Could somebody tell what the Big differents in Western & Eastern Cedar
There's a guy here in Missouri that builds Bird House, Squirrel Feeder
etc. And he says they have to be made out of Western Cedar & he
can't use Eastern Cedar ??? Does Western Cedar hold up better
out in the weather or what ???
Here is my uneducated effort:
Eastern Red Cedar is actually a Juniper and there are people who are allergic to it. ( Western Cedar has accusations of allergy reactions too)
Western Cedar generally has straight grain and thin sapwood on the outside of the tree.
Juniperous Virgiana is noted for its uneven grain, bark inclusions and spots of sapwood, intermixed in the heartwood, throughout the log.
Western cedar (giant Arborvitae) has similarities, other than color, to White Cedar (Arborvitae) in the East, more-so than similarities to Juniperous Virginana.
Both woods share good longivity and machining characteristics
Easter Red, probably because of its size, is used more for furniture and trim, where-as western Cedar , with its straight grain, is noted for its use in construction, paneling and siding.
Eastern Cedar (Juniperous Virginiana) is highly aromatic but is used in the east for the projects that you list. It is commonly used for bird houses, Bee hives, etc.
The last of the reasons that someone might request one over the other is just individual preference, which may have nothing to do with the wood itself. :)
Muleman that is a totally ridiculous...some of them left coast people probably started a rumor because they were jealous of our cedar. :o
A top secret scientific guvermint study has proven conclusively that birds prefer eastern red cedar housing, especially the cedar coming out of certified sustainable Missouri forests.
Wonder if we could get somebody to fix us up with some officous looking grade stamps....maybe stating something like "A-1 Top Choice Cedar Bird Wood". ;D
If you go into Wal-Mart to the pet section and look at their birdfeeders and bird houses, you will see that most are ERC. From what we make that is used in these things they are selling 100,000 per month. Birds love ERC.
The price of ERC lumber is very stable. The price of WRC goes all over the place.
It may be that the person in Mo. has a customer that demands WRC.
The sapwood on ERC will hold up well if it does not stay wet on a regular basis. We have a 15 year old deck that is holding up great and it gets wet with every rain.
With all the ERC in Mo, I would think that it would be a bargain compared to WRC.
Saw more cedar. 8) 8) 8)
We've kind of worked at not dealing with the public because of their goofy ideas.
I've had people call and want some boards in some very specific dimensions. After a bit of questioning, it turns out they have a specific plan that is laid out so and so and don't have the imagination to figure out the parts could be made from a lot of combination of sizes.
Could be this guy has a bird feeder plan that calls for Western Red Cedar just because that's what the guy had available to work with? smiley_headscratch
I've sold untold hundreds of bf of ERC to a local guy who's a bird nut and builds bunches of birdhouses and nails them up over anybody's farm that'll let him.
Here are a couple of pictures of a bird house I made for my mother a couple of Christmas' back. The top sectioin of the roof lifts off to fill with feed.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10034/wsbirdhouse02.JPG)
Mom on Christmas morning. What is it???
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10034/wsbirdhouse01.JPG)
Installed on post in front yard so she can see the birds feed. (Later moved because it blocked her view of the driveway and she couldn't see who was going by.)
Thanks for the reply guys, When he told me he couldn't use Eastern Cedar & it had to be Western Cedar !
I just thought , he knew something that I didn't ??? I guess not ! ::) I know I use it all the time and never
had any problem with it . Thanks again :)
Sorry maybe I'm in the wrong sied of the world, but I haven't heard of no eastern cedar.
Here in Aus ya here about Western Red Cedar all the time for outdoor lining like weatherboards, but no eastern cedar????????
ERC is exported to Korea and China all the time. Maybe you should get some your way. It is a beautiful wood, great for closet lining, paneling, bird houses, fence posts, fencing etc. I'd be happy to send you a container.
My bathroom closet is lined with eastern red cedar and I have seen a good many hope chests lined with it. It smells nice. :)
What are allergies ???, I never heard tell of them when I was young. ;)
Allergies are usually respiratory in nature. I experience sinusitus for up to two days after sawing large amounts of ERC and the drier the wood, the more intense the symptoms.
Allergies listed that I've found are: Asthma, allergic rhinitis and allergic conjunctivitis.
Most allergy complaints come from the pollen rather than the fumes from the boards. I think that we, as sawyers, may be affectied because of the inhalation of small dust particles.
Once in awhile we will have someone go to work here that is bothered by the aroma or dust. OSHA just checked us and we are at 10% of allowable, so we are in good shape.
There are areas of Oklahoma where the trees are so dense and the areas covered so vast that the pollen is causing a lot of problems.
Ever since this guy told me he had to have Western Cedar & not Eastern Cedar
It really kind of bug me as Why ??? So today I went & ask him the question Why ?
And this was his answer- Western Cedar is allot softer wood then Eastern and is
easier to work with. And the place he is supply his product to request that kind of
wood. So I ask him , If Eastern Cedar is harder, then which holds up in the Weather
better, His answer was Eastern Cedar !! Any how he was complaining about the
price he was paying for Western Cedar & Is now thinking of quitting the guy he is
supplying to now & go with Eastern Cedar ! That works for me :) ;D