initial cracking be much less frequent. Hope this helps.