Eastern Red Cedar- drying question

[treelady2020]

Hi! An Eastern Red Cedar recently fell in my yard and I am hoping to make a table top (small side table) and a couple cutting boards out of the wood. Because the wood will have to dry completely and may crack and check, would you recommend cutting slices the size I want to make the finished products, or should I cut one large log, dry it completely, and then cut into pieces after? 


If you have any other recommendations or advice when working with Eastern Red Cedar, I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks!

[stavebuyer]

Cut the pieces about a foot longer to compensate for end splits(sealing the ends will help). You need extra thickness to account shrinkage from drying as well as to finish plane if you plan on that. Amount extra needed for thickness will increase with the thickness of the finished piece. 3/4" dried and finished lumber needs to start at 1 1/8". A 2" slab needs at least extra 1/2".

Eastern Red Cedar probably one of the easiest woods to dry and is very forgiving. I have built indoor furniture with air dried cedar that held  up quite well.

Welcome to the forum.

[bwstout]

I use a lot of in in chest picnic tables swings. I saw it let it air dry for a couple of weeks in side my shop and have had no issue other than the ends splitting. I saw it at 1" and 2" as already said some times it will shrink and it want plan out to 3/4 but for the stuff I build it ok for it to be less. Again if you want to plan down to stander  lumber size after it has dry for a couple of weeks cut it  1 1/8" to get 3/4 boards 2" will easily make 1"1/2 lumber. Again only real issue I have is it splitting even after it has dried for while sometimes when I cut it to length it will split again. 

[PC-Urban-Sawyer]

... Because the wood will have to dry completely and may crack and check, would you recommend cutting slices the size I want to make the finished products, or should I cut one large log, dry it completely, and then cut into pieces after?

Based on the quote I think you may intending to cut slices (better known as "cookies" rather than "boards" or "lumber". If so, the answers and advice we may want to give in this case.

[treelady2020]

@PC-Urban-Sawyer Yes, for most of the pieces I hope to make, they will be 'cookies' rather than 'boards' (except for one cutting board I want to make a rectangle and plan to cut a rectangle down through the middle of the log as it stands vertically). How would you proceed or advise when cutting and drying the cookies? Thanks!

[Cedarman]

Cedar shrinks very little as it dries.  When we plane to 3/4, we saw 7/8".  At $1.80 per board foot, you are wasting $.45 per board foot.  I can't afford to throw $900 into the shavings pile when we S2S 2000' of lumber.  If you notice, ERC lumber does not get the little checks like hardwood does.  When planing posts to 3 7/16", we saw at 3 5/8".  After drying to 12% for a month or two, it will plane easily to 3 7/16".
Most cedar boards are sawn from 3 1/2 to 8".  We do not see any cupping except in rare instances.  Very rare.
When sawing through and through we leave the boards set to keep the weight on the remaining cant.  This helps keep the cant from bowing if would tend to do so. 
For wide slabs extra length is not a bad thing.  Coat the ends and do not let sit in the sun.  Shed drying is best.