White Cedar

[Jeff Tranauskas]

Originally Posted by David Powell

I think that it might be used for acoustic guitar tops. I friend of mine built a lute out of it and he said it was great for lutes and guitars. So you might save and seal the largest logs. In 15 years it will make some guitar tops.

David,
Thank you for the good advice.
I am not trying to sell this wood just looking for a good home for it if somebody has a use.
It is a great tree and I am sorry to see it go.
Maybe someday I will build a db with a Cedar top plate, tulip poplar back plate and black walnut ribs.
I'll use the leftovers to fire the still.
I purchased a drawing set, tools and I have the workshop, now if I could only get some time...

[Jeff Tranauskas]

Well the Cedar is down but not forgotten.
I managed to collect some small seeds before I put most of it in the shredder.
I counted 61 growth rings on the stump.
The tree is no longer standing in the way of progress, I plan to pull the stump out with my backhoe on Saturday.
I will cut the log into planks for installation in the closet.
The tree was larger at the base than previously thought with a diagonal measurement of nearly 38".
Now the whole house smells like cedar!

[David Powell]

38", WOW! That's a big cedar tree. I guess those are pretty fast growth if it was only 61 years old. How tall was it?? There's some aromatic board feet in all of that.

[Anselm Hauke]

you could make a humidor from that cedar-wood

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Anselm Hauke

you could make a humidor from that cedar-wood

Just one or one big enough to live in?

[Anselm Hauke]

one for the double-coronas
and the Montechristo A´s

[Anselm Hauke]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

Just one or one big enough to live in?

a "walk-in" humidor

[Jeff Tranauskas]

I spoke with Dr. (I can't use his name) at Morris Arboretum about the Cedar early in the day, before I dropped the tree. They have several cedars on campus that look to be about 150' tall.
He told me that the American (aka Atlantic) cedar is quick to germinate but slow to grow.
He also told me that the tree would probably not survive if extensive excavation occurred within the drip line. (The new building footer is approximately 1.5 lnft from the base of the tree.)
The interesting thing about the growth rings is that some are very wide apart and others are much closer together. I guess that the tree had experienced some growth spurts in the past.
I have owned the house for 13 years and it really did grow a lot in that time.

Ken, when you chose the black walnut for the most fantastic BG's ever produced do you look at the growth rings on the log or do you have it cut into planks first before you accept it? How do you know the wood will have all of the required figure? Is it hit and miss?

I have about (30) black walnut trees. Most are heavily damaged by carpenter ants.
I might be off topic but how do you tell when the wood will make a good bass?

I do believe there will be enough wood for at least (2) walk-in humidors.