Birdhouses

[ed kerns]

I've been asked to knock together a bunch of birdhouses for a commercial customer. I can buy non kiln dried white cedar pretty cheap in my area. Normally wood that is not dry would be a deal breaker for building anything, but I'm wondering if since no component will be larger than 1x8x12" (and since the ultimate use will be outside) I can save some money by using this material. I can probably store it a couple of weeks in a heated indoor shop before I begin. I haven't done a lot with cedar, but given how lightweight and porous it is, I assume it loses moisture quickly. I'm not too worried about shrinkage, I can account for that - more about cracking, twisting and cupping. What do you all think?

[Woodenfish]

You can buy cedar fence pickets for a lot less money than a 1x but you may need to do a glue up for your dimensions. They are a little thinner 5/8” versus 3/4”. I haven’t had much trouble working with western red cedar which is available near me. Cedar is fairly lightweight but not porous. The cedar by me is stored in a roofed open outdoor shed (Menards) and can be a little wet after being kiln dried but has dried flat for me in my unseated garage workshop in suburban Chicago where we have had constant wet and cool weather for the past couple of months.

[ed kerns]

You can buy cedar fence pickets for a lot less money than a 1x but you may need to do a glue up for your dimensions. They are a little thinner 5/8” versus 3/4”. I haven’t had much trouble working with western red cedar which is available near me. Cedar is fairly lightweight but not porous. The cedar by me is stored in a roofed open outdoor shed (Menards) and can be a little wet after being kiln dried but has dried flat for me in my unseated garage workshop in suburban Chicago where we have had constant wet and cool weather for the past couple of months.

Thank you. Fence pickets is exactly what I had in mind!

[MichaelMouse]

I've been asked to knock together a bunch of birdhouses for a commercial customer. I can buy non kiln dried white cedar pretty cheap in my area. Normally wood that is not dry would be a deal breaker for building anything, but I'm wondering if since no component will be larger than 1x8x12" (and since the ultimate use will be outside) I can save some money by using this material. I can probably store it a couple of weeks in a heated indoor shop before I begin. I haven't done a lot with cedar, but given how lightweight and porous it is, I assume it loses moisture quickly. I'm not too worried about shrinkage, I can account for that - more about cracking, twisting and cupping. What do you all think?

The fresh-sawn eastern white "cedar" (Thuja occidentalis) I used for my bluebird and wren houses seven years ago has held up nicely.  Overcautiously, perhaps, I used aluminum nails.

Left the outside rough for good traction and surface-planed to smooth for help cleaning the interior.  Precise thickness unimportant.

[ed kerns]

The fresh-sawn eastern white "cedar" (Thuja occidentalis) I used for my bluebird and wren houses seven years ago has held up nicely.  Overcautiously, perhaps, I used aluminum nails.

Left the outside rough for good traction and surface-planed to smooth for help cleaning the interior.  Precise thickness unimportant.

Good to know, your birdhouses have held up. It's not normally something I would be overly concerned about, but since I plan to bulk out a couple of dozen for resale, I didn't want the material to be a problem. Ironically, I've been a woodworker for 40 years and never built a birdhouse!

[goaliedad]

White cedar dries very quickly. When wet it is a pain to plane.
Sticker it, run a fan on it will speed up the process.