Creative Woodworks & crafts 2003-06, страница 35

'm 111

ipppg? sW* Hr I %

The trunks of Northern White Cedar are less fissured than Eastern Red Cedar and the bark is lighter in color. Just as with other species in the cypress family, the bark can be used for tinder.

Northern White Cedar, Thuja occidentalis, is also known as arborvi-tae, a name that is also applied to Atlantic White Cedar, and Western Red Cedar, .lust as with Eastern Red Cedar, it too is not a true cedar, but is a member of the cypress (cupressaceae) family. You can find it growing across eastern Canada south of St. John's Bay, southward to northern New England, westward to the Great Lakes stales and in upper elevations of Tennessee and North Carolina. You will also find it growing in isolated pockcts in between, most often in bogs and swamps which provide the proper elevation, high humidity and a neutral to slightly alkaline soil.

Northern White Cedar is not as tolerant of growing conditions as other species, but it can be grown as an ornamental. It is not a large tree, normally attaining a height of 50 to 60 feet with diameter of 2 to 3 feet; however, occasional specimens can be found considerably larger. You may wonder why the photo for this article was taken in a cemetery r ather than in the woods. It is difficult, to find an isolated tree in a natural stand that would allow a view of the growth density of the branches and leaves. If you compare the photo of the Eastern Red Cedar (within the same cemetery) from our previous issue's wood profile, you can clearly sec the difference. The shape and characteristics of tree crowns is a diagnostic tool used by folks involved in tree, woodlot and forestry management. That is not to say that, individual specimens cannot have denser growth; they can and do.

(or needle in the case of conifers). If you compare this with that of the Eastern Red Cedar in the last issue, you will sec that this one is flatter and not needle-like on the ends of the new growth. This species as well as others in the cypress family provide wildlife with food and cover in the winter, and so it is not uncommon to find entire stands "pruned" as high as deer or moose can reach.

| You will also observe that the | fruiting body of this species is a | small cone, whereas the Eastern Red Cedar is a blue fleshy cone, f As you can see they arc pro-i duced rather abundantly. The | whole tree was covered with | large clusters of cones, provid-% ing an important food source for f birds and squirrels.

1 find that the wood is a delight to work. The sapwood is nearly white and the he art wood a light tan with a complementary grain pattern. It machines well, hand planes well, glues and finishes beautifully. Just as with any other wood, you should pre-drill screw holes, especially near the end of the board, to prevent split-lmg. It is light, relatively soft, not too strong, and low in shock resistance, though it is also durable and resistant to decay. It finds use for shingles, poles, log cabins, railroad cross ties, water tanks and boats. Native Americans pounded short logs so that, the layers could be separated and made into canocs, thus it has another regional name "canoe wood".

Northern White Cedar is slightly aromatic, though not nearly as much as Eastern Red Cedar, having a pleasant spicy odor that diminishes with lime. I have not had any reaction to the sawdust or contact with the bark or sap and find the dust to be far less irritating than Eastern Red Cedar. In any event, be sure to wear a dust mask because all saw dust (wood dust) is harmful.

The wood shrinks about 5% off the sawmill, and a 12" board will move about 1/8" in service after proper seasoning. It does not have annoying pitch pockets like most of the pines, but you can find some fissuring in the outer cuts as shown here.^l~§

34 • Creative Woodworks S, Crafts June 2003