What are the preferred rough cuts of cedar?

[Earnest Riley Thornton]

I'm trying to thin some acreage to protect the natural springs on the property. The property is above 6000' elevation and the whole state is in severe drought.

The property has Douglas fir, ponderosa pine, white oak, alligator juniper and cedar.

We have been cutting some and stacking logs to mill later. We have been milling some cedar.

What is the preferred cuts for the cedar? Trying to build up a good stock of what people would want.

[Morey St. Denis]

You did not mention an average trunk diameter for the cedar. Unless you are driven by quantity yield without much regard for quality, fail to see how anyone could go wrong with true Quarter-sawn timber in the way of market desirability for some naturally air-dried lumber. Excepting for certain instances of attractive "cathedral grain" potentially within mature growth timber and available for furniture bookmatching purposes, or some large-scale post & beam structural uses, you should aim for optimal quarter-sawing of cedar. Box-out a nominal portion of the innermost heartwood and pith, then proceed with quarter sawing to a reasonable plank width. While it may not give the highest yield initially, your after-seasoning results would likely be far more satisfying in the quarter-sawn format.

[Mark Bolton]

It would really depend on the market you intend to service. Conventionally Cedar is mostly used for dimensional stock and would just be sawn for optimal yeild. This would be the material we all buy at the lumber yard.

I cant imagine there being much of a market four boutique cedar and unless you have very large trees (24" or better) you will waste far more time and footage than you'll gain in profit.

It would seem best to define your market first rather than trying to predict or guess at it. You only have one shot to saw the logs but I would just saw them up and be done with it.

[Peter Quinn]

I mostly use 1x material for moldings, siding and trim, 5/4 for things like window trim, decking, etc, 8/4 - 12/4 for mill work items like knee braces, brackets, pergolas, etc, 4x4 or 6x6 for posts. As far as most popular? Not sure, the yards here sell a variety of material, mostly for exterior building and decking, western red and port orford (yellow) cedar is more available, Atlantic white or northern white cedars are more of a small mill local thing it seems, though a fair amount goes into shakes and shingles which are readily available here. I guess you have to check with high end builders and designers in your area to asses the local market for what is essentially a premium product in most areas. If its real rowdy and knotty, like sub #3 , maybe fence pickets and polls are in order?

[Richard Coers]

Does removing trees really protect natural springs? I would suggest the opposite if their is an erosion problem. Can you provide a link to research that backs your effort? I just can't imagine how removing them would do anything to the springs.

I'm trying to thin some acreage to protect the natural springs on the property. The property is above 6000' elevation and the whole state is in severe drought.

The property has Douglas fir, ponderosa pine, white oak, alligator juniper and cedar.

We have been cutting some and stacking logs to mill later. We have been milling some cedar.

What is the preferred cuts for the cedar? Trying to build up a good stock of what people would want.

[fred klotz]

I don't know about other species, but Western Juniper certainly does dry up springs. I live in eastern Oregon, and my area was devastated by a 33,000 acre wildfire in 1992. A drainage, one mile east of me, had always appeared to me that it should have running water in it. I first saw it in 1975. Since 1992, it is a rare year that there is not year round running water in that drainage. Studies have shown that juniper transpires several time as much water as Ponderosa Pine, with which it often competes in this area. Juniper used to be controlled by naturally occurring fires, left to burn, but in recent decades, suppressed. Every place around here for hundreds of mile, where they have started eradicating the young (less than 60 or so years) juniper, the groundwater and springs have revived.

I was a skeptic on this until I experienced the Lone Pine Fire.

[Mark Bolton]

Makes total sense Fred, Great info.. Thanks.

[Earnest Riley Thornton]

Thanks guys for the replies. For now we are just going to stack the cedar until we can get a better market. I do want to finish my cabin with some of it.


Here is a little piece opened up.

[Curt Stivison]

I don't know about cedar but a large Maple next to a spring will uptake over 300gal of water on a warm day here in the east. It evaperates though the leaves to cool the tree. This is from personal experience on my farm. During a drought in 1988 we cut trees within 100 ft of a spring and the outflow of the spring increased overnite.

[Earnest Riley Thornton]

During a drought in 1988 we cut trees within 100 ft of a spring and the outflow of the spring increased overnite.

The springs are starting to pool now. Just removing a few has been helpful. The elk, mule deer, bear and mountain lions sure are enjoying it.

[Myk Rian]

That sure is some nice color in that cedar.