Sure smells nice, however..

Re: Sure smells nice, however..

Rodney in Maypearl, TX

>That's too bad Mike, as eastern red cedar is one of the prettiest woods. It probably seems prettier because it has such a wonderful odor. It's the only wood I've turned that has the gall to sit on the bench, after it was roughed out on the bandsaw, and audibly check. Just quiet little "tic, tic" :) Guess it makes us appreciate it more when it survives drying.

Were you wearing long sleeves and respirator?

Re: Sure smells nice, however..

Carole in VA

>LOL! I thought I was the only one who had had the "tic...tic" experience with cedar! I think in a previous post I called it "snick...snick" but tic is probably more appropriate since I sort of think of that sound as a time bomb tic..."if you keep turning me, I am going to explode all over your shop!"

Re: Sure smells nice, however..

Robert Cox

>Ever thought of running the dust collector?

What doesn't fall on you can't hurt you.

Re: Sure smells nice, however..

Mike Schwing from Md.

>Now even you know how ineffective a dust collector is when roughing out a bowl. Heavy, wet chips aren't good candidates for dust/chip collectors, and wet dust isn't aren't airborne for long enough to get sucked into a ceiling mounted collector.

One can only take so many precautions before they realize its simply easier, and safer to work with stuff that is known to be safe.

Only one way to know if you're allergic to something - exposure. The sap should have been an indicator.

Re: Sure smells nice, however..

Robert Cox

>I didn't think about the sap and the wetness.

For some reason I was thinking only of dust.

Still a lot to learn.

Re: Sure smells nice, however..

adrien

>Why should the sap be an indicator? If you weren't allergic to whatever is in the wood, the sap shouldn't have created a problem. After all, the sap from sugar maples is good stuff.

Re: Sure smells nice, however..

tom libby

>For some reason, I find red cedar very frustrating to work with. I'm not allergic to it, its just this cracking thing it likes to do. It smells and looks beautiful, but not only does it crack, it dulls my tools real fast, and sometimes just simply breaks. I think I'll let some of it sit longer with end sealer, but I am thinking of trying the dish washer soap and water routine. Somebody says some woods get stronger but easier to work. any ideas?

Re: Sure smells nice, however..

John K Jordan

>>Somebody says some woods get stronger

>but easier to work.

I bought some rough cedar planks >2" thick and maybe 8"-16" wide. The guy said they had been air drying for about 3 years. This wood is very stable to turn and I have experienced no cracking or checking as others have reported. Well, I did get end grain checking when I let it get too hot from sanding, but I learned from that. I've been using cabinet scrapers instead of sandpaper on cedar.

JKJ in East TN