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A friend from work has asked me if he could use cedar to build drawers for a captains bed he is building. Any opinions would be apprecieated I told him I thought is was to soft of a wood but as you know I am still too new to this hobby to be certain.

Just my $0.02, Western Cedar is too soft, but I think he's probably thinking about Red Cedar, which is quite a bit harder, and used commonly for cedar chests. The essential oils in the red cedar wood is a natural deterrent to moths.

Tell him to use a hardwood. Those drawers will be used a lot. Maple would be my choice.

These will be drawers in a Captain's Bed. Eastern cedar would work, if he wands the drawers to be like a cedar chest. Actually, any species of domestic lumber would work for these drawers. What wood is the bed going to made from? It would be what I think more normal to make the drawers from the same wood as the bed frame.

Your friend should consider using roller guides on the drawers, if he is going to use softer woods like pine, spruce, Western red cedar, but these woods can be used with success and should last a long time.

I don't know why, but when I think of a Captain's bed, I think of pine.

the roller guides sounds like a good solution to using soft woods for drawers.

the question might be: why does he ask?

if he is going for a cedar chest effect, then making just the sides of the drawers out of aromatic cedar does not seem like it would provide enough vapor to fill the entire under-bed cavity. in which case he would need to box-in the drawers to get the effect. in which case, it seems that it might be easier to line the underside of the box top with cedar paneling and use harder materials for the drawer sides.

on the other hand, if he has lumbered a tree and he is asking if he can use it to build the parts of the bed, then there is the wear issue and the guides would cover that. someone who has made drawers out of cedar or pine might want to comment on whether the sides need to be a little thicker and the dado for the drawer bottom needs to be little higher on the side (ie: more than 1/4" of the side below the dado cut) to prevent splitting with soft woods.

Ivan

iclark wrote:.... someone who has made drawers out of cedar or pine might want to comment on whether the sides need to be a little thicker and the dado for the drawer bottom needs to be little higher on the side (ie: more than 1/4" of the side below the dado cut) to prevent splitting with soft woods.
Ivan

Not really a problem! Pine has been used widely for furniture and drawers. Here is a link to a store bought Captain's Bed. I think Jim's friend can save quite a bit of moolah, building his own. http://www.bedroomfurniture.com/Creativ ... N1015.html

Eastern redcedar (actually a juniper) is a good wood to work with and is as stable and resistant to splitting as most softwoods. Interestingly as the Wood Handbook from the U.S.D.A. states - (in Chapter 1)
"Hardwoods and Softwoods
Trees are divided into two broad classes, usually referred to
as hardwoods and softwoods. These names can be confusing
since some softwoods are actually harder than some hardwoods,
and conversely some hardwoods are softer than some
softwoods. For example, softwoods such as longleaf pine and
Douglas-fir are typically harder than the hardwoods basswood
and aspen...."
http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fplgt ... 3/ch01.pdf

Although I have not lately built anything out of Softwoods, When I was in school, I built a desk with 4 drawers out of ponderosa pine. It is still in service 50 years later, with a cousin's kids up in Montana. (1/2" drawer sides and backs, with 1/4" grooves, 1/4" up on the sides to hold drawer bottoms)

Wow,
Thank you again you guys as usual you have alot of knowledge to share.
Phil if you have come to this forum to look at the results of the question call me or I will see you at work tomorrow.
Gentlemen thank you again. I have learned something new here and am hoping to have a new member here also.

charlese wrote:Pine has been used widely for furniture and drawers. Here is a link to a store bought Captain's Bed.

thanks, Chuck. good info.

when I was a young kid, my parents had a dining area added on to the back of the kitchen and paneled it with tongue-n-groove knotty pine.

I'm not sure if he used left over material or went out and bought matching, but my father built a rolling kitchen cabinet and hutch. the cabinet has double doors and a full width drawer. about 50 years later, my sister is still using it. the only part that hasn't held up well is the drawer front. it is a real drawer front (not a false front tacked onto a box) and the rabbits on each side were about 3" wide. with no drawer stop at the back of the slides, both rabbits eventually broke off along the grain. I'm not sure any other wood would have held up any better. the more I learn, the more impressed I am with what I father could do with a radial arm saw and hand tools.

Ivan

It's funny you mention a Radial Arm Saw (RAS) -- that's virtually the only power tool my father had for many years (aside from a hand held saber saw) and he made some kids beds that hung from the ceiling and various other paint-grade furniture.. By the way -- if anyone needs a RAS and is on the Oregon Coast, drop me a PM -- my mother has one left (out of two) -- both are Craftsman -- one from the 50's and the other from the 70's and can be had for cheap.. Sorry for being OT!