Hi guys. Is eastern hemlock good for making timber frames. Read that the timbers are prone to shake. There is a sawmill near me that cuts mostly hemlock and it's relatively cheap compared to pine. If there is a shake problem with the timbers will this be evident right away or does this happen down the road. Anyway to recognize this after it is fresh cut.

Hi Mikey,

A few years ago now Tom Musco constructed Pembroke Cottage in Royalston, Mass. using Eastern Hemlock for most of the major components like tie beams, posts, etc. This appeared to work well but like all timbers it's worth making sure that good straight timbers are selected to help mimimise the shrinkage and distortion effects of reaction wood and spiral grain.

Ken Hume

From my experience you will see the shakes in the log before it is sawn it will show in the butt end or top, you can see the growth rings are not stuck together. So if you don't see shake present in the ends or slabs lifting on the faces in the timber you will most likely have fine timber. I suspect is has something to do with soil conditions the trees grow in. I have sawn 2x stock from hemlock and if it is dropped from waste high onto the floor they will break into two or three sections.

If it is sound, hemlock makes a stronger timber than pine. However, the grain can be a little trickier to work than pine, and it can have a lot of splinters.

Thanks guys. Much appreciated.

hello everyone tonight

hello Mikey

I have had some experience using hemlock over my career--hemlock boards become quite hard as they dry and possess good nail holding power especially for roofing boards, along with a resistance to rotting being from the cedar family

Timbers-well--if you can obtain good solid trees,- the timbers can be used to good advantage as mud sills, again because of their resistance to rotting,--I generally hewed them oversize for this purpose

put up a 3 bay barn at UCV a few years ago and being that I was copying the original structure I used what they did hemlock for the sills, and pine for everything else--remember that the network of timbers for the mud sills, all the cross ties, and other miscellaneous smaller timbers come up to a good percentage of all the timbers needed for the structure

it is my opinion that the timbers should be sawn or hewn and let cure at least 1 to 2 years (or longer) before being used to allow the moisture to escape as much as possible before being fabricated into the framework--especially the lower timbers that will not have a chance to breathe after being put into place

hemlock is notorious for shakes and the annular rings can come loose from the vibration such as hewing produces, this will be noticeable on the corners of the finished timbers, where some rings might separate--if the timbers are cut with the heart centred then the timbers even with some corner shake will produce good strong timbers

if the timbers are cut into boards, you will have a fair amount of shake in all of them as they cure, 2 inch such as 2by4's are not so bad and will cure better

well anyway good luck
hope this helps

NH

In keeping with many of the older barns in these parts (Vermont), I have been working pretty much exclusively with hemlock for my structures. Sills, frame, sub-flooring, siding. I get my timbers, boards, dimensional lumber, etc. from a third generation mill. The owner really knows his trees and, so far, I haven't had any problems with the wood (except the fact that it is so bloody heavy when green). After nearly 100 years in the business, this particular mill seems to be able to reliably pick the trees that are not prone to the problems one often associates with hemlock.

Best,
~ Kevin

Thanks guys

hello everyone tonight

This might be a little off topic but frozen hemlock knots are notoriously hard and can actually ruin the cutting edge of an axe, especially those with hard tempering, and filed to a slim taper used mainly for chopping and scoring

As I was growing up and working with my dad in the bush and we happened to be limbing a hemlock on a real cold day I would be cautioned to use the poll of the axe to strike and break off the limbs rather than chopping them off as a precautionary measure

I had actually seen axes ruined by the frozen knots

enjoy

NH

Hello all;

Eastern Hemlock is colloquially considered rot resistant here in Maine but the scientists, and my observations, rate hemlock as "non-durable" such as here: http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/softwoods/eastern-hemlock/

The above site also discusses hemlocks working properties, etc.

That said, hemlock is one of the primary woods used in 19th century frames in Maine, though the quality seems lower now than then.
Jim