Cedar Lumber Making

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DRB

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Milled up an old growth western red cedar over my Christmas holidays. The slab I was working on was not quite half the tree. It was about 5' across and 8'6" long. I had to rip it into quarters so that I could mill it. As you can see the morning weather was quite nice.
 
Squared up the first quarter so that it could be cut into quarter sawn 9/4 x 16" wide boards. As you can see the wind was starting to pick up.
 
By the time I got to the second quarter the weather had turned ugly you can see the waves on the water in the back ground. But I stuck with it and managed to finish. I cut this piece into 9/4 x 20" wide face grain. The face grain sure looks nice.

This part of the tree I estimated at about 990 years old. I counted 100 years in one part of the slow growth in 4.5" and in a faster part I counted 45 years in 4.5"
 
BEAUTIFL beautiful clear wood. Have you milled other species? I ask because I wonder how much faster/easier or not it is going through that wide of a cedar plank compared to a hardwood. I would assume easier being softwood, but I never milled anything like the log you have there.

Thanks for posting those pics... love to see other parts of the world, trees we can only dream of here on east coast US.
 
Woodshop

I have only cut cedar, white pine and birch so I am not sure on the speed thing? I also don't usually cut stuff that big. I cut it up using a 265 special, kind of a small saw for 20" cut but it works. Western red cedar is very soft but it will never rot.
 
Woodshop

I have only cut cedar, white pine and birch so I am not sure on the speed thing? I also don't usually cut stuff that big. I cut it up using a 265 special, kind of a small saw for 20" cut but it works. Western red cedar is very soft but it will never rot.




:jawdrop: :jawdrop: :jawdrop: :clap: :clap:
WOW! Did the log wash up or something?? Looks like there's a bunch of driftwood there. That's like finding a 10lb gold nugget in your garden when rototilling or something.
 
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I love the looks of that wood, it's very beautiful.
 
Thats some NICE wood there :)

Rough sawn like that it looks very similar to the Monterey cypress I cut here in NZ. But it has that clear straight grain and tight growth rings that only old growth trees have.

Any plans for the wood, should be able to make some nice table or bar tops from that stuff?

Cheers

Ian
 
Any plans for the wood, should be able to make some nice table or bar tops from that stuff?

Cheers

Ian


I am kind of thinking of using this wood for wood window frames for my new house. They should last a life time? I have to dry the wood for now, it is all dry stacked in my shop for now.
 
Nice opening

"Milled up an old growth western red cedar over my Christmas holidays."

Boy that'll get some attention if posted on an environmentalist web site.

What do you cut on for Easter?
 
Very Nice....Great pictures, Nice Grain!!!

Next time can you please push those logs back into the water and send them through the Panama Canel to Muhoney's beach on the coast of Newfoundland and I can walk down and mill them!

Please make sure that they stay away from from the US coast for the trip so that all the other on here don't try and get them first ;)
 
Very Nice....Great pictures, Nice Grain!!!

Next time can you please push those logs back into the water and send them through the Panama Canel to Muhoney's beach on the coast of Newfoundland and I can walk down and mill them!

Please make sure that they stay away from from the US coast for the trip so that all the other on here don't try and get them first ;)

Maybe when the northern ice cap melts enough I can send them though the north west passage:cheers:
 

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