Incense Cedar Wood

Incense cedar is an amazing wood. It's beauty, aroma and diversity make it appealing to private consumers, hobbyist, home builders and remodelers.

Incense cedar (Calocedrus decurrens) is used for a wide variety of indoor and outdoor purposes, and is a popular choice because it is lightweight and fairly straight-grained. The heartwood of Incense Cedar is medium reddish-brown color, and the sapwood ranges from a light-tan to an off-white color.

Strength & Durability

Incense cedar is a strong and durable wood, and when compared to other soft woods, it compares very well. It has a hardness of 470 lbf (2,090 N), and crushing strength is 5,200 lbf/in2 (35.9 MPa).

Sanding

In lieu of occasional grain lifts, sanding is relatively easy, as cedar surfaces are very easy to sand down to a desired thickness. A very nice smooth and level surface can be achieved by block or orbital sanding. Occasionally, you will see Incense Cedar with a rough and porous surface, making for a really nice rustic project. If you prefer a smooth surface, any choice of medium or coarse grit sand paper will be needed, and with only a few required grade progressions. As far as finish applications, most stains and colors will look magnificent on cedar wood, accentuating the natural beauty of the grain patterns.

Projects

It's durability makes it a popular choice for various indoor and outdoor applications. Incense Cedar is highly durable in all climates. When unprotected, bare Incense Cedar holds up better than other cedar species as it offers the highest insulation value, making it one of the most effective wood insulators. It naturally repels rot and insects, making it a popular choice among outdoor furniture manufactures.

Many other manufactures use this type of wood for various products as well, such as decks, fencing, roofing, bird feeders and other outdoor items. Incense Cedar is also used by hobbyists, and their projects include just about anything you can think of, including complete sets for wooden board games.

Fragrance

The fragrant smell from Incense Cedar is so popular that it has raised up a small industry of businesses that produce and bottle cedar oil from harvested needles. The oil has a woodsy tint, and sometimes described as a natural oil smell. Many oil products are produced by family-owned businesses growing trees on their private property in the state of Oregon.

Incense Cedar is one of the primary woods used in making pencils, and has an oily, spicy odor that is reminiscent of pencils.

Consumers and remodelers will buy cedar wood because the fragrance creates relaxation and calmness. Some will describe it with its ability to give a grounded feeling of energy and purification. Cedarwood is also known for its ability to bring a sense of security and focus. It can make a home smell like a cozy log cabin in the woods. The scent of cedar is readily available online.

Availability

Fortunately, the cedar tree adapts to a range of geographical areas, making cedar wood affordable and widely available for distribution. Rarely do retail hardware stores run out of it, as they always have a good stockpile of various lengths/widths in their inventory.

Incense Cedar stands out from the background coniferous trees and surrounding foliage. It's a picturesque member of the wilderness with its size, shape, beauty and incense smell. It commonly reaches a height of 80' to 100' feet, a diameter breast height of 4 to 5 feet, and an age of 500 years.

History

For decades , Incense Cedar wood has been used for a wide range of uses. It was a popular choice among the early Americans and was preferable to pioneers and gold miners when using it for portions of their structures that made contact with the ground. It is the heartwood of Incense Cedar that has an outstanding resistance to decay and gives the wood of Incense Cedar a widespread use in a variety of wood products. Birdhouses and bird feeders are good examples. It requires no preservatives against decay, and can be used safely in wet conditions.

The history of cedar uses go back centuries and famously used in the construction of some notable structures. Even back then, the benefits and amazing properties were known by some notable figures, including the Phoenician King Hiram of Tyre who sent Lebanese Cedar to Jerusalem to build a palace for King David. He also provided cedars to King Solomon for the construction of his own palace for the Temple in Jerusalem.

The North American version of the Pegs and Jokers game evolved out of the Pachisi, an Indian race game . Pachisi is sometimes referred to as the National Game of India, and involves four players that play as partners (two against two) on a board that is shaped like a cross. Many images will depict the game being played on various surfaces, including wood, cloth, paper, and even a chalk-drawn outline on the ground.