However, due to the commercial scarcity of some domestic woods, resorting to auction sites such as Ebay or Etsy may be the only way to obtain some desirable domestic, or in some cases exotic imported, species that are not routinely commercially harvested. The potential risks of buying in these marketplaces have to be balanced against the desire to work with a specific species of wood. That is inherently an individual decision.
I also realize that many, if not most, wood workers do not have endangered species lists memorized, therefore I think it worthwhile and important to do even a small amount of research before purchasing any lumber, domestic as well as imported, to be certain of the potential impact you are having, even in a small way, on threatened or endangered populations. This information is easy to come by and takes only minutes to locate through any Internet search engine, including those you can access on your phone as you are standing in the lumber yard or store. Unfortunately, you simply cannot count on a vendor to tell you a product they are selling is endangered.
Health Hazards
While severe reactions due to exposure to Eastern Red Cedar are quite uncommon, some users have experienced differing degrees of skin and respiratory irritation. This is most likely due to the aromatic oils in Eastern Red Cedar that give it such a distinctive scent.
In addition, the long-term negative effects of exposure to sawdust of any species are well documented.
It is important to remember that although many people may, or may not, be sensitive to any given wood, the only experience that truly counts is your own, so use reported side effects as guidance but not as a substitute for cautious and safe practices.
Appropriate protective equipment is therefore always recommended when working with this, or any other, wood, exotic or domestic, unless you have worked with the species before and are certain you are not sensitive to it.
Complete information about health hazards associated with a wide variety of exotic hardwoods is available from The Wood Database. Additional information about how to best use a dust collection system and personal protective equipment, such as respirators, can also be found through this excellent and comprehensive resource.
Fortunately, I experienced no negative side effects when working with Eastern Red Cedar.
My Personal Experiences
I had several pieces of Eastern Red Cedar to work with and it was a new experience for me. The first thing I noticed was that the wood is very soft but nonetheless it cut incredibly cleanly and smoothly. I had honestly been apprehensive about using Eastern Red Cedar because I had been told by other wood turners to expect it to cut rough and fuzzy, as is common with very soft woods, so I was pleased to find that this was not after all a major issue.
My pieces did have knots and that added some interest to the finished pieces, but caution is warranted because sometimes knots will come completely out, leaving large voids in the piece. In addition, there were several bark inclusions in the pieces I worked with. I discovered that those inclusions could catch the cutter, so again, caution is necessary especially when working with woods that have inherent imperfections.
One problem I did encounter was that Eastern Red Cedar can be fairly weak when cutting divots on the bottom of a piece for chucking. On my first attempt, I clearly didn’t cut the divot deeply enough and it broke while on the lathe, so on additional pieces I made the divot deeper than usual to be certain that it would hold.