: I have a portable sawmill as part of my business in Hartland,CT. I have
: obtained some true northern white cedar and would love to make several
: kayaks using this wood. My question is: should I try to saw strips on the
: bandmill, which is possible, or should I saw wide boards from which to cut
: strips on a table saw later? Knowing how soft this wood is, should I
: bother to plane it to thickness or use it rough sawn and sand it? I hope
: to incorporate several types of wood for contrast in color and design. Any
: special considerations?

You need to cut boards, sticker them and let them air dry further to stabilize
the water content before you think about cutting strips.

Unfortunately, unless you have one huge pile of cedar logs it's very unlikely
you will find any clear / knot free pieces of wood.

Most northern white cedar has branches which start about 3' from the ground.

Most northern white cedar swamps have been cut and recut, so large trees with
clear wood are few.

Unless you use clear wood you will not have a fair surface to work with on your
boat and sanding/ surfacing will also be difficult if you use wood with knots.

You can use the wood to make some nice lawn furniture.

All the best,

Rob Macks
Laughing Loon CC&K
www.LaughingLoon.com