$22 Worth of Cedar

$22 2x12x18 cedar board cut into book-matched strips.

Late last fall, I discovered that Jerry's Home Improvement carried cedar landscape boards. These are basically very, very low grade 2x12 boards suitable for raised beds. I also discovered that in the stack of rotten, loose-knot boards, there were a few that might be considered tight-knot. I bought a 10-footer as a test and put it in my garage. A few weeks ago, I discovered they had lengths up to 20 feet. So I took a gamble and spent $22 on an 18 footer in hopes that I would get something I could at least get a few strips out of for the shear strips.

After an hour or so going through the stack of boards, I was able to extract what appeared to be a hidden gem. I loaded the soaking thing on top of my car and carefully drove home with it.

In trying to cut the 10 footer, I discovered I was a little out of my depth with the table saw and decided I would need someone with more experience and a better saw to do the cutting. Last night one of my neighbors, who just happens to be a woodworker/carpenter, told me to tote the board over to his house. I carried the strips home about an hour and a half later. I don't think I could be happier about how they turned out. There is very little waste and the color is beautiful.

These strips are 1/4 inch thick and just over 1 1/2 inches wide. To use them for the kayak I'll have to cut them into 3/4 inch wide strips and run the edges across my router table set up as a jointer.



Close-up of boards.


Closer close-up of boards.