Carving in cedar?...You bet!

[Fireman Phil]

Just finished carving a sign for my in-laws for the camper. I carved it out of cedar that I got from a local lumber mill. It was scrap ends they had set aside for the chipper. I pulled it out and they gave it to me. The detail in the carving is actually very good for such a sof wood. After carving on normal setting, I sanded it with a 320g mop sander, painted the letters and finished it with an exterior varathane gloss finish. So what do ya'll think.

[fwharris]

Phil,

Looks great and I bet your shop smells great to!!

[Fireman Phil]

It sure does. I was able to pickup allot of cedar for free. After ripping and planing some down, the aroma in the shop is great. Even now when I turn on my dust collector I can still smell the cedar.

[easybuilt]

Those signs came out great! I use local cedar for most of my signs, I love the patterns in the wood.

[Ike]

Just finished carving a sign for my in-laws for the camper. I carved it out of cedar that I got from a local lumber mill. It was scrap ends they had set aside for the chipper. I pulled it out and they gave it to me. The detail in the carving is actually very good for such a sof wood. After carving on normal setting, I sanded it with a 320g mop sander, painted the letters and finished it with an exterior varathane gloss finish. So what do ya'll think.

Phil looks fantastic! Cedar along with redwood are the best outdoor wood! I use old growth redwood and if the mill will allow you I would snag as many end pieces you can! I love the sap portion with the heart! Outstanding job!

Ike

[liquidguitars]

Phil looks sweet!

one draw back on the cedar is that it can thrash the truck bearings quicker than most wood. So check the bearing for the odd frozen one, wd40 will clean them up to a point and have a backup set at hand.

[Ike]

Phil looks sweet!

one draw back on the cedar is that it can thrash the truck bearings quicker than most wood. So check the bearing for the odd frozen one, wd40 will clean them up to a point and have a backup set at hand.

That is good info I would guess it applies to redwood also! Lol figures I mostly use redwood!

Thank you my friend!

Ike

[lawrence]

excellent point re: the bearings--
and awesome sign as well

Thanks for taking the time to post both guys-
Lawrence

ps-the varathane finish looks like it gave the piece an expecially nice clearcoat
ldr

[rcdages]

Love the signs.

Great job.

Good photo of the signs.

[geekviking]

Very nice, & classy too!