Experimenting With Cedar

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W.Y.

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Joined
Aug 10, 2008
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Location
BC, Canada
There is a reason why Ringmaster recommends tight grained hardwoods for making bowls . There is no problem with the alternating end grain cutting and sanding of hardwoods . I have got by with softer woods like Fir and Pine but a friend gave me some cedar boards and I wanted to try and see what would happen with that being so much softer than anything I have tried .
I laminated the board with some walnut between the cedar and sure enough , even with very sharp cutters I got enough tear out on the end grain on both sides that it took a lot of extra sanding and never did get below it so I rubbed some glue into the pores hoping that sanding it right away would fill them with sanding dust . Well it did but also made the filled part a lighter color . So lesson learned , I wont try cedar like that again .

BUT . . . I think I will try a segmented one with the same wood because that way every segment would be face grain on the outside and no end grain to be shown anywhere. .

If I try it and it turns out OK I will do a follow up to show the difference.

Oh yes , even the plug cutter cut rough with that very soft wood so will try to re-sharpen it before using it next time.

Here is the 9" diameter bowl



[URL=http://s6.photobucket.com/user/WillysWoodcrafting/media/Ringmaster%20Glue-Ups%20and%20Instruction/CedarEndGrain2.jpg.html][/URL]
 
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You may have had all those problems but, the visual effects of that bowl are quite nice, sometimes we have that problem with some woods, we get something quite special using it but, is just an absolute pain in the a$$ to work with, huh...???:biggrin:

Looking forwards to see the other referred bowl...!

Cheers
George
 
Very very Nice ...... I just recieved 2 cedar logs from the storm damage of last week. Now I have some warning of what to expect.

I love the smell and the look of cedar is so nice. You have taken it to a new level.
Thanks for the information.
 
Thanks Guys .
I glued a couple more cedar boards together but this time it is segments with face grain all around so we'll see how that turns out.
 
Conclusion of this experiment .
Glued up a couple flat boards into segment style and turned them into bowls .

Yeah . . . nice smooth cuts and easy sanding because there is no end grain to deal with .

Moral of the story is that practically any kind of wood , soft or hard can be turned into a bowl from a board with the help of a Ringmaster . Just a matter of ways of going about it. .





 
robutacion said:
Great work with those knots mate, they look very good...!

Cheers
George
Click to expand...

Thanks.
The knots are sealed in with thin CA before turning and sanding and then again with two coats of shellac as sanding sealer before spraying three coats of WB lacquer .

You know what they say . . . it's not finished 'till it's "finished"
 
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