# Deodar



## Daninvan (Mar 25, 2011)

Was planning to mill up some more yellow cedar today, but when I arrived there was some newly dumped deodar cedar that looked too good to pass up. Gorgeous morning, sun shining on the peaks further up Howe Sound.









Where I cut is close to a military base. There are occasionally soldiers out walking on the beach, presumably to stay in shape, or in some cases to get in shape. They are all kitted up with guns and everything, it's a bit of an odd sight in the city. I guess it keeps the bad guys away from the log dump!







I had milled some deodar previously, and had been really happy with it. 

This was a bit smaller diameter, but still a good size, I struggled on a couple cuts with my 31" cutting length on my mill.

I was a bit disappointed as there were a lot of knots in the wood, unlike the previous deodar I had milled. In fact I wound up leaving a couple of slabs at the cutting area, the first time I have ever done that. 







That being said the pieces I took home do have some nice clear sections that will be great for drawer bottoms or cabinet backs. Deodar has an amazing smell, reminds me of peaches or mangoes. 

The weather was deteriorating the whole time I was there, by the time I left it was raining. 









Wound up with a couple hundred bf.






More info here on deodar.


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## BobL (Mar 25, 2011)

Nice , real nice. This is probably the only species we have cut in common!


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## Daninvan (Mar 25, 2011)

Maybe two - macrocarpa?


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## willbarryrec (Mar 25, 2011)

Thanks for the great pics as always!


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## mtngun (Mar 25, 2011)

Great pics, Danivan. :msp_thumbsup:

Why does Canada need a military ?


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## BlueRider (Mar 25, 2011)

Deodar is a really under rated wood. It works well and is very stable, it even finishes nicely and will take a very nice polish. I have been using it for some exterior paint grade trim on my house as we as on some recent sculptures.


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## SDB777 (Mar 26, 2011)

Thanks for the great photo series. Makes my milling location look pretty lame and unworthy. And the link to the wood information = top notch




Scott B


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## Gavman (Sep 5, 2012)

Awesome, I drop by there tons of times in the am to spend a few mins before work, I even remember seeing the chunks you left behind last year....

I searched Deodar on here just now and this thread popped up, had a customer who wants 5 of these trees down on their property nearby...

Thinking I will now save the bigger chunks and get them milled for some deck posts ect....

Cheers and BTW my name is DAN too ha ha


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## hamish (Sep 5, 2012)

mtngun said:


> :
> 
> Why does Canada need a military ?



I know you are a smart man Dan, if you don't know already, figure it out and the benefit to you.


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## Dobbs (Sep 5, 2012)

*wow*

great pics I have went back 3 or 4 times and looked at them thanks for posting them


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## Daninvan (Sep 8, 2012)

Gavman said:


> Awesome, I drop by there tons of times in the am to spend a few mins before work, I even remember seeing the chunks you left behind last year....
> 
> I searched Deodar on here just now and this thread popped up, had a customer who wants 5 of these trees down on their property nearby...
> 
> ...



This post is pretty old, but I am glad people are still enjoying it. Beach milling season should start any day now, hopefully I'll post pictures of a few more good milling sessions over the winter!

Watch out for knots if you are planning on milling deodar into posts. Knots can be HUGE in deodar, your posts will wind up breaking into two pieces if the knots are in the wrong spot on your post!

Dan


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## Gavman (Nov 7, 2012)

So the customer only ended up cutting two trees and I did manage to get them to a mill a few weeks ago, guy is going to cut them tomorrow. I want to make 1x5 trim out of them and was wondering if I should get them quarter sawn or just sawn regular?? how stable is the wood? cupping? Of course the yield will be much bigger with regular sawn but is way more wood than i need right now so willing to quarter saw if you thinks its worth it Dan.

Hope you see this before morning


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## Daninvan (Nov 8, 2012)

Thanks for the note, I find that this wood is reasonably stable when I dry it in slab form, so I would think you could cut it whatever is best for you. I air dry it two years then run it through a home made dehumidifier kiln. That being said, any wood will be more stable in QS form. 

I do find the wood is quite sappy, even after running it through my kiln, admittedly a low temperature device, there are bands of sap that continue to leak out of the wood. A higher temp kiln would probably help that. FYI I have so much deodar now that I have stopped milling it. 

Good luck - post some pics!

Dan


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## waldtricki (Nov 28, 2012)

I love deodar cedar. A true cedar species. The smell of this stuff is amazing. My wife kept an offcut from our firewood pile in her car for a few months just cause she liked to smell it


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## Daninvan (Nov 29, 2012)

waldtricki said:


> I love deodar cedar. A true cedar species. The smell of this stuff is amazing. My wife kept an offcut from our firewood pile in her car for a few months just cause she liked to smell it



You and your wife are totally right. The smell is incredible, I find it it is like mangoes, peaches, exotic fruit, yet has a a dry characteristic to it as well. When people walk into my garage where I store my slabs, the smell of the deodar is the one thing that everyone comments on immediately!


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## BC WetCoast (Dec 1, 2012)

I have to prune some deodora next week, to minimize snow breakage on the long branches. I can let you have a few carloads of brush -- FREE.
Just think how nicely the car would smell.


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## sachsmo (Dec 1, 2012)

That is a cool set-up you have there.

Do the harbor maintenance guy's use that beach for dumping floaters?


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## Daninvan (Dec 4, 2012)

sachsmo said:


> Do the harbor maintenance guys use that beach for dumping floaters?



Yes they do, but most of those either go to a mill if they are salvageable, or if they are too small and skinny for that they get set out for guys to cut up for firewood. Not very often that I mill up a floater. If I do it is one that a mill doesn't want as it is cracked, damaged, smelly, or containing some other undesirable characteristic!

Almost all the logs I mill are city trees that have been taken down for one reason or another.

Dan


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