Official Luthiers Forum!

Hello friends
last month i was in timber market for searching some woods
i can accross one white lumber like maple
so i asked the dealer and he said that it is white cedar

had ever any one heard about it?
and for what purpose can we use in luthierie
i think it was good enough for classical guitar necks

pls let me know about ur opinion
waiting for ur replies

Hello Raoul,

I'm afraid the name "white cedar" is applied to rather many species from different genera and families. Most are softwoods (gymnosperms), but there is an angiosperm that is a member of Meliaceae, the same family as mahogany, sapelle and Spanish cedar. Do you know geographically where this "white cedar" is from? Was the timber market where you saw this wood in India?

If the wood is from India, you might have come across Melia azedarach. I'm afraid I don't know much about this species or its wood. Have a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinaberry and see if it seems to fit.

I've used White Cedar, Thuja occidentalis, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thuja_occidentalis, for soundboards and it is a near drop in for WRC. I use quite a bit of it for my canoe building.

Lots of woods often get similar labels, so try and check out the scientific name to be sure of which wood is which.

_________________
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thanks friends for ur replies

i dont think the dealer may know the scientific name
next time i visit him i will ask the origin so that i can get some idea
but if Thuja occidentalis then can we use for necks or back bracing
or headblock and tail blocks?

here in the eastern usa white cedar juniper (juniperus virginiana) donny gilliam