What is ERC

[Mad Max]

What is ERC

[takefive]

Eastern Red Cedar.  Seems that most people call it Aromatic Cedar where I live.

[Troy D. Breeding]

It goes by many names. In the south we call it Southern Red Cedar. In TN they call it Tennessee Red Cedar. Other places call it Aromatic Red Cedar.

Basically it's all the same wood.

[darin putman]

Mark its the cedar tree that has the little black berries instead of cones.

[Mad Max]

Cool
Thanks

[takefive]

It's very pretty wood, dark red heartwood and off white sapwood.  There was one made from a stave posted on here a while back that is just beautiful.
A lumberyard in my area has heartwood aromatic cedar boards, but there are so many big knots in the stuff that I'm scared to try to make a bow with it.       Guess that's common with the staves as well.

[halfseminole]

I've got a board I think I want to try of that incense cedar backed with hickory.  Those knots scare me, too.  I'm gonna see if I can plot around it...

[recurve25]

Do you use the sapwood or heartwood for a stave?

[halfseminole]

Both, generally.  It grows intertwined in ERC.  I'd look at backing it, though.