: I have a source for northern cedar at $1/board foot (flat sawn). The down
: side is it is not kiln dried or even air dried (very much). My question
: is: If I cut it to 1/4" thickness, how long should I let it dry
: before stripping the hull?

Sounds like a great price for wood. Was it cut this year or last? If it was cut last year it is probably fine for use now. If it was cut into planks this year, then you can probably rip it into strips about a month after it was cut into boards. By the time you get the straightback built, and your forms mounted it should be dry enough to rip. 1/4 inch strips air dry very fast, so once you've ripped the strips you can expect that the wood will be syitably dry by the time you put on the fiberglass.

Since you have a thickness planer, try ripping a few strips and see if you get a smooth cut. If the wood is too green it won't cut well. Let it sit a week or two before trying again. If it is dry enough it should cut easily. After you cut the strips let them sit a few days before planing them to the desired thickness.

: Another question for those of you who have cut your own strips is how many
: board feet did you use? I will be using a thin kerf blade in my table saw.

I get about 14 or 15 strips from a 1x6. BUT, if you are going to cut thicker strips, with the intention of planing them down to the final thickness, you will get fewer strips. When I use 1x8's I usually rip them to nominal 1x4 size, and then glue them with an angular (scarf) joint) to make a longer board. From this I get fewer strips (about 9 or 10) but they are longer.

if you are using wood that was cut at a sawmill to 1 inch thickness, your final boards might be anywhere from 3/4 to 15/16 ths of an inch thick. You may want to use that surface planer to make all your boards the same thickness before cutting any strips. Otherwise, strips cut from one board will not match with strips cut from other boards. If it planes smoothly then it is probably not too wet to rip into strips. If your planks are a full inch thick you will need fewer strips than if your planks are 3/4 inch thick In the first case your strips would be 1/4 x 1 and in the second case they would be 1/4 x 3/4. The first strips would be 25% wider, so you would need fewer of them.

Paul G. Jacobson