Flat Sawn Grain	Quartersawn Grain	End Grain

• General Information:  Eastern red cedar is actually not a type of cedar, but rather, is a type of juniper tree (which in turn is a member of the cypress family).  The wood has a wonderful aromatic smell when being worked, which fades with time, but can be brought back to life by light sanding at a later date.

• Common Names:  Aromatic cedar, aromatic red cedar, eastern redcedar, juniper, red juniper, savin, Virginia pencil cedar

• Color:  White to yellowish-white colored sapwood, and reddish-pink to dark red colored heartwood, sometimes with additional streaks of yellow or white mixed in.

• Density:  32 lbs/ft³ - Relatively lightweight

• Hardness:    882 lbft - Moderately soft (similar to poplar)

• Specific Gravity:  ~0.41

• Drying:  Has a low initial moisture content, and dries quickly compared to many other woods.  Care must be taken to not leave the end grain of undried pieces exposed for any length of time before preparing the wood for drying, as very fine surface checks can appear quickly, potentially growing larger as drying progresses.  So long as the wood is not left in the open air for more than an hour after rough turning, the drying process should be very simple, with little warping and degrade occurring.

• Turning:  Turns very easily, with some tendency to tear out or chip across areas containing end grain.  Sharpening of tools just prior to making any final cuts will ensure a smooth surface.

• Sanding:  Sands very well.  For removing tool marks, 120 or 180 grit sandpaper is recommended.  Will sand to a medium high luster, usually requiring grits no higher than 400 to achieve good results.

• Finishing:  Readily accepts nearly any type of finish.  Accepts stains well, but a preliminary coat of sanding sealer is recommended to provide a consistently even color distribution.  Typically staining is not recommended, as the wood has a color that is naturally pleasing to the eye.

Interested in making a submission...or even several?  All you need to do is e-mail your photo(s) to us, or upload directly through our Facebook page to be eligible.  Please include your name in any emails, and let us know the size and type of wood in each picture that you submit.

"It is perfectly fine to leave a partially turned piece of green wood on the lathe and finish it up later."

Leaving partially turned green wood on the lathe for more than an hour can cause tiny hairline cracks to develop along areas of exposed end grain.  Even if checks are so small that they are invisible, they can still occur, and will likely become larger cracks later as the wood dries.  Need to quickly leave a partially finished project in a hurry?  Place a plastic drawstring trash bag over the blank, and pull the drawstring closed.  The plastic prevents moisture from escaping, stops the wood from drying out, and prevents defects from occurring until you can return to finish up.

This will be part two of a three part series we will be doing on food safe finishes.  In this article, we will be covering the wax based food safe finishes which are readily available on the market today.  In the final part, we will cover blended finishes.

Wax Based Finishes

• Beeswax - Beeswax is produced by honey bees and is food safe.  This wax can be purchased in a number of forms.  Raw, unfiltered beeswax is a light orange-brown color, is moderately soft and will slightly darken most woods when applied.  Filtered beeswax is usually white in color, is slightly harder than raw beeswax, and will not darken woods when applied.  Whichever route you may decide to choose, beeswax is easy to apply, and usually can be buffed to a semi-glossy sheen.  Since this wax is softer, occasional reapplication to heavily used items will be necessary.

• Carnauba Wax -  Carnauba wax is a palm tree extract.  This wax can be purchased in solid, undiluted bars, or in pre-mixed paste forms.  The wax has a very slight yellow color, but typically does not darken woods when used as a finish.  Carnauba wax which is sold in solid bar form is usually applied to woods with a buffing wheel, which uses the heat and friction of the moving wheel to melt the wax into the wood surface while buffing it to a high gloss sheen at the same time.  Diluted carnauba wax can be applied with a cloth, allowed to dry, then buffed to a semi-gloss or high gloss sheen.  Either is an excellent choice for items that will see heavy use, as this wax is very hard and durable. 

• Paraffin Wax - Paraffin wax is a petroleum extract, but not all paraffin waxes are food safe.  Paraffin wax that is used for the canning of foods is a good choice for purchase, as you can know for sure that it is food safe.  This wax is white in color, and does not alter to the color of the wood that it is being applied to.  This wax can be applied (like carnauba wax) with a buffing wheel, or it can be thinned with mineral oil (usually 5 parts oil to 1 part wax) and applied as a paste, allowed to dry, and then buffed to the desired sheen.  This wax is moderately hard, and will need to be reapplied occasionally to maintain a protective surface.

• Soy Wax - Soy wax is an extract of soybean oil, and like paraffin wax, is not always food safe.  Since soy wax is naturally soft compared to other waxes, many manufacturers mix in a variety of additives to increase hardness and durability.  At this time, there are no regulations requiring that manufacturers of soy wax include any list of blended ingredients, so finding soy wax that is food safe can be difficult.  If you are able to find soy wax that is 100% pure, with no additives, then you can be sure that it is safe for use with foods.  The wax varies from light yellow to white in color, and is soft, like beeswax.  It can be applied with a cloth and buffed to a semi-gloss sheen.  Since it is fairly soft, it will require frequent reapplication.

• Blended Waxes - There are a wide variety of blended wax wood finishes available on the market today that are food safe.  Usually these are a mixture of beeswax, carnauba or paraffin wax that are thinned down with some type of food safe oil for ease of application.  There are literally hundreds of different products sold by a wide variety of companies.  In next month's newsletter we will more thoroughly cover these finishes.

If you should decide to use a wax based finish on your project, you will find that you get far greater durability compared to using only an oil based finish (which we covered in last month's newsletter).  Next month we will conclude this series on food safe finishes by covering a variety of blended finishes which are commercially available.