I recently made a small cedar box and finished it with an amber spar varnish. I am blown away (in a good sense) by the grain/color but troubled by the wood's softness and tendency to split. The box walls were thicknessed to 1/4" and in some spots 1/8" which seems to push the limit of sturdiness for cedar. Does anyone know of a wood that has a color/figure roughly similar to cedar but with more durability? I prefer something with a tight grain pattern to something like oak and something domestic (USA) and common to exotic if possible. Any suggestions?
Chrisgiraffe wrote in news:20a17895-61d9-4b59-a5ed- snipped-for-privacy@i37g2000hsd.googlegroups.com:
There's cedar, and there's cedar. There's the cedar like is used for fence posts, and there's aromatic cedar (juniper). The fence cedar is usually pretty bland, but can have some figuring. The juniper usually has lots of color and figure. Either way, I would recomend sapele as a substitute. It's a lot like mahogany (another substitute for cedar), but harder and more durable (it's used for flooring). Check out:
I like oak. It's easy to work with, has a nice grain and finishes nicely. I made a few of them last year as Christmas things and they were well received. Here's a picture of one of them.
you should check out black ash, grows here in the upper midwest in low to swampy areas. average growth ring count is 18 rings per inch. grain is somewhat like red oak, sandy brown in color and not as heavy or dense as oak. also black ash burl for exotic wood, this would make very nice and off the beaten trail boxs. can be seen on my website
First, cherry is NOT an exotic. It's a native hardwood. The OP ran into the reason why cedar is often used for lining, and less often used for an entire project. I made my wife a jewelry box from it many years ago, though, and that's fine--5/8" and thicker stock.
If he's using Eastern redcedar, which is a native softwood, not much else comes close in figure, though he might like flame cherry (except for the price). Cherry is just about the king of current U.S. hardwoods, and is priced accordingly, with highly figured woods going for more. Walnut might also work, though it's more brown than red, and darker. Oddly enough, over time cherry darkens, while walnut lightens, when exposed to light.
Using wood of any kind that is 1/4" thick gets you to about the bottom limit if durability is needed. Going to 1/8" means a hardwood is almost absolutely essential. Possibly, if he can find it, Ashe juniper would do, but it's hard to locate...mostly in the Ozarks and into Texas, where it's called Texas cedar. Port-Orford cedar might work, but the wood is in limited supply as the trees get rarer. It is expensive. Western redcedar might also be better than the knotty eastern version, but it is also in less thahn plentiful supply.
I'd go for cherry and line it with 3/16" thick redcedar, probably Eastern, because there is a LOT of that around here.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.