finish for aromatic cedar

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fafow

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Dec 27, 2007
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159
Location
Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Is there a finish that will work well on aromatic cedar that will allow the smell to come through? I would think that the CA finish as well as Enduro would block the aroma to come through since they create a tight seal over the wood. But, I am still relatively new to all this and might very well be way off base. Any ideas?
 
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I might be wrong but any finish put on cedar will block the smell. Its soft and will soak up almost everything. Besides, you will want a harder finish on it to protect the surface. Also, cedar will darken and lose the bright colors after a short time, like cocobolo darkens. UV lights are hard on some woods.
 
I had one complaint that the buyer couldn't smell the cedar, as she loved
the smell. So .. when I made her pen, I saved the shavings, put them in a
little cloth bag and gave them to her. She loved it.

I think John is right, any finish is going to seal the wood and block the
aroma. Leaving it unfinished would give you the smell, but no protection.
The pen would be very soft.
 
Cedar is a very soft wood. I've made several and have not found a finish that would protect the wood from dents. There are many many better choices. I do have a stabilized cedar blank. I should turn it and see if the cedar aroma is still around. I made 4 cedar pens for a lady and used CA as the finish. She continues to tell me how nice it is to open her purse and smell that cedar aroma while fetching her pen. My first pen was cedar and I still have it....I don't use it anymore. These are just some of my observations on using cedar for pens.
Do a good turn daily!
 
I don't do cedar pens, usually too small to really show the beauty of the wood, but I do like to turn tea lights and bowls from the cedar I have. The shop sure smells nice when I'm turning cedar. I also would like a good finish for the bowls that will let the aroma come through... haven't found anything yet... haven't tried cedar oil yet, but may be the right idea.. Mostly with the cedar, I sand as smooth as I can get it, then use the tripoli/white diamond and carnuba wax to finish them. Gives the wood a nice satin finish.
 
I've been saving my shavings/dust from various woods for a while now. For filling blow outs, inlays, whatever.

When I made a cedar pen for my wife i gave her a baggie of the shavings too. She put them in some sachets and tossed them in her dresser drawers.
 
ozmandus said:
I don't do cedar pens, usually too small to really show the beauty of the wood,
Click to expand...

I've got a place that lets me pick through their warehouse, so I usually grab
the stuff that nobody else wants.. which is exactly the stuff I DO want!
I want the knots. I want the oddball colors. I want the heartwood and
sapwood in the same piece.

I've got a few planks hanging around. If I can find some nice tight figure
with knots, you want some?
 
Charlie,
Appreciate the offer, but when we moved into this place, there was a place back on the lot kinda like an arroya or gully that was full of deadfall cedars... I've but up a bunch of them into logs to work with... they've been down long enough that a lot of the sap wood is pretty powdery, but the heart is still solid and really nice. Plus sometime this coming next couple of weeks, the electric company is supposed to come out and take down two more that are about to fall on one of their power lines... I'll have cedar for a few years yet.

I really need a shed or barn or something to store some of the wood I've collected... right now it's stacked behind the shop under tarps. Come summer, I'll probably have to fight the wasps for the wood... they like to get under tarps and build their nests.
 
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