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Thread: Red cedar or not
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24th June 2017, 08:47 PM #1SENIOR MEMBER
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Red cedar or not
This is a table top I started stripping. At first I thought it was pine but now I'm guessing it's "red cedar". Is this correct? If it is then it's my first cedar piece of furniture. IMG_0048 (1).JPGIMG_0049 (1).JPGIMG_0050 (1).JPG
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25th June 2017, 09:06 AM #2
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25th June 2017, 09:29 AM #3SENIOR MEMBER
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Hi Nathanael,
Not so easy to answer that question. There are large legs plus wheels and a lot of wood underneath working with a table expansion system making it quite heavy.
Cheers,
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25th June 2017, 09:54 AM #4GOLD MEMBER
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Well it's absolutely not pine. That's a hardwood.
I don't really think it's RC either. It just doesn't look red enough.
Can we see the piece of furniture as a whole? And can you take a photo in more natural light and not artificial?
Is it unusually soft? Can you scratch it with a fingernail?
Cheers,
Luke
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25th June 2017, 10:26 AM #5SENIOR MEMBER
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25th June 2017, 10:27 AM #6SENIOR MEMBER
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25th June 2017, 10:33 AM #7SENIOR MEMBER
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Hi, I tested with my finger nail and readily made 2 cuts in direction of grain and across. Now I need to seriously consider how I am going to finish the surface
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25th June 2017, 11:01 AM #8SENIOR MEMBER
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Finally got onto the person I got it from. It seems it came from England and he thought it might be beech or yew. I wasn't even looking in the right part of the world
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25th June 2017, 11:05 AM #9GOLD MEMBER
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I wouldn't put it outside the realm of possibility that it could be Cedar, but the Cedar I've had is typically more red. The fingernail test supports your hypothesis though.
When you sand it, does it have a cedar-like smell?
If it does turn out to be Cedar then I would highly recommend a shellac finish, preferably using the French Polishing technique. It really works phenomenally on cedar (and most other woods).
Does it have any kind of maker's mark, date, etc on it? Do you know that it was made in Australia? When? By whom?
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25th June 2017, 11:08 AM #10GOLD MEMBER
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Ah, ok. I think you posted this while I was typing my last post.
Well, unfortunately, my knowledge of wood ends at the old world. I don't know much about European woods at all.
I do know that it's likely not Beech. Beech is fairly distinct. It could also be some kind of Elm or Ash.
I'm really grasping at straws here though.
Best of luck,
Luke
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25th June 2017, 11:15 AM #11SENIOR MEMBER
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Hi Luke,
Thanks, I've got a lot to learn and hopefully I can get samples of the different types of wood to learn about. French polishing I did many years ago and looking for to doing that. I can now see this project is going to take a lot of work so will go slowly with it while I focus on other easier and faster jobs.
Cheers,
Nick
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25th June 2017, 01:12 PM #12GOLD MEMBER
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Wood anatomy is like fingerprints. No more difficult than that.
A few minutes with a microscope and you can decide on fewer than 100 woods of economic importance
in the northern hemisphere. Guessing by looking at gross anatomy/appearance is a mug's game.
If it came from England, it can't be Australian Red Cedar. It can't be Western Red Cedar from North America.
Pity I'm not still there. I'd be cutting 3 shavings (radial, transverse and tangential) that you would never notice
to give you a serious ID in about 20 minutes. CSIRO Forest Products can do the same.
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25th June 2017, 01:42 PM #13GOLD MEMBER
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Google 'elm timber'
Apologies for unnoticed autocomplete errors.
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25th June 2017, 02:13 PM #14SENIOR MEMBER
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Elm certainly could be it. I like that grain.
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25th June 2017, 03:50 PM #15GOLD MEMBER
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