Western red cedar dining table

**Jesspet** · 22nd August 2011, 10:30 PM

I don't have a lot of joinery experience, but have inherited some beautiful western red cedar rough sawn timber. They are four of 250 x 38 x 2400 and are very rough. They will need dressing on all sides. I'm thinking of biscuit joining 3 boards, then ripping the fourth board into thirds to give enough timber for an outer border. This would give me a table top of about 2500 x 900.

My questions are:

1. Is west red cedar suitable for a dining table (durability) ??
2. Are there methods of finishing that will greatly improve the durability and is there a recommended finishing method for wrc ?
3. Being a soft timber, what grit paper should I start with in a belt sander, for the first sand ?
4. Should I do the frame and legs in wrc also, or use a harder timber, like an Australian hardwood ?

Thanks for the help. Any advice now may save me a bucket of grief later on..

**TP1** · 23rd August 2011, 01:49 AM

I haven't used Western Red Cedar myself but there seems to be plenty that have.

However, I do understand that WRC dust is worse than most for its ability to cause health issues. So make sure you wear decent breathing apparatus when cutting and sanding it.

**mic-d** · 23rd August 2011, 07:21 AM

Personally I wouldn't use WRC for a table top, it is far too soft. Because of the differing hardness of the growth rings, if you sand it, you will erode the softer early growth part more and this leaves the grain in relief. Looks good in certain applications, but a table

**IanW** · 23rd August 2011, 09:33 AM

Yeah, have to agree with mic-d that WRC is really a bit soft for a dining table, though I guess it is not much different from our Toona in that regard. There are lots & lots of WRC or Redwood outdoor tables in Canada & the US. I once made a couple of bedside tables from WRC, & they survived better than I expected - picked up a few small dings, but bedside tables usually get gentler treatment than regular tables, I think.

You can avoid most of the 'driftwood' effect of over-sanding by planing to as good a surface as you can get, & using only fine paper with a large, flat sanding block to remove any small blemishes. Being a softwood, it is hard to find a suitable finish for 'fine furniture' applications like a dining table. My bedside tables looked ok after a few coats of Danish oil, but that may not be the most appropriate finish for a dining table?

Cheers,

**Wongo** · 23rd August 2011, 10:12 AM

WRC is way too soft. Don't do it and it will save you some heartache.

**Jesspet** · 23rd August 2011, 06:23 PM

Thanks for all the input. I might keep it rustic and use the timber to build an outdoor bbq table.

**jarrah jack** · 24th August 2011, 09:54 PM

Perfect for an outdoor table, I make lots of them though not out of WRC. You just need to find a design and you'll be right. Most people have both indoor and outdoor furniture but for some reason the indoor stuff gets the most fanfare.

**Wongo** · 25th August 2011, 12:29 PM

I reckon WRC is good for doors, windows and panelling. It is too soft and is a waste of it's real 'strength' for making tables .

**Jim Carroll** · 25th August 2011, 02:14 PM

**Wongo** · 25th August 2011, 02:25 PM

One more thing about outdoor WRC tables. Cockatoos can destroy one in a day.

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