Thread: Australian red cedar

Stands up pretty well ,no pen really likes harsh treatment though, a CA finish will make it as good as any other timber generally a bit boring though and you need to fill the long grains usually as sanding just doesn't get them out ,you just keep creating new ones . But like anything its a matter of taste Cheers ~ John

Originally Posted by Beedeejay

Hey everyone,
just a quick question, has anyone had much experience turning pens out of Australian Red cedar, how does it hold up to every day use being a soft wood and all? Any opinions will be appreciated,

Cheers Ben

Great timber to turn, and with a 20 coat CA finish is wonderful, BUT .....when sanding wear a dust mask !!!!!!. There is a 60% chance you may be allergic to the 'Plicatic Acid' within the wood grain, hence an Asthmatic reaction (nearly put me in hospital, & I don't get Asthma & I'm not allergic to anything ! ). Read the PDF about the dangers of Red Cedar dust. Link to PDF below.

http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rc...41524429,d.aGc

Yep I agree. It's fairly easy to turn, and comes up fine and hard-wearing if you use a CA finish.
As with all sawdust, masks and dust extraction are advised when sanding, even with pen turning.

Here is a red cedar stylus pen I made recently, with 20 coats of thin CA it came up quite nice.

I have turned many pens from red cedar. Best to use pieces with close growth rings to show the grain. I use red cedar stain and filler while the lathe is spinning to fill the grain. I do this with old T-shirt material. Sometimes, you may need a light sand after this or with 0000 steel wool to remove any build up of filler.

Then finish with the methods described by others.

John

Hey everyone thanks for the responses,
I like the look of the timber itself and my uncle gave me a few decent size chinks to turn a few bows and things (not very willingly I must admit as he has had it for years) and I though I would repay him with a nice Pen.

I have used and machined Red cedar before, (making Doors and Open display cabinets etc) the dust doesn't effect me although I still wear a mask when sanding, I have spent years machining particle board, MDF and Timber and I never used to but I finally learned my lesson in regards to using and wearing masks, unfortunately I don't have dust extraction yet but I hope to one day,
Once I get round to turning them I will try to post some pics on here.
Cheers Ben

Originally Posted by bassmansimon

Yep I agree. It's fairly easy to turn, and comes up fine and hard-wearing if you use a CA finish.
As with all sawdust, masks and dust extraction are advised when sanding, even with pen turning.

Here is a red cedar stylus pen I made recently, with 20 coats of thin CA it came up quite nice.

I like the look of that pen, nice colour

Thanks ben. Good luck with the turning.
I've also done a red cedar small bowl, and because it was so soft, it created an unbelievable amount of dust. Much more than the other bowls I have made from Jarrah, Camphor Laurel, or Blackwood.

Hate to disagree, but I do find it too soft and does dint easily. I have had customers even return RC pens with CA coatings, when they dint, the CA debonds and can chip easily.

I do like it though, so either just finish with wax, or stabilise it and finish with CA.

good tip Neil. I wouldn't want to disagree with dai sensei.
I only recently created the slimline above, and it hasn't had to stand up to any serious usage yet, so I guess time will tell.

If you do happen to do one, have a go at turning on the cross grain. Much harder to do but I think the efforts worth it with Cedar.

Originally Posted by bassmansimon

...I wouldn't want to disagree with dai sensei...

Why not, everyone else does

Originally Posted by corbs

If you do happen to do one, have a go at turning on the cross grain. Much harder to do but I think the efforts worth it with Cedar.

Agreed