I've been playing around with some aromatic Cedar again. I tried to put together some of the more colorful pieces to make it more eye appealing, its about 4 inches long. Cedar is very soft and easy to mess up. I was going to leave it unfinished so the smell would be in the air. However I decided against it because that smell only lasts a limited time and by next Christmas, it would be gone.

Edited November 30, 20205 yr by Ron Altier

Very nice Ron. Is that purple heart in there also?

41 minutes ago, DuckSoup said:

Very nice Ron. Is that purple heart in there also?

No just Cedar. I picked out what I guessed would have good color. You never know what you'll get till  you turn it

Wow, I would have bet purple heart on the right side of the sphere & in the stem.

That "turned" out really good!

 

Love the colors in this one!

When I bought the cedar board, the clerk asked if I really wanted such a discolored, knotty board. I told him that was the reason I bought it. If I told him it was going to be used for Christmas ornaments, he wouldn't have believe me.  I just said "Yep thats the one I want"

Well another new idea that worked. I love the look of cedar but refuse to turn it with the toxic dust and sanding problems. You are a good man Gunga Din.

How does cedar work against the gouges?  And, did you laminate anything in the finial?  

 

Ron, that is a beautiful turning.  I love it.  Great job.  

18 minutes ago, FlGatorwood said:

How does cedar work against the gouges?  And, did you laminate anything in the finial?  

 

Ron, that is a beautiful turning.  I love it.  Great job.  

If doing just spindles it turns wonderfully. A doctor in my club told us the sawdust has small hooks and when inhaled does not come out. Cedar is also prone to cracking and just not easy to repair. Sanding it is bad enough but if sanding details almost impossible. Reason for this is that the soft wood is easily scratched and the scratch pattern just seems to go deeper and deeper (IMHO).Sanding must be done lightly toavoid this and do not use any lower grit than absolutely needed.

Because of cutting some masonite on a table saw one time for a few minutes causing me lung problems, I now wear a mask when making any kind of sawdust.  I can think of sawdust going into the lungs, not breaking down and never coming back out.  I don't know about that, but I think your doctor would be correct.  Also, cedar and other evergreens have some acid or something that irritate the skin and cause problems according to my Shopsmith book.  So far, it has not accumulated sufficiently to cause a problem and my dermatologist has not said anything about it.  

 

I knew that cedar was an irritant, but did not know how bad it could be. Thanks for the info. When turning I used a good quality mask that has two large filters and full face shield. I doubt I'll be turning it again with this new info. It is not worth the risk.