Hi Ken,

I'm not sure of the latin name, but the wood I'm referring to is commonly called "Pacific Madrone". I have since found some info. about it on the Western Hardwoods Association website (http://www.westernhardwood.com/PacificMadrone.htm). Madrone is commonly found in northern California and western Oregon. In ratings on their webpage, they rank it very highly for "machining", "resistance to splitting", "joint strength", "hardness", and "compression". However, it is also rated much lower for "dimensional stability", "static bending", and "impact bending". I'm not sure where their information comes from and how much of it is applicable to timberframing. From the information they provide, it sounds like Madrone would be great for posts, though maybe not so good for many other beams. I'm also concerned that it would be too tough to work with hand tools. I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone who has hands-on experience framing with Pacific Madrone. I'll be doing most or all of my work with hand tools.

Sincerely,

Doug Pollock