Custom Exterior Shutters Home Decorative Hardware

Western Red Cedar

Botanical Name: Thuya plicata

Family: Cupressaceae

Other Common Names: Arborvitae, Canoe cedar, Giant arborvitae, Giant cedar, Pacific Red Cedar, Shinglewood, Western Red Cedar

Uses: Outdoor furniture, Boat building (wood strip canoes), exterior millwork.

Western Red Cedar

Distribution: Western Red Cedar is reported to occur in Alberta, British Columbia, Alaska, California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. It is reported to form widespread forests with Western hemlock, and also with other conifers. It prefers moist, slightly acid soils. Western Red Cedar is also reported to be cultivated (from seedlings in nurseries) as a source of timber in Britain and France.

General Characteristics: The tree is described as often large to very large, producing a tapering trunk that is buttressed at the base. The height of the mature tree is reported to be 100 to 175 feet (30 to 53 m), with a trunk diameter of 2 to 8 feet (0.6 to 2.4 m). It produces a clear bole that is usually free from side branches for many feet up, which means the outer layers of the tree are knot free and clear. This feature is reported to make Western Red Cedar timber especially suitable for high-class joinery and woodwork. The freshly-cut heartwood is reported to vary in color from dark chocolate-brown to salmon pink, sometimes variegated. The color ages to reddish brown and eventually to silver gray. The wood is much sought after for its 'weathered' appearance; the narrow sapwood is whitish in color and is clearly demarcated from the heartwood. Sapwood width is reported to be seldom greater than 1 inch (2.5 cm) in mature trees. Texture is coarse, and is reported to be much coarser than in Redwood. The grain is typically straight, and even. The wood is reported to have a sweet, fragrant or cedary smell, and a faint bitter taste.

Weight: Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) 0.32; air-dry density 22 pcf.

Working Properties: Cutting resistance is reported to be small, but the wood has a tendency to fray during cross-cutting. Western Red Cedar is reported to have excellent planing properties. It is a very popular timber and is considered to be one of the major lumber species in the United States and Canada. The material is reported to turn very well. Moulding qualities are rated as very good. Western Red Cedar is reported to respond very well to boring. The wood is reported to have very good mortising characteristics. Red cedar is reported to be highly favored for riving shingles and shims since its straight grain allows it to be split easily and predictably. The material is reported to have excellent resistance to splitting in nailing. Nail holding properties are good. Screwing properties are rated as excellent and screw-holding qualities are good. Gluing characteristics are rated as excellent. The wood is reported to have good polishing characteristics. The wood is reported to stain well. Steam bending properties are rated as poor. The wood is reported to work well with hand tools.

Durability: Western Red Cedar is reported to have very high natural resistance to decay because of large amounts of extractives. It is reported to perform very well in contact with the ground, under most climates, without any kind of preservative treatment. The mild winters in the British Isle are reported to be an exception, since they tend to promote decay. Seasoned Western Red Cedar wood is also reported to be susceptible to attack by the common furniture beetle.

Preservation: It is resistant to preservative treatment.

Print Email

Spanish Cedar

Botanical Name: Cedrela spp. ; Cedro

Family: Meliaceae

Other Common Names: Cedro (Central and South America), Acajou rouge (French West Indies), Cedro rouge (French Guiana), Cedar (Surinam)

Uses: Cigar boxes, wood pencils, wood doors, decorative veneer for wood paneling and plywood.

SPANISH CEDAR

Distribution: Spanish Cedar occurs from Mexico to Argentina and is found in all countries except Chile. Trees make their best growth on rich, well-drained humid sites but may also compete favorably on drier hillsides; intolerant of water-logged locations.

General Characteristics: Under favorable conditions will reach heights over 100 ft and diameters 3 to 6 ft above the substantial buttresses. Straight cylindrical boles clear for 40 to 60 ft. Heartwood pinkish to reddish brown when freshly cut, becoming red to dark brown, sometimes with a purplish tinge, after exposure; sharply to rather poorly demarcated from the pinkish to white sapwood. Texture is rather fine and uniform to coarse and uneven; grain is usually straight, sometimes interlocked; luster is medium to high and golden; a distinctive cedar odor is usually well pronounced, some specimens with bitter taste.

Weight: Basic specific gravity (ovendry weight/green volume) very variable ranging from 0.30 to 0.60, averaging about 0.40; air-dry density ranges from 23 to 47, averaging about 30 pcf.

Working Properties: Spanish Cedar is easy to work with hand and machine tools but somewhat difficult to bore cleanly. Easy to cut into veneer but with some tendency for wooly surfaces to occur; good nailing and gluing properties; stains and finishes well but gums and oils sometimes are a problem in polishing.

Durability: Heartwood is rated as durable but there is some variability with the species; resistant to subterranean and dry-wood termites. Low resistance to attack by marine borers. Wood has excellent weathering characteristics.

Preservation: N/A

Print Email