Bandsaw and Western Red Cedar

[rjent]

I am going to assume that WRC is no harder a wood to cut as any other in it's class. Or at least is not a problem. I will continue to work with the BS setup to see if I am doing something wrong. Like I said, the mahogany logs are really cutting nice and resawing a 2x4 is a piece of cake. I will work it out ...

Thanks for the help and suggestions!

Dick

[vmhaas]

Let me ask a silly question: is the log trying to spin on the table and binding the blade? That might explain your symptoms...

Regards,

[rjent]

Let me ask a silly question: is the log trying to spin on the table and binding the blade? That might explain your symptoms...

Regards,

I had taken an ax and split the "log" in half, then was quarter sawing (in theory). I think Gene may have hit on the problem, I may have dulled the blade. I had bought two blades and put the other one on to do a project and I will revisit this issue as soon as that project is done. I would really like to make some veneer to use on some special boxes that I have planned, but I have to get the WRC to cut like everything else does first .....

Thanks for trying to help vmhaas!

Dick

[beeg]

What kind of blade are you using?

[roy_okc]

It has been 30-some years since I last messed with old fence posts, both some sort of cedar probably native to Kansas, not sure it was WRC, and osage orange, and then only cutting with a chain saw for firewood, but the only thing harder than those ancient cedar posts was the just as ancient osage orange. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if those posts we cut weren't 50-75 or more years old. Sitting through a few decades of exposure to the elements makes them so hard it is tough to drive a fence staple (about the same diameter as a 12p nail) into the cedar and sometimes impossible in the OO posts.

[charlese]

Hmmm, no answer yet? Well I'll throw in a couple of guesses that haven't yet been mentioned.

Guess #1 - The wood really isn't Western Red Cedar. WRC is a softwood (conifer) that ranks very low on the hardness scale. It also turns grey upon aging. I've never heard of red color to the wood of WRC.
If the wood appears to have a redish tint. My guess is it could be Eastern Red Cedar, which is in the Juniper family. It's wood has a red heart and can be very hard.

Guess #2 - I apologize for this guess - It does not assume any lack of knowledge, but does come back to the "operator". Hey! It's been done before, even by some of our forum members.
Have you looked closely at the blade? Perhaps it has been turned inside out! If so, the points of the teeth will face up, rather than down. Once discovered, this is a bandsaw problem that is easy to fix.

[rjent]

Hmmm, no answer yet? Well I'll throw in a couple of guesses that haven't yet been mentioned.

Guess #1 - The wood really isn't Western Red Cedar. WRC is a softwood (conifer) that ranks very low on the hardness scale. It also turns grey upon aging. I've never heard of red color to the wood of WRC.
If the wood appears to have a redish tint. My guess is it could be Eastern Red Cedar, which is in the Juniper family. It's wood has a red heart and can be very hard.

Guess #2 - I apologize for this guess - It does not assume any lack of knowledge, but does come back to the "operator". Hey! It's been done before, even by some of our forum members.
Have you looked closely at the blade? Perhaps it has been turned inside out! If so, the points of the teeth will face up, rather than down. Once discovered, this is a bandsaw problem that is easy to fix.

Well sir, you are a master, and I stand corrected (with some qualification )

What we (ranchers, cattlemen, hunters, etc) call Western Red Cedar grows very prolific on our "Mesas" in New Mexico. I have done some research and I have found that Rocky Mountain juniper (Juniperus scopulorum) is one of 13 junipers native to North America. It is similar to eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana) but requires 2 years for seed maturity, compared to 1 year for its eastern relative. Other common names for the typical variety include Rocky Mountain redcedar, redcedar, western redcedar, river juniper, cedro rojo, and sabino. So I stand corrected. Apparently the Western Red Cedar of woodworking fame is a relatively large conifer that is like charlese said is a pretty soft wood. This "juniper/cedar" is harder than concrete, and it is why we use it for fence posts.

So, long story short, I guess I have been trying to cut a very hard juniper AKA Western Red Cedar, and that has been the problem.

So my hat is off to you sir, you nailed it!

Now, is there a band saw blade that will cut this stuff? (I know I am hard headed, but it is a beautiful wood .... )

Dick

[JPG]

Well sir, you are a master, and I stand corrected (with some qualification )

What we (ranchers, cattlemen, hunters, etc) call Western Red Cedar grows very prolific on our "Mesas" in New Mexico. I have done some research and I have found that Rocky Mountain juniper (Juniperus scopulorum) is one of 13 junipers native to North America. It is similar to eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana) but requires 2 years for seed maturity, compared to 1 year for its eastern relative. Other common names for the typical variety include Rocky Mountain redcedar, redcedar, western redcedar, river juniper, cedro rojo, and sabino. So I stand corrected. Apparently the Western Red Cedar of woodworking fame is a relatively large conifer that is like charlese said is a pretty soft wood. This "juniper/cedar" is harder than concrete, and it is why we use it for fence posts.

So, long story short, I guess I have been trying to cut a very hard juniper AKA Western Red Cedar, and that has been the problem.

So my hat is off to you sir, you nailed it!

Now, is there a band saw blade that will cut this stuff? (I know I am hard headed, but it is a beautiful wood .... )

Dick

A steel cutting blade(like a hack saw blade:D)?

[BuckeyeDennis]

Well sir, you are a master, and I stand corrected (with some qualification )

What we (ranchers, cattlemen, hunters, etc) call Western Red Cedar grows very prolific on our "Mesas" in New Mexico. I have done some research and I have found that Rocky Mountain juniper (Juniperus scopulorum) is one of 13 junipers native to North America. It is similar to eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana) but requires 2 years for seed maturity, compared to 1 year for its eastern relative. Other common names for the typical variety include Rocky Mountain redcedar, redcedar, western redcedar, river juniper, cedro rojo, and sabino. So I stand corrected. Apparently the Western Red Cedar of woodworking fame is a relatively large conifer that is like charlese said is a pretty soft wood. This "juniper/cedar" is harder than concrete, and it is why we use it for fence posts.

So, long story short, I guess I have been trying to cut a very hard juniper AKA Western Red Cedar, and that has been the problem.

So my hat is off to you sir, you nailed it!

Now, is there a band saw blade that will cut this stuff? (I know I am hard headed, but it is a beautiful wood .... )

Dick

One of these oughta do the trick. Unless that wood is even harder than bearing steel, that is.

Edit: Highland Woodworking carries this blade in the right size for a Shopsmith -- 72"x1/2". The price is $103.

[rjent]

One of these oughta do the trick. Unless that wood is even harder than bearing steel, that is.

Edit: Highland Woodworking carries this blade in the right size for a Shopsmith -- 72"x1/2". The price is $103.

Well hell, that thar has more teeth (and more carbide for that matter) than JPG's mouth.

I wonder at 103 dollars, how long the carbide teeth will stay sharp?

Thanks Dennis, have you ever used one?

Dick