White Cedar

[Jeff Tranauskas]

Ken,
I have a 60' tall American White Cedar tree that has to come down to make way for the new addition.
Does this wood have any value?
I was planning on cutting it up and splitting it for the burn pile.
The base of the tree is about 24"-28" across.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Jeff Tranauskas

Ken,
I have a 60' tall American White Cedar tree that has to come down to make way for the new addition.
Does this wood have any value?
I was planning on cutting it up and splitting it for the burn pile.
The base of the tree is about 24"-28" across.

Well, I am sure that somewhere in the world it has a value to someone but I have no idea really. Maybe the bigger piece from the 'butt' log can be sold off for lumber and the upper branches dried and used for burning in the fire place. Just a though.. good luck with it though.. Sorry I couldn't be of more help with this.

[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.

[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.