Species data
Spanish Cedar
Cedrela odorata - a hardwood from central and South America and the Caribbean; also plantation-grown. Also sold as cedro.
Properties at a glance
| Janka hardness | 600 lbf |
| Stiffness (MOE) | 1,323,000 psi |
| Specific gravity | 0.47 |
| Density | 29.3 lb/ft3 (470 kg/m3) |
| Weight per board foot | 2.44 lb |
| Shrinkage, green to oven-dry | 6.2% tangential / 4.1% radial |
| Indicative price | $8.00 per board foot (estimated) |
Values are at about 12% moisture content. Density is specific gravity times 62.4; a board foot is one twelfth of a cubic foot, so weight per board foot is that density divided by twelve. Anything marked estimated is our own figure, not a measured one.
How Spanish Cedar compares
Measured against the 113 solid woods in this database: it is harder than 27% of them, heavier than 23%, and stiffer than 19%.
What that means in the shop
A 4/4 board 8 inches wide and 8 feet long is 5.33 board feet, so in Spanish Cedar it weighs about 13.0 lb. A stack of ten is 130 lb - worth knowing before you load a rack or a car.
Against red oak, the trade's usual yardstick at 1,220 lbf, Spanish Cedar is about 49% as hard and 67% as heavy.
Its shrinkage is 6.2% tangential against 4.1% radial, a ratio of 1.5 to 1. The wider that ratio, the more unevenly a flatsawn board moves across its width as humidity changes, and the more it wants to cup; anything near or above 2 to 1 is worth quartersawing or restraining for panels and wide tops. This one moves comparatively evenly.
Woods of similar hardness
Closest to Spanish Cedar on hardness in this database: Port Orford Cedar (590 lbf), Red Alder (590 lbf), Tamarack (590 lbf), Alaska Yellow Cedar (580 lbf). Similar hardness does not mean similar behaviour - check density and movement before substituting one for another.
Working with it
Workability. Easy under hand and power tools, though its low density leaves fuzz unless cutters stay sharp
Durability. Durable to moderately durable, termite-resistant and weathering well
Typical uses. cabinetry, musical instruments, humidors, boatbuilding, veneer.
Related calculators
Sources
MOE, SG (12% MC), Janka and shrinkage from The Wood Database (cites USDA FPL Wood Handbook). Spanish Cedar is not listed in the FPL/Hoadley dimensional change coefficient table, so CT/CR are omitted. Uses, region, durability and workability summarized from The Wood Database. Price indicative.
These calculators are for planning and estimation. Engineering results (shelf sag, wood movement) use published average material properties; real boards vary by grade, grain, moisture and defects. Verify load-bearing designs with a professional.