# turning "cedar" blanks?



## chiphunters (Feb 27, 2009)

I am wondering how cedar wood does with creating pens?

Have a friend with a saw mill that would a couple!!!


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## Seer (Feb 27, 2009)

I turned a couple of lamp pulls from red cedar and it cuts like butter very light and clean to me.  Since it is a soft wood it will dent easy I think.


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## Chasper (Feb 27, 2009)

I use the low horizontal limbs of eastern red cedar only, I believe eastern red is what you have in Missouri.  If it is growing with a canopy of hardwoods there will be low limbs up to 3-4 inches in diameter that have been dead and drying for years as the tree grows taller trying to find more light.  These horizontal limbs may have 50 growth rings in a 3 inch cross section and they may have some very small and tight knots.  They are considerably harder than the wood from the main trunk and they will be a brighter red color.  But even these limbs are only marginally hard enough to use in a pen, stabilizing helps, the color will fade from brilliant red to dull brown.


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## spiritwoodturner (Feb 27, 2009)

Too soft by itself for pens. But like Chasper said, try some that is stabilized. I've got a few different kinds that I've stabilized in my pot and I'm anxious to try them. It can be real pretty. I'll do like a pen/pencil set, nothing too expensive, because I'm not optimistic it will hold up that great.

Dale


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## sailing_away (Feb 27, 2009)

I’ve made a few comfort grip pens with Cedar.  Wood is very soft and easy dents as previously said.  I sanded very close to final size and stabilized it with thin CA.  The wood was hard and easily finished form that point.  Pretty wood.


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## maxwell_smart007 (Feb 27, 2009)

I made a cedar pen not too long ago - some of that red cedar that you have down there (the stuff up here is mottled brown, and not nearly as pretty)...

It turned fine, and once I started to finish it, it is as hard as any other pen (CA turns hard no matter what it's soaking into), albeit lighter than most!  

I'd love to get my hands on some more red cedar, actually!  I'll start scouring the web looking for some blanks, now that you've reminded me! 

Andrew


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## DurocShark (Feb 27, 2009)

I like cedar:


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## wolftat (Feb 27, 2009)

I have made a lot of cedar pens and they were all bought up by a cigar store in town. The wood is a bit soft, but a couple coats of CA will really help that. It is easy to work with and my shop never smelled better.


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## jkeithrussell (Feb 27, 2009)

I've made some pens from cedar.  It looks pretty good, and it turns very, very easily.  You will want to go easy or you will shoot right through it.  Sandpaper removes the wood very quickly too. 

The only downside to using cedar for pens is that the wood is light and the pens feel very light when completed.


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## bitshird (Feb 27, 2009)

The first pen I made was from cedar, It smells so good when you turn it,


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## artistwood (Feb 27, 2009)

i'm lucky !!!????  i guess. had to cut down t beautiful aromatic cedars last summer. each had a trunk about a foot in diameter. probably good for 100,000 or so pens i would think. when i'm well enough, i cut it into smaller sections. it's a dark red for the most part and smells awsome. i can't wait!.......bear


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## Gary Max (Feb 27, 2009)

We keep a bunch of Cedar on hand----stop by our website and look at some of the things we make.
I turn everything from pens to bowls out of Cedar.


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## hunter-27 (Feb 27, 2009)

chiphunters said:


> I am wondering how cedar wood does with creating pens?
> 
> Have a friend with a saw mill that would a couple!!!



I love people who give it away if that tells you anything.


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## chiphunters (Feb 27, 2009)

thanks for the reply's..

I was going to try them anyway, but now I am looking forward to turning them!

Andrew and Landon, I have several nice boards of red cedar,send me a PM

 and I will send you a half dozen blanks each.

Anyone else, I have plenty, I have to cut blanks for  his  anyway!!

Thanks,George


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## titan2 (Feb 27, 2009)

chiphunters said:


> thanks for the reply's..
> 
> I was going to try them anyway, but now I am looking forward to turning them!
> 
> ...


I wouldn't mind some!

TIA

Barney


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## TellicoTurning (Feb 28, 2009)

Gary Max said:


> We keep a bunch of Cedar on hand----stop by our website and look at some of the things we make.
> I turn everything from pens to bowls out of Cedar.



Gary,
I gotta give you a wowsy wow wow on those cedar bowls.... I just had the electric company out last month to take down 3 big cedars that were about to fall into a power line... one was pretty rotted up the center so most of it's lost, but the others leaves me several tons of wood to play with... plus there were a bunch of dead falls from years back in the gully behind my shop... I've cut and save most of them.... they sap wood is almost powder now, but the heart wood is gorgeous and dry and fun to work with.


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## fyrcaptn (Feb 28, 2009)

*cedar*

I love eastern cedar. In this area its abundant- In my area we are blessed with an abundance of great wood species.
Cedar turns nicely, finishes well, has awesome color, and the smell is amazing...
It is soft, can be brittle, most finishes seal in the smell, dents easily which I've had no luck steaming out- in spite of what I've been told, the color fades with a lot of finishes and /or time...
No free lunches, huh? 
I do like cedar and will keep on turning and using it. I'm not going to go out and buy any though.  I was given a bunch of free cedar boards that are good for scrolling. Some is quite thin and it can break if you look at it with both eyes. the thicker stuff is good for intarsia.


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## Mather323 (Feb 28, 2009)

I guess that I must be different again, I don't like cedar pens they seem cheap to me.  Great wood to learn with, but has any one ever seen a Jr Stateman cedar pen?


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## nava1uni (Feb 28, 2009)

I really like turning cedar.  I make pens from it.  It looks really nice on a Cigar kit, especially if you can get some with nice grain or yellow.  I also make pill boxes, mirrors, etc for it.  If you use a CA finish it doesn't dent and because it is light a Cigar pens doesn't weigh too much and more people are apt to buy them.  I sell to a lot of people who ask specifically for a lighter pen due to arthritis or carpal tunnel syndrome.  It smells nice when turning.


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## TellicoTurning (Mar 1, 2009)

I don't make many pens from my cedar, I don't think a pen is big enough to really show the beauty of the wood, but I turn lots of bowls and tea lights from what I have.


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## GBusardo (Mar 3, 2009)

I turned a comfort pen out of old growth cedar that I had cut on a bias.  Looked great, sold quick


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## Gerald (Mar 5, 2009)

I've made a couple of pens from red cedar and is very easy and quick to turn and also has a great smell.  Pens turned out beautiful.


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## altaciii (Mar 6, 2009)

chiphunters said:


> I am wondering how cedar wood does with creating pens?
> 
> Have a friend with a saw mill that would a couple!!!


 
I have a large amount of aromatic red cedar that was given to me for a pen made from it. The wood lives up to its name. It is definately aromatic. It is rather soft and turns easily. When it is polished, it is absolutely stunning. Over time, with regular use the wood darkens but still shows its major features.


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