Egraff Posted December 20, 2012 Report Share Posted December 20, 2012 Hi All, So in my family we like to use cedar boards to grill food on... you know? Like cedar-plank salmon? <smile> Anyhow, these boards are always very expensive to buy at the food or big box store, so lately I've been thinking about making my own. I also thought they could be good simple gifts to give to people. Plus, it really would be incredibly simple and wouldn't take more than a few minutes.... just buy a big board, cut it up, and sand it a bit. The only issue is, how can I be sure that the cedar I buy is untreated? I obviously don't want to poison anyone here, so I feel like that's making me overly paranoid about this. But I just don't know if I can trust the guy at the store saying that the wood is indeed untreated. I mean, I know what raw wood looks like, but as I said, the risk of potentially poisoning people is making me very paranoid. Also, I don't know if there is any specific type of cedar that I should buy, or if any cedar would do. Does anyone have any thoughts on the safety of this, or has anyone actually done it before? Of course I'd rather just go ahead and buy the pre-made expensive boards if there is any doubt about safety... Many thanks! And apologies if this is a stupid question.... I just want to make sure I don't make a mistake here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRBaker Posted December 20, 2012 Report Share Posted December 20, 2012 EG, if the board was treated, you can be assured that they would advertise it so they could charge you extra for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick2cd Posted December 20, 2012 Report Share Posted December 20, 2012 EG, if the board was treated, you can be assured that they would advertise it so they could charge you extra for it. this ^^^^^ plus, given cedar's natural rot/insect resistant properties, im not sure how commonly they treat it anyways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewoodwhisperer Posted December 20, 2012 Report Share Posted December 20, 2012 Woodworking + Grilling/Smoking = AWESOME! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckkisser Posted December 20, 2012 Report Share Posted December 20, 2012 find a lumber mill in the area i have a guy who i buy my lumber from who air dries all his lumber. and he gets it from tree's that are taken down in the local area by the state. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris H Posted December 20, 2012 Report Share Posted December 20, 2012 Just looking at some of the retail versions of the cedar planks, they look to be typical red cedar. I am thinking aromatic cedar might be too strong. As for treating, if you can buy from the mill, you are probably safe. If you are buying your cedar from a big box store, I would be more careful, not that they would treat the cedar, but they may store the treated lumber and the cedar together, since both have similar uses. Transfer is very unlikely, and I have accidently had transfer from treated pine to cherry (from my own stupidity) and it was very obvious. The wood will be discolored and "oily". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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