Trade Names
Cedar
Similar Woods
White Cedar, Utile
Origin
Northwest Africa, Asia, in the Himalayas.
Range
The best known Cedars are the Atlas Cedar native to Northwest Africa, today’s almost extinct Cedar of Lebanon as well as the Himalayan Cedar, the so-called Deodar. In Europe the Cedar is known as a cultivated garden and park tree. The Cedar of Lebanon belongs to those three species with highest live expectancy and can get up to 3,000 years old.
Uses
Cedar is used for furniture making but was earlier a popular lumber for shipbuilding.
Properties
Light-reddish wood which has a characteristic pungent odor.
Machining
Cedar can be worked well by hand and machine. Planed surfaces have a light gloss but tools become quickly dull due to its resin content.
Seasoning
Cedar dries quickly and without any great problems. It is only slightly prone to checking and warping.
Finishing
Surface treatment is possible but only with great difficulty because of the high resin and oil content resisting varnishing. A slight improvement is achieved by washing with wood soap.
Jointing
Wood joints can be produced without any difficulty with glue, screws and nails and are very durable.