Leylandii for woodworking?

[Tommy_B]

Thuja plicata??

[Macpherson]

5 minutes ago, Squaredy said:

Western Red Cedar.  I would not describe the smell as unpleasant, otherwise it looks like a perfect fit.

When the trees were standing that was my guess and when I milled it and saw the colour I thought the same but it's just that other cedar I've milled in the area smelled more like aftershave. I've got some other stuff to mill that if I only touch with the saw I get the strong smell of Cedar even although it's been lying so long that the sapwood's mush.

 

But as you pointed out WRC is really a Cypress I guess maybe that explains the difference in smell....I just find the ID of these type of trees difficult as there seem to be so many variations on a theme. Thanks.

 

[Macpherson]

41 minutes ago, Tommy_B said:

Thuja plicata??

Yep I'm sure that's what it is, thanks.

[sime42]

Ummm, this is interesting. Cheers gents. Maybe what I've got isn't Leylandii after all. It's certainly not creamy white, (except a tiny bit of sapwood on the edge), as arbwork described. It looks more like macpherson's photos, also has the strangely kind of acrid smell.
So maybe it's Thuja plicata. Bit unnerving as I'm now doubting myself; perhaps some of the trees I've been thinking were Leylandii for years weren't actually.

[Macpherson]

42 minutes ago, sime42 said:

Ummm, this is interesting. Cheers gents. Maybe what I've got isn't Leylandii after all. It's certainly not creamy white, (except a tiny bit of sapwood on the edge), as arbwork described. It looks more like macpherson's photos, also has the strangely kind of acrid smell.
So maybe it's Thuja plicata. Bit unnerving as I'm now doubting myself; perhaps some of the trees I've been thinking were Leylandii for years weren't actually.

Me too, I've often wondered what some of the overgrown garden ' Cedar-ish ' type trees actually are, often got strong contrasting colours when split and had grown into monsters planted in the totally wrong place.... likely sold in garden centres as ' dwarf ' 

[Lazurus]

Couple of simple garden benches out of a leylandi that was felled in the garden

[sime42]

Nice. They look sturdy enough. Are you planning to apply any kind of timber treatment? It would be interesting to see how long it would last without.

[slack ma girdle]

I use Laylandii as bearers to stack split timber on, the oldest is about 15 yrs old and has been lying on the ground for all that time. It is just starting to show signs of rot. No other wood including oak has lasted as well as Laylandii

[sime42]

I use Laylandii as bearers to stack split timber on, the oldest is about 15 yrs old and has been lying on the ground for all that time. It is just starting to show signs of rot. No other wood including oak has lasted as well as Laylandii

Wow. Impressive.

[devon TWiG]

Those of us who have spent a lot of their lives climbing and cutting leylandii would of noticed just how strong and hard small twigs and branches can be when dead , stubs left from previous topping work are incredibly strong and rarely rotten so it comes as no surprise to find that it is a very decay resistant wood , it's mother is monterey cypress which is another very rot resistant wood !!