spanish cedar

Chris Mire

Member
Messages
945
Location
Southern Louisiana
I have heard stuff about spanish cedar bubbling after it is finished. Maybe even bleeding some color through. anyone have any experience with this stuff. I am thinking of making some cabinets for my master bath out of it.

thanks
chris
 
Hiya Chris,

I don't have any personal experience with Spanish Cedar, but once again WoodWeb comes to the rescue: Spanish Cedar Oozing Sap

From another source:

One concern to some users is the amount of gum or resin in the wood. In my experience, this problem seems more common with South American cedar, but it is not common in any case. The gum can exude out through the wood and finish and create small dark spots for many years. Sometimes there is a vapor emission from the gum which tends to cloud glass used in proximity of the wood. The gum cannot be hardened or "set" in the kiln drying process.


It almost sounds like the way pine (and construction grade lumber) will ooze sap for a long time.

Not sure I'd risk it...:dunno:
- Marty -
 
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thanks marty,

they built my exterior doors for my new house out of that. they use that for most exterior doors around here, unless it's cypress. I want to build a wooden tub surround and I want something that can withstand the moisture. I know the type and quality of the finish will help alot, but I still want a wood that is good in that enviroment. and it also has to stain dark because that is what LOML wants.

thanks for the help
still waiting on "IT" :D

Chris
 
Spanish cedar is used for furniture in south America, as a lining for cigar humidors (from single cigar to room size), and apparently for front doors in your town. It is not a cedar, but smells somewhat like aromatic cedar.

I was warned to watch out for spanish cedar with sap pockets, because it would ooze forever (apparently what Marty found), but you can buy the "clear" wood that doesn't apparently have the problem (none of my stock has oozed).

Since it is used for furniture and front doors, I assume it finishes well, unlike real aromatic cedar, where the chemical that makes the anti-bug aroma is also a component of paint remover. I have heard horror stories of cedar chests where the finish on the inside of the fine hardwood lid or other parts got gooey/stickey over time. The theory was that shellac might survive the cedar, or I might try some of the new water base conversion varnishes, etc., but if I were to build something of aromatic cedar today, I would be sure the inside didn't have any components that needed finishing.

I have not had any problem with unfinished spanish cedar in cigar humidors hurting the surrounding finish.
 
I have heard stuff about spanish cedar bubbling after it is finished. Maybe even bleeding some color through. anyone have any experience with this stuff. I am thinking of making some cabinets for my master bath out of it.

thanks
chris

Hi Chris :wave:,
With some help from my friends :thumb:, I did a cigar bar about 15 years ago. The doors for each locker were spanish cedar. Some of the doors did ooze the sap that would not stop, most did not. SInce it is for you, maybe just the stiles, rails, doors and molding could be the cedar as it is nice to work, with plywood boxes, that way if a problem occurs, ( my oozing cedar occured after the doors were made) you can extract that part of the facade if necessary.
Here is aphoto of the lockers with doors that worked out well. Also shown after that are pictures of doors we did not use that are like that even now. The percentage was about 8%. :dunno:Don't know how you know before hand.:huh:
scan0002.jpg

Doors green room 2008 005.jpg

Doors green room 2008 007.jpg

Doors green room 2008 008.jpg
Good luck!
Shaz :)
P.S. All these doors were left unfinished.
 
thanks shaz. i remember those doors, they are very nice and very unique

maybe one day when your posting slows down you could do a tutorial on how you built those. i am very curious to see how those went together.

i think i will drop in one of the door shops here locally and see if they have had problems with the ooozing, also i will talk to my painter. he finishes that stuff all the time, although he did come to prime the doors with something special so that it wouldn't bubble. :dunno:

my wife's cousin had some cabinets built in his home over 6 years ago and they were spanish cedar, well some were. to my knowledge he has had no problems.

isn't mahogany supposed to be really good in moist enviroments? of course teak is but i can't afford it, plus we want something really dark.

charlie, thanks for the input and all the extra info. i have seen first hand what aromatic cedar can do to a finish, but man it sure is beautiful and smells fantastic.
 
isn't mahogany supposed to be really good in moist enviroments? of course teak is but i can't afford it, plus we want something really dark.

Hi Chris :wave:,
I have heard there are 256 varieties of Mahogany. :dunno:, I'm a wood butcher so can't confirm.

Have had the occcasion to construct Hot Tubs from the premade mahogany slats, back in my deck and arbor building days. :rolleyes: That mahogany would swell a bit when wet and seal any voids. It is resistent to moisture but will turn grey if left unsealed.

It is a beautiful wood. I like the African Mahogany for the grain and striated tones. Check with Hogan's Hardwoods, I think they are headquartered out of Boosier City, Louisiana.
Good luck and keep us tuned in to your progress.:thumb:
Shaz :)
 
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