Survival uses of cedar?

I guess cedar smells good and, like any wood, you can burn it for light and heat.

If survival was at issue, what other uses are there for cedar?

The Cedar storage box.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-hRAYMZAiE&feature=related

Where to begin - I'll quote Hilary Stewart:

All parts of the cedar tree had many uses. From the wood, skilled men made ocean-going canoes, massive post-and-beam houses, monumental carved poles that declared history, rights and lineage, and powerful dance masks. Women dextrously wove the inner bark into mats and baskets, plied it into cordage and netting or processed it into soft, warm, water-repellent clothing. They also made the strong withes into heavy-duty rope and wove the roots into watertight baskets.

Among numerous other uses, a cedar split placed above your doorway will keep away evil spirits. And a cedar plank is my preferred way to cook salmon. A few years back I would make cedar planks for Christmas gifts, then they became all the fashion, someone started making them cheaper commercially - Mom gave me a commecial cedar plank one birthday, made in China for chrissakes, sealed with some nasty resin, and it almost broke my spirit. Took it back to Target...

Legend is you can always find a dry space beneath a cedar to sleep - and that works.

Such a healthy history of the cedar in the Pacific Northwest, strong and deep enough even for a haole like me to tap into.

cedar bark was pounded and woven into clothes by PacNW Natives, I see no reason why it could not be used for its fibers in any application you could employ it; cordage, Clothing.
Cedar boughs burn particularly fast, smoky, and hot so they would be useful signaling for assistance.
Cedar also appears to be high in tannin, judging by the way old growth stands color creekwater. The uses of tannic acid are numerous- there are astringent qualities, it has also been employed in the curing of hides. That's all off the top of my head.

I have yet to have any planks available to try it myself... but, I hear that Cedar is excellent for making raised garden beds.
It is supposed to be very resistant to rot; thus, making a great organic alternative, to keep chemical-treated timbers/planks out of the garden.

I can vouch for that. The garden boxes I made from cedar fence planks are a year old and still look great. These planks came from 8+ year old fences knocked down by hurrcane Ike.

-Blast

Cedar splits along the grain fairly completely, so making cedar rail fence is pretty common. I make cedar walking sticks because when dry they are very light for their dimension and longitudinally stronger than most other local coniferous species.

Dry cedar makes a most excellent tinder/kindling for building fire. It burns very fast, ignites very easily, and produces good flame.

Cedar has some antiseptic properties, and the smoke is a great fumigant. Cedar planks added to containers ward off moths and other household bugs.

Cedar Shake Roofs.

I have a pallet of the stuff I use for kindling, found on my property. No telling how many years old it is but after letting it dry summer it's awesome wood! Splits almost perfectly for tiny splinters of kindling, and burns fast and decently hot enough

Cedar boughs make good insulation and comfortable bedding. The boughs are quite good for making wind breaks (basket weaving) and are good for roofing an emergency shelter/lean-to/wickiup.

Is any part of cedar good to eat?

Assuming (we all know the dangers in that) you won't start a forest fire, lighting a cedar that is apart from all other combustibles makes one heck of a signal fire.

Good way to go to jail though if you start a forest fire...

Is the cedar especially good for a fire bow/drill? Either as the spindle or board? The bark is decent tinder if roughed up a bit.

Bugs don't like Cedar so a shelter, bedding, storage areas with Cedar in them will keep most bugs away.

I know that cedar is often touted as a superior firebed in use with hand- or bow-drills.

Yes, since cedar splits so uniformly and easily, manufacturing a spindle or a board is relatively easy, and quite functional.

For much the same reason, cedar makes pretty darned good arrow shafts.

...arrow shafts, and bows. Port orford cedar is a favorite of hunters ( http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&q=port+orford+cedar+arrows&revid=960176257&ei=oEMdS9vBNpS2swO6hfnYBw&sa=X&oi=revisions_inline&resnum=0&ct=broad-revision&cd=1&ved=0CDkQ1QIoAA )
Wood of the yew family is well known for bowmaking. http://www.google.com/search?q=yew+bows&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&startIndex=1&startPage=1

I like the "yellow" cedar, with the carbon pith, for writing notes...;-)

Good one, Goo.

How about some pics of cedar in misc forms to help us all identify it ???

Hmm, I have such trouble posting pics here, maybe someone from the ranks has something to offer.

Perhaps I am not the only one who is a unclear about your request. Are you asking for pictures of cedar shakes/shingles, lumber, arrows, etcetera? If so, I do not think they are likely to be so visually distinctive from other wood, such as redwood, that they will be of much help for identification.

If you are asking for tree pictures, then I suspect any field guide or online guide will do the job. I suspect there is Western Red Cedar on or very near your property, because there is a lot of it in the Sierras. The foliage in particular is distinctive and reminiscent of redwood.

I find the combined look, smell, and feel of cedar are the easiest identifier. It is a relatively light and coarse-grained usually reddish wood with a distincvtive aroma when cut or bruised. I would check some out at a home supply or lumber store to get the experience of look, feel, and smell.

I was just interested in seeing pictures of in the wild and or processed

Cedar tends to be toxic, esp the oils that deter insects and prevent rot. Although there are some recipes for cedar tea for a few medicinal purposes, it can cause allergic reactions, spontaneous abortion in pregnant women, seriously low blood pressure and convulsions.

You wouldn't want to make a rain barrel out of it, either.

Another problem with cedar is that there are some lookalikes. True cedar is different from Incense Cedar (Calocedrus, not a true cedar), Arborvitae (Thuja), and the White Cedar (aka False Cypress) which is really Chamaecyparis. I'm surrounded by this stuff and still can't tell the difference. And we have a lot of Cypress, too. I guess I should go to the arboretum and learn.

Sue

In the Southwest, "cedar" is used colloquially to describe what is actually juniper (Juniperus sp.). The properties of the two woods are fairly similar.

Native American cedar crafts:

http://reviews.ebay.com/Native-Baskets-Cedar-ROOT-or-Cedar-BARK_W0QQugidZ10000000002149416

When I think of cedar I think Western Red Cedar or properly Thuja Plicata, which as Susan points out is not a true cedar. So to which specific cedar do you refer?

USDA on western red cedar:

http://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/cs_thpl.pdf

I am planning to build a garden building, and thought about putting a Cedar shingle roof on it... just for the experience of doing it {and I think Cedar roofs look nice too}.

I also wanted to collect rain water from the roof, for garden irrigation, etc... is that a bad idea?
In other words, would that collected water be toxic or harmful to the garden soil and veggies?

Not likely. First, a lot of the volatile toxic elements off-gas from the cedar when it is split, and the only real risk of concentrated exposure afterwards would be thermal decomposition of the material (burning it) or use of a penetrating solvent. Most of the water soluble toxic components will get rinsed away at the first rain, and decompose in the soil fairly rapidly.

Continued exposure to fresh cedar might cause some problems. However, it's worth noting that cedar shavings are often used for bedding for rabbits, guinea pigs, and such. As one who has raised guinea pigs in the past, I can tell you they are quite susceptible to toxic environments, and cedar never bothered any of my critters, so I doubt exposure to the wood itself is much of a concern. However, I would strongly caution against exposure to smoke from burning cedar.

It seems that handling green cedar especially the fronds, provides for the most acute type of exposure.

Pet owners are generally advised to avoid cedar shavings for their pets these days, due to respiratory problems.

If you are splitting your own cedar roof shingles, at least you know what is in them. The tannin in the wood may color your collected water and affect the taste. It probably wouldn't be strong enough to affect soil or vegetable garden plants, and might even be broken down by soil microbes.

If you buy commercial shingles, they are often treated with CCA (Chromated copper arsenate).

I think fibrous cedar-type barks can be used to wrap live coals for carrying fire bundles, to get back to the original intent of the thread.

Sue

Yep, but you gotta wrap them real tight, or they will torch up.

My guinea pigs seemed to succomb to all sorts of exposures (don't feed rodents cruciferous vegetables for one). They never seemed to have a problem with the cedar though.

Could be the squeakers just never got enough of a dose. Who knows?

That's in line with what I was thinking ... thanks for the info.

Good point ... I will definitely look for "natural" Cedar that has not been treated.
thanks