I felled some hemlock at my friends rental property in June of last year. They were getting too tall and scraggly looking. The brush and small rounds went to the dump, but we put the larger stuff against the property line in lengths..a landscape timber/border of sorts. We are building a storage shed there and i bucked two of the logs to get them out of the way. The bark came off easily and the wood had no rot/punk even though we left it on grade. He wanted me to bring it to the dump, but i want to split it for him to burn. Any one burn it? I only have in board form kindling. Thoughts/opinions? Does it burn and season like Eastern White Pine? If i remember correctly it spits a lot. Wanted to try the T bar on the cant. Only used it a couple times since i got it. Hit a nail on the second cut! LUCKILY it was a well used chain with little meat left on the teeth and not a brand new one! Dont you wish thats the only time you'd hit a nail? Had back up chain with me. Bark peeled off cleanly and in big chunks. No grubs or borers under it either. Do they not like hemlock? after i rolled the first log i noticed a yellow jackets nest right where it was. A bunch came out. I was surprised i didnt get swarmed on and stung using the saw right next to the nest. Didnt have any bee spray so used the little blowtorch to get rid of them. Later on we were framing the floor and one of the stragglers stings me on the finger thru my glove. Id rather find a snake! I didnt have the Fiskars with me and am wondering if it splits easily or not.
A little bit more BTU than eastern white pine. I stack the two together usually. I've never seen borers in hemlock. Never left any sitting around in log form either. Surely there's some kind of a beetle that likes the sugars between the bark and the sapwood. Oh, and unlike eastern white pine, it is safe to burn.
We've burned it after letting it season for a year, I like it better than white pine. We use it for shoulder season wood which works out nice.
Neither him nor i burn softwoods and im trying to convince him to do so now that he is retired. If i split it should dry in time for SS i think.
Hate those $#@# things, yellow jackets that is. I'll take snakes & spiders anyday. We have a small stand of hemlock, but have never cut/burnt any.. yet
I never wrote anything down concerning seasoning time for hemlock but I do think it seasons faster than white pine.
This summer has been hot with little rain in southern New England so white pine might get close to burnable by November if this weather continues. This is where a moisture meter would help out. To be safe, I might add a couple of percent points to the moisture meter results. So, if result is 22 percent, I’d figure 25 or so on soft wood like pine or hemlock. I could be wrong but I think the lower density of soft wood may give a artificial lower reading by small degree. I’ve never burned hemlock but would love to- I love the smell when you crush up the needles/leaves of it.
I like hemlock for burning in the fireplace. We use softwood in the fireplace for quick fires. Poplar and hemlock are the best because less popping.
I just cut a couple of dead hemlock in my yard. Already have them split and stacked and planning to use in October.
I was amazed i didnt get attacked when i started cutting right next to the nest. Last August i "found" a nest right at the base of a tree i was felling. Didnt get stung til i went to exterminate them, lil' ba$@#$%$ chased me then. Left tree til late Fall! Its that time of the year for them and always in the ground!
Well i split them today. Not too bad considering i rarely have split softwoods. Jabbed several with moisture meter and it read anywhere from 25-45%, but with the bark off and hot sun think it will dry fast. Splits from the weathered end logs were noticeably lighter than others. This solitary round from last year was a no go with the Fiskars. Gave it a few more whacks after the pic and gave up. The ax was just getting buried.
Just had the warmest month in recorded history in CT, I predict that hemlock might just spontaneously combust.
I saw that on the news last night. I think this stuff is too damp to do that. Although if very dry, it might, well, maybe using a magnifying glass
The hemlock we have here needs two years to dry. I think it is called Western hemlock. Once dry, it burns really cleanly.
I’ve never burned it, but I think it is one of the best U.S. native species for bonsai. This one is Eastern, and there are some really nice Western specimen.
Part of the goal of bonsai is to make the tree appear to scale. I.e so that it looks like a larger tree in nature. At some point when I cut off this sacrifice branch (sticking up in the air) I’m going to post a thread about bucking a large hemlock top. Maybe stage it on some moss to look like grass. The first was collected; Here is another one from garden center stock.
