Uses of Spanish Cedar and Western Red Cedar
- Common Uses. Cedar is widely used for making classical guitars and is an excellent choice for steel-string acoustics as well.
- Spanish Cedar Uses. Spanish Cedar is widely used for making veneer sheets or plywood. ...
- Western Red Cedar. Western red cedar is light in weight, but strong wood. ...
What are the advantages of Spanish cedar?
Here, Spanish cedar offers a whole host of advantages: Aroma: The special aroma of Spanish cedar wood harmonizes exceedingly well with the aromas of the tobacco and has a positive effect on the flavour development of the cigars. Moisture Buffer: Spanish cedar wood can store large quantities of moisture and release it back into the environment.
Where does cedar wood come from in Spain?
Spanish Cedar. Some of the wood available at present comes from plantations: where younger, faster-growing trees, produce wood that is lower in density, and paler in color than wood cut from trees taken from forests in the wild.
Is Spanish cedar wood toxic?
Allergies/Toxicity: Although severe reactions are quite uncommon, Spanish Cedar wood dust has been reported as a respiratory irritant. See the articles Wood Allergies and Toxicity and Wood Dust Safety for more information.
What is the common name for cedar trees?
Common Name (s): Spanish Cedar, Cedro Scientific Name: Cedrela odorata Distribution: Native to Central and South America and the Caribbean; also grown on plantations
Is Spanish Cedar the same as cedar?
Spanish cedar is also not a cedar. It's a hardwood, closely related to mahogany. Spanish cedar is the ideal wood for humidors.
Is Spanish Cedar good?
Spanish Cedar is a great choice for many uses. It has been used in furniture products, window blinds, doors, boat building, pattern work, and even garage doors due to its pleasing appearance and lightweight. Compared to other tropical hardwoods, Spanish Cedar is comparatively lighter.
Is Spanish Cedar A good exterior wood?
As an exterior product, Spanish Cedar is great but so are Sapele and Utile. These species are cheaper but also heavier and denser. They are fantastic in appearance and weather resistance, and available in wide and long without problem.
How can you tell if wood is Spanish Cedar?
Spanish Cedar has a color characteristic of being pink to dark reddish brown with a purplish tinge from time to time. Its grain patterns are typically straight and fine.
Are cigar boxes made of Spanish cedar?
Cigar boxes are traditionally made from wood (particularly Spanish cedar), but tin, cardboard and even plastic have been used. There are several traditional styles. A Dress Box or Semi-Plain Box is the most common type of cigar box.
Is Spanish cedar water resistant?
Owing to this moisture-resistant nature, it is an ideal material that can be used to create decors in the humid regions. Spanish Cedar Decking is among the most durable materials that will make the décor to stay for long without reducing quality.
Does Spanish Cedar warp?
If special attention is paid during kiln drying, Spanish Cedar's tendency towards warpage and weeping can be avoided; not every lumber wholesaler, though, has the right equipment for properly drying this wood.
Can Spanish Cedar be used outdoors?
Consistently durable, Spanish Cedar is also used for general outdoor and construction work, paneling and veneer wood.
Can you paint Spanish Cedar?
In my experience with Spanish cedar, it mills nicely and takes paint very well. I do find that the dust is rather irritating on the nose and lungs, so breathing protection may be more of a necessity.
Is Spanish cedar toxic?
Odor: Has a distinct, lingering, cedar-like scent; this characteristic of the wood makes it a favorite for cigar boxes. Allergies/Toxicity: Although severe reactions are quite uncommon, Spanish Cedar wood dust has been reported as a respiratory irritant.
Does Spanish cedar look like mahogany?
Spanish cedar (Cedrela odorata) is harvested from Central and South America. While it may look like mahogany, it's not as hard.
How do you finish a Spanish cedar?
Finishing Spanish Cedar Spanish cedar accepts finishes well. I regularly use oil, lacquer, and shellac on various projects I have cut from Spanish cedar. My favorite technique is to apply tung oil until the wood stops absorbing the oil. I let it dry overnight, then try to rub in more tung oil.
Is Spanish Cedar sustainable?
Sustainability: This wood species is in CITES Appendix III, and is on the IUCN Red List. It is listed as vulnerable due to a population reduction of over 20% in the past three generations, caused by a decline in its natural range, and exploitation.
Does Spanish Cedar look like mahogany?
Spanish cedar (Cedrela odorata) is harvested from Central and South America. While it may look like mahogany, it's not as hard.
Does a humidor have to be lined with Spanish Cedar?
The veneer of the interior wood should be untreated. For long-term cigar storage those humidors should be preferred, which are lined with Spanish cedar. All adorini humidors are made exclusively with an interior lining of Spanish cedar.
What is the best wood for a cigar humidor?
Spanish cedarAfter doing some research online, you've probably noticed a trend – Spanish cedar is considered the best wood for a cigar humidor. And this is true. In fact, Spanish cedar is so good at withstanding humidity and maintaining temperature that all of the higher-quality models are built from this type of wood.
Why is Spanish Cedar Used in Humidors?
You’ve likely seen Spanish cedar listed in the description of a humidor – but have you ever wondered why humidor makers use this particular wood?
Jared Gulick
Jared Gulick is an avid cigar smoker, nerd of all things science, musician and serial abuser of the Oxford comma. He got his start in the cigar industry in 2013. A Certified Tobacconist, Jared made his way to the Famous Smoke Shop retail store in 2018 - then joined the Cigar Advisor team when it was discovered that he could locate the shift key.
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What is a humidor made of?
A humidor can be made from a variety of materials though only the wood lining inside the humidor is truly decisive. Almost all humidors, of every price range, are now being made using an MDF core with a layer of wood veneer lining the inside. The most important issue then, is the type and thickness of the wood used in the interior. Here, Spanish cedar offers a whole host of advantages:
Does cedar wood repel beetles?
Protection from tobacco beetles: Spanish cedar wood acts as a natural insect repellent and reduces the risk of your cigars being plagued by tobacco beetles.
Where is Spanish cedar grown?
Spanish Cedar is still trickling out of South America but it is also now being grown on plantations in Africa. While still technically the same genus and couple of species, Cedrela odorata, fissilis, huberi, the quality and properties are not quite the same. This time I’ll provide some tips to help you buy Spanish Cedar today to ensure you get what you actually need, and I’ll discuss some better alternative species that you should consider instead.
Why is Spanish cedar so hard to dry?
Finally, Spanish Cedar is more difficult to dry than other species because of the highly resinous nature. When poorly dried, the Cedar will weep.
When buying plantation cedar, should caution be taken?
When buying plantation Cedar caution should be taken to ensure it is dried properly or it will be practically unusable. The issue arises when someone who has worked with good quality South American Spanish Cedar before, calls and orders it without stipulating origin.
Is Spanish cedar cheaper than Sapele?
As an exterior product, Spanish Cedar is great but so are Sapele and Utile. These species are cheaper but also heavier and denser.
Where does Spanish cedar grow?
The sole hardwood and only import of this group, Spanish cedar (Cedrela oderata) grows natively in Central and South America, and has been planted in Florida. This relative of mahoganies can grow to 100' tall. Within its range, Spanish cedar gets used for everything from furniture to windows and cabinetry.
What is yellow cedar used for?
Boatbuilders use it for decks, railings, and interior paneling. Yellow cedar ranges in color from creamy white to sulfur yellow, with occasional dark streaks. The wood machines beautifully, glues and stains well, and develops a satiny sheen. Sources: Luthier's supply companies, specialty hardwood dealers.
What wood is used for cigar humidors?
Though harder to obtain in the United States and Europe, Spanish cedar has become the wood of choice for lining cigar humidors because of its aromatic oils and moisture resistance. The lightweight wood bears straight grain and proves easy to machine and finish.
What wood is used for decking?
Sorting out the cedars. To some woodworkers, cedar ranks high as the wood of choice for building decks. Others rely on it for lining closets or cigar humidors. How can one wood be so versatile?
Why is yellow cedar used in string instruments?
Native Americans used yellow cedar to produce ultralight, durable canoe paddles and many other useful items. Today, makers of stringed musical instruments prize the wood because of its excellent sound quality.
Why is cedar used in closets?
Most people refer to this wood as "aromatic cedar" because of its pungent natural oils, and use it to line closets and hope chests to ward off insects. Little scientific data exists, however, to show the wood repels bugs effectively.
What is the color of heartwood?
But contact with the sawdust can cause rashes and respiratory problems. The heartwood of this species bears a consistent reddish-brown tone, sometimes tinged with pink. Knots prove prevalent in lower grades, though "clear" grades are available.
Characteristics
Appearance
- Endgrain: Can range from ring-porous to diffuse-porous; medium-large earlywood pores, small-medium latewood pores; solitary and radial multiples of 2-3; mineral deposits (red gum) occasionally present; growth rings distinct due to terminal parenchyma in diffuse-porous samples, or lines of larger pores in ring-porous samples; rays usually visible without lens; parenchyma ban…
Safety
- Allergies/Toxicity: Although severe reactions are quite uncommon, Spanish Cedar wood dust has been reported as a respiratory irritant. See the articles Wood Allergies and Toxicity and Wood Dust Safety for more information.
Usage
- Pricing/Availability: Generally in adequate availability, Spanish Cedar is sometimes sold in thinner 1/4 lumber for use in liners and other small craft projects. Spanish Cedar should be in the low to moderate price range for imported lumber. Common Uses: Veneer, plywood, cabinetry, musical instruments, (flamenco and classical guitars), humidors, an...
Conservation status
- Sustainability: This wood species is in CITES Appendix III, and is on the IUCN Red List. It is listed as vulnerable due to a population reduction of over 20% in the past three generations, caused by a decline in its natural range, and exploitation.
Conservation
- Comments: A historically valuable Latin-American timber, Spanish Cedar has been exploited in many regions, and the species is now considered to be vulnerable according to the IUCN. Its also listed on the CITES Appendix III for the countries of Brazil, Bolivia, Columbia, Guatemala, and Peru. (Its listing in Appendix III simply means that the countries listed have voluntarily chosen to contr…
Physical characteristics
- Not a true cedar, Spanish Cedar is actually more closely related to true Mahoganies (Swietenia and Khaya genera), as both are in the Meliaceae family. Density and mechanical properties can vary widely depending on country of origin and growing conditions; (specific gravity can vary from .30 to as high as .60 in some instances). Some of the wood available at present comes from pla…