Home / Wood guide / Spanish Cedar
Wood 19 of 21
Spanish Cedar
A cousin of mahogany, often used for cabinetry and boatbuilding. It has a distinct, lingering cedar scent, resists decay and termites, and wards off moths.
Color over time
Approximate, in a normally lit room. Illustrated grain; real boards vary.
- Hardness
- 600 SoftHigher number means harder to dent. About the Janka test
- Weight
- Light
- Cost of the wood
- $$Moderate, per board foot
- Grows in
- Central and South America, Caribbean
What it looks like
Light pinkish to reddish-brown, even and fairly plain, like a paler, softer mahogany (they’re relatives). It’s soft enough to dent with a fingernail.
How it changes over time
Darkens over time to a warmer reddish-brown, much like mahogany.
Shimmer
A faint stripe on some boards and a moderate sheen.
Smell
Its best feature: a lasting, spicy cedar scent, the smell of a cigar box. It lasts for decades, and a light sanding brings it back.
With a natural wax finish
Usually left bare inside humidors and drawers so the scent can do its job. Wax gives a soft satin look without blocking much of the scent.
With a semi-gloss lacquer finish
Gives it a mahogany-like look, but it seals the scent in. That’s why the outside is often finished with a lacquer, but the inside is left unfinished so the scent will remain inside.
Safe for food?
Looks great with
- Sapele: same family; ages the same way
- American Black Walnut: walnut boxes and chests lined with cedar
- Cherry: cherry boxes with cedar linings
- Hard Maple: light box exteriors
Not the best match
- Aromatic Cedar: don’t mix the two in one piece; the scents compete