Common Names:   Eastern redcedar Juniper Red juniper Redcedar Virginia pencil cedar Purchase Cedar Aromatic

Mechanical Values

Environmental Profile
Eastern red cedar is reported to be rather widespread, abundant, and secure globally, although it may be quite rare at the periphery of its range (Source - The Nature Conservancy - Rank of relative endangerment based primarily on the number of occurrences of the species globally).

Distribution
The species is reported to be distributed in Ontario, Quebec, Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, Great Smoky Mountain National Park, Illinois, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Vermont, Wisconsin, and West Virginia. The tree is reported to be adaptable to various growing sites including dry uplands, especially limestone, and flood plains as well as swamps. It is also found on abandoned fields and fence rows. 

Product Sources
Large Eastern red cedar trees for timber are reported to be rather scarce since the trees have been subjected to widespread destructive cutting in the past, and also grows slowly. Available trees are reported to often produce timber that are small in dimension and are also full of small knots. For small projects such as craftwork, Eastern red cedar is reported to be available in adequate supplies at moderate prices.

Tree Data
The tree is reported to attain a height of 40 to 60 feet (12 to 18 m) at maturity. It develops a trunk, which is reported to be often angled, with a diameter of 12 to 24 inches (30 to 60 cm) above buttresses. 

Sapwood Color
The narrow sapwood is nearly white or light cream in color.

Heartwood Color
The color of the heartwood is initially light red, purplish or rose-red. It ages to a dull red or reddish brown, usually with streaks of included lighter colored sapwood. The heartwood often contains many small knots, which are reported to impart a pleasant rustic look to furniture manufactured from Eastern red cedar.

Grain
Grain is reported to be fine and even.

Texture
Texture is usually fine.

Odor
Eastern red cedar has a characteristic mild, delicate, and agreeable, pencil-cedar odor and taste.

Ease of Drying
The material is reported to be fairly easy to season.

Drying Defects
Checks around knots and excessive loss of aromatic oils are the most common drying defects in this species. These types of defects are believed to be caused by excessively high drying temperatures. Warping is reported to be slight. 

Kiln Schedules
T5 - A4 (4/4); T5 - A3 (8/4) US

Movement in Service
Eastern red cedar is reported to be stable after drying to the appropriate moisture content, and undergoes only minimal dimensional changes in response to fluctuations in atmospheric conditions.

T/R Ratio
1.52
This indicator is more meaningful if it is used together with other drying information and actual shrinkage data in the tangential and radial directions. (Refer to the Numerical Values window).

Natural Durability
The wood has a high natural resistance to attack by decay causing organisms. Eastern red cedar has a thin bark, which makes the tree rather vulnerable to fire. Trees growing in apple-orchards are usually removed because of the cedar-apple rust disease which tends to infect apple trees from the cedars. Large number of Eastern redcedar trees are reported to have been removed in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia because of this.

Planing
Eastern red cedar is reported to respond readily to all types of tools in most machining operations. It is reported to work easily to yield clean, smooth surfaces.

Polishing
The wood is reported to take a high polish.