Buying western red cedar

[melias]

Has anyone found a good source of western red cedar in the UK?
Anybody interested in splitting a purchase as I see that many suppliers have a comparatively large minimum order.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Has anyone found a good source of western red cedar in the UK?

The forestry commission and crown estates, or many other well managed estates also have western red for sale.

 

[Russel]

Has anyone found a good source of western red cedar in the UK?
Anybody interested in splitting a purchase as I see that many suppliers have a comparatively large minimum order.

Try these guys, Cilfiegan sawmill . Very accommodating re: sizes etc, cheaper for cedar than T. Perkins are for pine and have delivered up the M4 to someone on here according to the owner when he bought a jar of our honey at the Usk xmas fayre ?
BTW not connected and other suppliers available
Russ

 

[tyke]

I get mine from Norbury Park sawmill near Leatherhead. Very accommodating bunch. Their delivery charges are really high, but they are local to me so I can collect. They are having an open day on 11 May, so why not make it a day out and arrange to collect some timber at the same time.

Be careful though as it isn't dried and weighs quite a bit. But there is no minimum order value as far as I know.
Andy

 

[oliver90owner]

as it isn't dried and weighs quite a bit

So this is rough-sawn planks and would need seasoning and then machining to thickness?

 

[Tom Bick]

Try these guys, Cilfiegan sawmill . Very accommodating re: sizes etc, cheaper for cedar than T. Perkins are for pine and have delivered up the M4 to someone on here according to the owner when he bought a jar of our honey at the Usk xmas fayre ?
BTW not connected and other suppliers available
Russ

They may have delivered to others but that may have been me as I had a few cubic meters from them in the past and very nice people to deal with.

 

[tyke]

Oliver

Yes it's rough sawn but they will plane to thickness, for a 10% surcharge. Air drying should only take about 4 months as I have found WRC dries very quickly compared to other timbers. The planed timber doesn't seem to shrink much, if any, in thickness but does lose some in the width. The other nice thing is that they can supply me wide boards to be able to make up 14 x 12 boxes.

Buying the wood this way works out 50% - 70% cheaper than kiln dried PAR timber. One of the drawbacks is that as it's normally felled and cut to order you don't get a chance to sort through the planks and reject any that have too many knots.

The other thing that is very noticeable with UK grown WRC is that it is paler than the more commonly supplied US timber. Also it is grown more quickly and the timber does seem to be more susceptible to knots.

Andy

 

[Russel]

They may have delivered to others but that may have been me as I had a few cubic meters from them in the past and very nice people to deal with.

Hi Tom,

Yes they are and their timber's not shabby either.
Must call by to pick up that commission cheque?

Russ

 

[valbee]

Hi,
I got some really nice red cedar from e.l.warren based in west drayton. Its not too far away from you if you have car. I ordered sawn, and there were no knots in any of it.
They will cut you anything you want no minimum order as they stock it.

 

[melias]

Finally picked up my western red cedar. It's green (sawed last week).

Anybody know how long it will take to dry? It's in a garage and smells wonderful!

 

[pargyle]

Finally picked up my western red cedar. It's green (sawed last week).

Anybody know how long it will take to dry? It's in a garage and smells wonderful!

It's not altogether about when it was sawn - how long was it since the tree was felled ?

The time that it will take to 'season' (dry) will depend upon the thickness of the planks, the amount of moisture still in the timber and the environment in which it sits to season. You really don't want it to 'dry' too quickly and so it would really be better sat outside with the planks piled up horizontally with 1" spacers in between each plank to let the air circulate, ideally you want it undercover but exposed to the air. Paint the end grain with some paraffin wax (or beeswax if you have it) as this will even out the drying and prevent splitting at the ends and warping. Buy yourself a cheap moisture meter from ebay (only a couple of quid) and start measurments on a weekly basis; you will be looking at achieving anywhere less than about 20% to have completely (relatively) stable timber. If the tree has been felled for some time it may not take too long to reach a usable state - I tend to season my timber for turning for at least 12 months but for hive construction and planks you could be looking at a lot less.

You could use it 'green' but the chances are that it will move (shrink or warp) and you could end up with boxes that are misshaped.

 

[BDave]

I Bought a load of cedar from Timbersource in Frome last year. Seemed reasonably priced. Was rough sawn, but planing/thicknessing wasn't expensive.

 

[tyke]

For most woods the rule of thumb is a year for each inch of thickness. However I have found mine to be dry within 6 months. WRC is a stable wood and you shouldn't find that it shrinks or warps too much. As recommended above stick it to allow it to air dry.

Andy

 

[4220colin]

Western Red Cedar

I have had two deliveries of W.R.C from Southgate Timber in Essex. Fairly good quality. Next day delivery by carrier. This was kiln dried PAR. Ring them and they will explain about the quality. They will not sort it for you but my orders had few small knots.
Colin.