Engelman Spruce (Picea engelmannii)
Engelman Spruce is the only species of spruce native to the forests of our area. Its lumber is milk-white, light and strong. We grade-saw a small amount, as it has a small following for wood-workers. Since it has one of the highest weight to strength ratios of all wood species, spruce has been prized for everything from aircraft to guitars. Its lumber is pure white, usually straight grained and very light.
Lodgepole Pine (Pinus contorta) is a somewhat shorter lived pine tree native to Idaho. One interesting fact about this species is that its cones will stay on the tree and tightly closed until the heat of fire causes them to open. For this reason, lodgepole pine tree stands will be the first to come back after a burn.
The trunk of the lodgepole is usually small, straight, and holds its diameter well with minimal taper. For this reason the native populations prized it for teepee supports and travois poles. Today it is still used often in round-wood applications; such as rails, logs homes, log furniture, etc. The wood of the lodgepole pine is similar to others of the pine species, and its small, tight knots make it a good choice for paneling and other visual products.
The Quaking Aspen (Populus tremeloides) is one of the most plentiful species found in North America. It can be found from Northern Canada and Alaska all the way to Mexico. Its name is derived from its leaves, which tremble (or quake) in the slightest breeze.
The trees themselves reach a mature height of 50 to 80 feet, and a trunk diameter of 24 inches and more. It is a short lived tree, dying sooner than 150 years in most cases, but the root system continues to live and shoot up suckers, making wild aspen extremely hard to transplant.
The wood is white, with red knots, and dark brown color around the knots and in the center. Crushing strength is low, wood fiber is tough and tangled, which resists splitting. The wood can be very beautiful in paneling applications as a rustic grade. In a clear grade it is even colored without much grain distinction. It is commonly used for Finnish saunas and Russian banyas because it is non-allergenic. It has a low flammability level, which makes it a very poor choice for firewood. Once sawn and dried, it actually weathers very well, turning a silver gray and then lasting for many years. One of the world’s most amazing wooden buildings in the world is the pogost of Kizhi, (Russian Orthodox Church) built of aspen in the 18 century and still beautiful after all those years.
Black cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa), is one of the three cottonwood species of North America. The largest of the three, it also holds the distinction of being the largest hardwood tree in western North America. It grows in moist lowlands, mostly along streams and rivers. The wood of black cottonwood is fibrous, light and tough. It has a reputation of being temperamental in the dry kiln, with stories among the “old salt” of tipping over whole loads in the kiln, and, in one instance, sending a board clear through the kiln wall. We have found, however, that with a gentler, lower temperature kiln cycle, it behaves itself fairly well. However, it is not very popular as a building material, because of its low tonal strength and its tendency to not mill cleanly.
We hope that you all had a nice Christmas, and every success in the new year. I did not get out Christmas cards to our customers, so here is a belated Merry Christmas to our customers. Christmas time is special to us here at the mill, and we have had extended family out to visit, some nice times ourselves. Some days the fire barrel around which we eat has been crowded at lunch time, but there is always room for everyone who comes!
We got a deck of oversize cedar logs from Alta, much of which is product logs, normally slated for shingles, shakes and fencing. But Randy has been working miracles with them on the Lucas mill, and the result is some really beautiful vertical grain clear cedar.
We are working on an order of over 37,000 board feet of larch timbers, bound for a barn project in Wyoming. These timbers range from 4x6x8 to 10x16x26, and are getting dried and surfaced.
Hello, this is to kick off Timberland Wood Product’s first blog post. This website is designed to #1 help existing customers find the info they need quickly, and #2 to help new customers find the products to make their projects a work of art.
It has been a pleasure working with the fine men who run Timberland Wood Products.
I wish them the best!
Jacob Bushnell
Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata), we offer the inland and coastal varieties of this species, which have some small distinctions between them. An aromatic, shade-tolerant specimen, it grows throughout the Idaho panhandle, especially in low lying land, northern slopes, and deep draws. While not a true cedar of the genus cedrus, in the Pacific Northwest (and all throughout North America) is the only cedar most builders know. The lumber from this tree is beautiful, rot resistant, and very workable and stable. It is a leader in exterior applications such as fencing, siding, power poles, and shake roofing. Pergolas, outdoor furniture, decking and docks are some of the other uses that benefit from its natural rot resistance. Inside of homes and commercial buildings, it is often used as a paneling, and also for timbers, where its reputation for staying straight and minimal shrinkage has made it popular for visual applications.