Soft Western Cedar?

[NaughtyPine]

I have a customer who wants me to do some carving in soft western cedar. I will be carving some wood spirits and would like to know how this wood carves. It seems very soft and splintery and I am thinking it might be easier to power carve it.
Please, anyone.....I need feedback. TY.

[Old Scout]

I tried a Hooded Merganser out of remnants from a log home & found I couldn't do a Realistic style job[ close grain that wanted to splinter along the grain]., but it finished up fine as a slick side duck[ no feather detail]. I have seen some beautiful carving using Western Cedar. Maybe it was due to my skill level, sine i work with basswood mostly. Good luck!!

[Robson Valley]

Unfortunately, there's no room for fine detail in WRC. The really red, clear and straight grained wood can split and splinter very easily. Stop cuts are critical unless you're making tent pegs.
I've seen some power-carved WRC, not large, but the carver told me how many bits were glued back in place. . . . . so I decided I wouldn't go that direction.
Rainbow cedar has irregular but alternating red & white banding. It's a little tougher but not by much. Although the banding is easy to see in end grain, it is far less distinct in the carved face. Kind of a disappointment, really.

Think about long, smooth curves, distinct gouge marks. Any work less than, say, 9" tall will be frustrating for detail.
However, if you're as happy as I am to leave all that out, it works fine. Just remember to sweep up each night before the cat decides to use the chip piles on the floor.

[A_Swope]

If you power carve it make sure to use a good dust collector because Cedar dust is toxic

Alex

[pararaptor]

Dunno about everyone else, buuuuut.....when I carve with a wood like this, I'll immerse it for several minutes in a 50/50 mixture of Zinser shellac and denatured alcohol.
The denatured alcohol penetrates deep and quick, and brings the shellac with it to bind the fibers together. It dries really fast too.
Just sayin'.
Greg

[LBlake]

Definitely beware of the dust - western red cedar is one of the few woods that's not only toxic, but it can cause cancer.
My experience carving it is that it definitely likes to split with the grain, but it is also really quite soft. Keep your tools sharp, and if you're not going to go WITH the grain, go straight across it. Like the other person said - stop cuts are VERY helpful. I carve spoons, and the bowl was interesting until I realized that it would carve ok as long as I was cutting 90 degrees against the grain.
Aside from the splitting, it's really quite nice to carve. And, of course, very pretty.

[Robson Valley]

One good way to start is to sift through a stack of 5/4 cedar deck boards (I bought a couple from Home Depot. 1" thick, nearly 6" wide. Some are remarkably straight grained and knot free.
I needed a whole bunch of 17" pieces. One 12' stick had a knot every 36" (Most of my Animal Family Project which I've posted).
I don't think I've ever heard before that cedar dust is carcinogenic. I do run my ShopVac on the bandsaw when I'm rough-cutting. I don't need a houseful of dust of any kind, let alone a bunch of it up my beak.