Ceder for models?

[FlyingS]

I just ordered 5 small pieces of Bass wood from Woodcraft for over $50 and two of the pieces are on back order. The will give enough wood for 3, 1/48 scale. I was at the local lumber yard the other day and I'm thinking of switching to #1 select pine. They also have Alaskan Cedar. They have 4'x4'x8' beams for $75. As that seems like a lot but I could carve a lot of models from that! My question is has anyone used Cedar for their models and how did it work out for you? Any thoughts?
Thanks ~ Harv

[lastvautour]

Harvey, I use pine quite a lot and I have used cedar on a few occasions with little problem. However, I found cedar to be harder than pine but holds a sharp edge better. Just make sure your tools are good and sharp.

Lou
Note. My CT-155 Hawk is made from a recycled cedar banister.

[Model Maker]

I have been using number 1 or select pine 2x4's, 2x3's  and some 2x6's available from the local big box store. A 2x4 x 8ft runs around $12 to $18 cdn. I frequently check out their selection and pick up a piece here and there if the grain is straight and the colour uniform. I certainly enjoy working with pine. You just have to watch the grain when carving as one direction responds well to a knife, chisel or plane, while the other direction tends to tear a little.

The one thing to remember if you are using pine is to seal the wood first to prevent sap penetrating the paint. I sometimes use a couple of coats of varathane to seal (1st coat thinned to allow good penetration). But lately I have been using BIN white primer which is shellac based. Shellac seems to be the gold standard for sealing pine. In surfing to find the best primer, often times folks indicate as long as the primer is oil based, it will also prevent  sap seeping through the paint. I like to use water based primers since they dry quicker than oil based primers Hence my preference to seal first. The shellac based primer can be coated in about 1 hour after application.

There's a specialty wood store within 20 km of our house which I sometimes visit. Most of their wood is rough cut. But the price per board foot is significantly less than than the big box store. A quick once over with a plane or rough sandpaper provides a good surface to pencil in the shapes / profiles.

I have used cedar from the big box store but found it too "stringy". Have a peak at the type of cedar the duck decoy carvers use. I believe they usually use a specific type of cedar.

Good luck with the basswood. It's certainly a wonderful wood to work with.

[Gearup]

Here at the west coast of BC in Canada, the most available lumber yard wood is classified as S-P-F (Spruce-Pine-Fir). They are used interchangeably for construction framing. It would seem that when harvesting a stand of trees, there is a mix that apparently does not warrant trying to identify each tree species and separate them out for use. However, there is a a big difference for small projects such as we create.
Cedar also comes in two flavours here: Red and Yellow. The red is much more common and cheaper than the yellow cedar.

Knowing what a wood species smells like in general can really help identify it. A shaving removed with a knife will give a better indication of the type as it releases the fresh resins.

Spruce - my preferred wood next to Basswood.
If I am sorting through a lift of SPF and I'm going to build a picnic table, then i look for the straightest and clearest pieces without paying too much attention to the type of wood. But when I am looking for nice stuff to carve with, I look for spruce. Usually this is found with a nice close grain with few knots. if there are knots, they usually can be cut out, given the sizes we work with. 2X4 spruce can be found with nice grain. I usually find the best in 1x4 or 1x6 and they are a bit drier than thicker stuff.

Fir- really much harder but not the greatest for carving.

Pine - is more resinous and mostly a courser grain, but it can carve well. I have probably used it, but spruce still seems to be more prevalent here.

Red cedar
Ii is really light, can be soft or hard and brittle. If it is tight grained it can be carved nicely. It has a strong "cedar closet' smell that can be allergic to some people ( as anything can be). The biggest issue for painting red cedar is the "bleeding" oils the will penetrate through most paints. It must be sealed, as Model Maker stated, with something like BIN shellac primer. I have used BIN and it really works and sands well.

Yellow cedar - also known as port orford cedar, cypress
Is THE west coast carving wood. It comes in blocks prized for carving or in dimensioned lumber that looks like yellow butter. The grain is so fine as to be almost invisible, yet it is light, strong and flexible. I have built kayaks with it and it works beautifully. It is mostly sent overseas to Japan due to the clarity of the wood and hey, it looks nice too. It is easy to identify when cutting a shaving...it smells very spicy. I like the smell, but it fades quickly. It paints very well with acrylics and can be finely detailed and crisp. This is probably what Model Maker referred to for decoys. But.. it is not likely to be found in a typical lumber store and it is priced even more than basswood!

https://www.westwindhardwood.com has an extensive catalog of wood and prices are on line. Located on Vancouver island they ship anywhere. (my dream store)

https://canadawood.org/products-species/spf/ will give further info on what the woods are.

I find hunting for that perfect piece of wood that the grader sorted into the wrong pile as part of the fun.

Fraser

[FlyingS]

Thanks for the help. I think the Alaskan Cedar I was shown at the lumber yard was yellow cedar because of its color. I have on one model glued red cedar (closet) strips together and had pretty good luck even though the seems are starting to show as lines in the paint.
all good info thanks! 

[Oceaneer99]

I carved my Yak-1000 from Western Red Cedar. This wood has a straight through pronounced grain, and it was easy to accidentally leave bumps from the grain in surfaces when sanding. Other varieties of cedar may perform differently.

Garet

[Pete1616]

I've been using cedar for years. I was part of four WW2 vets in st carharines Ontario.
The shop was adjacent to a ravine wth a variety of trees, I locked onto what they called "swamp cedar" great to carve, and as I never paint my work, it's pretty to look at!
Later I discovered that the proper name is "eastern red cedar" After the last of my friends died I put two logs into the back of my station wagon, got them milled, and carved for years.
Now, thanks to Ken Nobles kindness I have eight models to complete. After that I'm unsure wether my arthritic hands  will keep going....just have to think about it....

[Gearup]

Hello Pete. Sounds like you have your work layer out. It's nice to have a good supply of wood. Of course getting to know what the material will do by working with it, makes the carving more fun. I have some reclaimed cedar that I made some deck boxes, small furniture and wood turnings with. It is really a pretty wood and I only leave it clear finished to see the wood show though.

Keep up the carving!

Fraser