Rainbow Western Red Cedar

[Robson Valley]

I've mentioned this stuff. There are a few sticks of the conventional sort (red core, white sapwood) on the table for comparison. It's OK to carve, I find it sort of by accident when I'm scavenging logging debris piles. Mostly don't see it until I split the log. There's a 6" ruler on the table.

[Tim Gagnon]

I've seen this a few times in logs that I was chainsaw carving. Always a pleasant surprise for me to see and reinforces what a wonderful material wood really can be. I don't know how or why it happens but consider myself lucky when I find some. Most that I find gets reserved for my personal use or gifts.

[Robson Valley]

Exactly, Tim. If the log ends are dirty or weathered, the rainbow seems invisible. I bought an 8' log from a local mill with the idea of hogging out the rot and using the shell for masks. The sap wood was dark gray and the ends were dirty, must have been in the mill yard for 10+ years.
Got it cut into 24" pieces. Wow! Was able to split a couple of half-rounds. $20.00/8'
Up in my WIP thread about The Frog Dish, you can see a larger owl mask started in rainbow cedar. My enthusiasm is waning. My get-up-and-go has got-up and-went. Did a good beak but the face is slow. I'm disappointed that the color ribbons don't show as much as I had hoped. If and when I get some good ideas, I'll use those two little bricks of rainbow RC.

[BrandantR]

That's some pretty stuff. I bet it would make some nice knife handles. . . .

[Robson Valley]

True, it looks good but it's as soft as ordinary western red cedar and splits (lengthwise) just as easily.
My disappointment with the WIP Owl Mask is that it's carved into the tangential face of the log and the ribbons can't be seen unless you look at the side of the bridge under where the nose/beak will be (radial aspect). If I split two slabs and glued the sapwoods to eachother, then the ribbons would be seen easily.
HA! Think I'll do that today. THEN see if ideas come along.
Thanks Brandant, good poke in my head for a cold winter's day.

[davidinsarasota]

Lovely wood! It looks like it would carve nicely, but I'll believe you if you say it is splitty. Not nearly as fibrous as I pictured WRC.

[Robson Valley]

I split the right hand "brick" that you see in the picture. There's one saw-cut face so I split the piece with my Froe and Alley-Oop mallet. That is now so controllable. I planed the sapwood at right angles to that saw-cut face and glued the two slabs together. 30oz mallet and a fresh 1" firmer chisel and I have a useable slab >1" thick x 8" x 10".

This crazy business about "seeing things" in the wood. It happens. I'll put the slab up on my carving bench where I can see it every day. Possibly something will appear. Very pleasant experience when it happens, not all that often. My Grandmother told me to expect it to happen ( "Yeah, Granny, sure"). Creepy, but it does.

[Robson Valley]

Thought I could do a stylized Owl face in that slab. The density varies from balsa wood to mahogany within a couple of growth rings. Absolute crapola. If I had an ordinary wood stove or a fireplace, that piece would be long gone by now. Oh well.

[Inadv]

Brandant took the words right out of my mouth!! First thought seeing this wood? Some very fine looking knife handles could be made from offcuts of these logs!! Beautiful wood!

L.P.

[Robson Valley]

Inadv: You want some? I can split off another 3" x 4" x 24", cut it in half and you can fool with it. PM when you get a minute.
I don't care about the cost, simply for doing the definitive R & D experiments with it. The beauty of this is that you and Brandant can compare notes as your wood will come out of the same log, side by side, as his did.