[kkalin78]

I 've got two western cedar slabs for 50 on moving sale. (I think this is not a steal deal but is it fair price?) They are dry and ready to go. Both slabs are 4 1/2 inch thick. One is 12'' wide and 2 feet long and another is 10'' x 1.5 feet. I have a band saw so I can do re-sawing. Kinda asking an advice what I can do with it

P.S. Asked my wife if she wants to something specific that can be built. Her ideas require more than I have now.

 

[Brian T.]

If it's clear & straight-grained, the price was on the high side.
If there are any knots, it's junk.
I live in the middle of it so what I pay varies from free to $5 for pieces like that. If I see something nice at a mill, I'll buy a short length of log to cut up and bring home.

WRC splits very easily, mostly when you least espect it. Yet, I've been carving WRC for 15? years.

At this very moment, I'm building an umbrella stand for my D1. Tapered box 16" tall, 8x8 at the top, 6x6 at the bottom, slab base.
Four relief carvings in the tapered sides. Orca, salmon, frog, beaver. I split 1" slabs out of a shake block, all since by hand. Think it will look OK, birch pegs for contrast.
= = =
Bigger pieces, very good wood, are often used for feast bowls & dishes here in the Pacific Northwest.

 

[mmwood_1]

Yeah, I think you got hosed. Those are firewood scraps around here.

 

[kkalin78]

It's straight and knots free. Otherwise I would not buy it.

 

[Brian T.]

OK, that's great. I don't blink to buy good carving wood.

mmwood1: I hear you. When there's so much of it, there's little need to be selective = it's wood! It burns! I scrounged and hoarded WRC for years, maybe had a cord for carving, not counting the logs. Last summer, I spent the time to evaluate my stash and got rid of 2/3 of it.

"junk" = knots were branches exposed to the air. Here, the air is dirty, so is the rain and snow, there's mountain rock dust in everything. While I can carve through knots, I don't know how dirty the surface is/was and I've done some serious damage to big gouges. Never again.

The University of British Columbia, Museum of Anthropology, has an online catalog of some 35,000 pieces that you could search for examples of feast bowls. If you ever get the chance to visit the UBC/MOA, plan 2 days. More than half the collection (50,000?) is in the drawers below the display cabinets.

 

[yank]

I don't mind the knots in cedar, to me they add character to the finished piece. My customers are in agreement also. But I am talking about Eastern Red Cedar.

 

[Itchy Brother]

Every once in a while I see guitar bodies made from it, On ebay . Pretty light wood and dents easy.