Timber Framers Guild Forums General General Forum Questions Tamarack / Eastern Larch

Anyone have experience using tamarack / eastern larch? I have a local builder who is requesting it be used for a porch addition. Traditional joinery, not overly complicated. No ground contact, and I'm fairly certain it will have a full to partial coverage from a roof.

I've only worked with larch of the western variety and wasn't too pleased to work it as it started to dry.

bmike, I have used tamarack and it works just fine. I sleep on a bead of nails, walk on hot coals and it's up hill both ways to get to work, as well. In reality it's a bit on the tough side even green and has extra gum to foul the teeth on your hand saws. If you are using all power tools it may not be an issue. I would not hesitate to use tamarack for certain needs, it's local, holds up well in adverse conditions and builds character.

Please read and follow the fine print at the bottom and advance at your own risk.

Tim

It's moderately rot resistant, strong and most of all heavy! Shrinks quite a bit so big checks, similar to red pine in that respect. Harder to work than white pine, but not impossible.

It is a traditional timber to use for rot resistance and commonly used to make knees. If you ever hear an Eastern old-old-timer speaking of Juniper he/she is speaking of tamarack/hackmatack/larch. No doubt using it will be a learning experience.

Jim.

Thanks all. We'll see where it goes.
Sounds like fun, regardless.

Hi Jim,

Re your remarks about Juniper. I was told during a visit to Finland that they used this wood for making pegs / pins. I have also noted some very large stems puported to be Juniper that have been used for the main structural timbers in the Peter French round horse breaking barn located in Frenchglen, Oregon. (see page 112 of The American barn by Randy Leffingwell).

My own experience of Juniper is that this tends to grow in bush form and therefore is unlikely to reach timber framing proportions. The advice that you provided above might go some way to explaining how common usage of misnommers might explain this apparent contradiction however, those main posts in the Peter French barn do not demonstrate the round profile associated with Larch, etc. and I might well place a bet they they are indeed Juniper.

Regards

Ken Hume

It is interesting that my tree book do not list Juniper as a user name under Tamarack (Larix Laricina), it does mention American Larch and Hackmatack. Juniper comes up under Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana), that is because it is not a true cedar. Tamarack can grow to 60' and yield a 2' trunk making nice sill stock.

I don't have a copy of the book you called up Ken. Is it possible to find it on google books? I do recall form my short stay in Arizona they used Juniper as fire wood. It grew in a short stubby bush like tree, maybe 20' tall with a 6" trunk and twisty.

Jim, you mentioned this before and I found it interesting in that the locals here don't use Juniper as a variable, I am not that far from you. A misnomer? My tree book only covers the Eastern North America and something else may be growing in the West.

Tim

One old farmer here in Maine told me tamarack was used in the cow tie-up area of barns for top-layer floor planks.

Farmers were always needing to replace these boards due to the constant hoof wear and urine/manure conditions. He said tamarack held up better than most.