DennisS wrote:
Don't know what the red cedar is like in Mass. but out here what we have doesn't make very good turning wood. At least I don't like turning it. In fact it's rather toxic to the breathing system. Makes good shingles and shakes, though.
Two completely different woods, neither of them cedar, BTW. The Aromatic or eastern red
Juniperus virginiana is one of the driest woods on the stump, and so oily that you can finish it by burnishing.
Not that I've turned much of it. My kid was transferring from Missouri to Germany a number of years back, and brought a trailer north on his visit. Couple hundred of leftover cherry and couple hundred of red cedar. The cherry was for me, I found. Of course I had plenty of cherry. The cedar was for a set of outdoor furniture he had promised his neighbor, and he just needed to get it made into S4S. I got maybe three boards, and reminded genius boy that the local cherry is more attractive and inexpensive, but red cedar doesn't grow until you're 300 miles south.
Only bad attribute on the eastern is its susceptibility to heat. It crackles and pops like Rice Krispies if you press while sanding.