Spanish Cedar: (Cedrela Fissilis)
Distribution
Widely distributed in tropical America from southern Mexico to northern Argentina.
General Description
Spanish-cedar is one of only a few tropical species that are ring-porous. The heartwood varies from light to dark reddish brown, and the sapwood is pinkish to white. The texture is rather fine and uniform to coarse and uneven. The grain is not interlocked. The heartwood is characterized by a distinctive odor. The wood dries easily. Although Spanish-cedar is not high in strength; it is considered decay resistant; it works and glues well.
Availability
Reasonable availability.
Available Sizes:
4/4 through 10/4
F1F&Btr
Working Properties
Moderately good steam bending qualities. Dries rapidly with minor warping and slight checking. It works well and easily with hand and machine tools. Experts recommend sharp cutting edges to avoid wooliness. It has good nailing and gluing properties.
Physical Properties
The wood is light and soft with generally low strength properties and a poor steam-bending classification.
Main Uses
Spanish Cedar is widely used as a construction timber in South America, as well as for furniture and paneling. But in N.America, Spanish Cedar is really known for its very distinctive fragrance, and thus as the wood of choice for lining humidors, cigar boxes and cigar wrappers. Applications for the wood also include craft projects, high-end cabinetry and furniture, clothing chests, interior joinery, patterns, lead pencils, boat building, canoe decks and musical instrument parts.