Hey, Trailmaker!

wdmn said:
Eastern Redcedar, Aromatic Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana) looks like that. It's sometimes used to line walk in closets: http://www.gpsincusa.com/aromatic-cedar-wall-planking-2.html
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He'd know immediately if the wood had that 'hamster cage shavings' smell to it! Traditional blanket boxes and cedar chests are lined or made with E Red Cedar (which really is an upright Juniper) but I've never heard of it being used for anything structural. Could be the heartwood of an ordinary E White Cedar, they do stain in reddish colours once in awhile too. The unique white cedar smell should be quite obvious in that case.
If it's a walking and hiking stick you're looking to make I'd be seeking out a tough clear piece of hardwood so as to keep the haft thin and yet still strong. Cedar is rather weak especially if there is a knot or partial knot anywhere in the stick.
 
Not structural, just as tongue and groove panelling.

you're right about the eastern white cedar. I remember seeing that this winter clearing one off of a path; when I limbed it the purple stain was there.
 
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Eastern red cedar is an aggressive, native, pioneer species where I live in Missouri. We have sections where it's so thick the dead trees can't fall over. It can really choke everything else out. The wood is beautiful and it smells nice, but I dislike the trees. I've been doing some timberstand management on our property and a big part has been taking out lots of these. I dropped at least 100 on my day off yesterday. They sure do chop nicely.
 
Bridger said:
Eastern red cedar is an aggressive, native, pioneer species where I live in Missouri. We have sections where it's so thick the dead trees can't fall over. It can really choke everything else out. The wood is beautiful and it smells nice, but I dislike the trees. I've been doing some timberstand management on our property and a big part has been taking out lots of these. I dropped at least 100 on my day off yesterday. They sure do chop nicely.
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I would suspect they're quite useful (and consequently valuable) for making long-lived and durable fence posts. Up this way (especially in the limestone bedrock Kingston, Ontario area where they are very common) they don't get much beyond 30 feet high and are gnarly/prickly to work with so it has always puzzled me that the same species could be harvested and economically milled into veneers and panelling somewhere else in N America.
 
We call it Tennessee red cedar, but yeah, what wdmn said.
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As a custom cabinet maker in another life, the smell is very familiar and I've seen red tints of Cedar but never this deep of purple. I know it's a soft wood but it will be plenty hard enough for walking sticks. Very light also. Thanks for the info
 
Cajun Kamikaze said:
As a custom cabinet maker in another life, the smell is very familiar and I've seen red tints of Cedar but never this deep of purple. I know it's a soft wood but it will be plenty hard enough for walking sticks. Very light also. Thanks for the info
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A section of cedar clear of knots is light and strong. A decent coating of varnish or epoxy can solve the hardness issue if dents or scratches are a problem. Cedar (western red) and spruce were both used for flooring in the northwest but a generous coating was required to allow them to hold up like hardwood.
 
From what I've been reading Juniperus virginiania (or whatever you call it) is actually quite a bit harder than any of the other North American cedars or spruces for that matter (Janka Hardness 900lbf compared to c. 350 for other cedars and c. 500 for the spruces).
 
wdmn said:
From what I've been reading Juniperus virginiania (or whatever you call it) is actually quite a bit harder than any of the other North American cedars or spruces for that matter (Janka Hardness 900lbf compared to c. 350 for other cedars and c. 500 for the spruces).
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Whoo hoo! I studied plant and animal taxonomy in graduate school and J. virginiana does mean something specific to me. But any regional or local versions I've toyed with are gnarly, nasty and knotty to the extreme and I can't imagine wanting to do any kind of floor with the stuff. Wide board select clear dimensionally stable E. White Pine (as well as some much tougher E Hemlock) was a mainstay of poor man's flooring here for hundreds of years and has seen a fashion resurgence in recent years but no amount of varnish, Varathane or diamond elite will keep women's high heels from dimpling the stuff.
 
Alocksly said:
A section of cedar clear of knots is light and strong. A decent coating of varnish or epoxy can solve the hardness issue if dents or scratches are a problem. Cedar (western red) and spruce were both used for flooring in the northwest but a generous coating was required to allow them to hold up like hardwood.
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A coat or two of benite* before finishing will substantially increase the hardness of the wood. It gets inside the individual cells of the wood and hardens it. It's sold as a pre-stain treatment but it has other applications.
 
300Six said:
Whoo hoo! I studied plant and animal taxonomy in graduate school.
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That's more than I can claim, but I appreciate your enthusiasm, and agree that a woman's high heels can do a lot of damage when combined with softwood...
 
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