Western Red Cedar

[darrenjttu]

Does WR cedar dry faster than most woods? I have herd of it only taking six weeks to air dry. I found that hard to believe.

[NWwoodsman]

yep dries quik, I don't know about 6 weeks, depends if it rains :D

[slohand]

WRC, especially 4/4 cut will dry out very fast... a matter of days if the sun is out.  It will also pick up moisture really quick. I have seen boards left out in the sun lose half their weight in less than a week.

[troutcreekman]

I have cut about 11000 bd ft of WRC in the last two years. Stickered and covered it will dry extremely quickly. I get a good wind blowing where it is stacked and it has dryed in a few weeks to 6-8%. I have heard that if you kiln dry second growth to fast it will collapse the cellular structure of the wood and damage it.   David

[SwampDonkey]

Western red is one of those woods where it's green weight (water) is not a high percentage of it's wood substance. Eastern white cedar (thuja) has similar wood/water properties as does eastern red (juniperus).

[darrenjttu]

Thanks for all the replaies. Now I just have to go cut one down.