Part 2 - Softwoods

Wood Notes

Part 2 - Softwoods

By

Jim MacLachlan

Started Jan03

Introduction:

This is the third of three documents that make up my Wood Notes. The first parts are Hardwoods, parts 1a & b. Part 1a covers the References, Felling, Sawing & other general notes trees as well as Apple through Grape. Part 1b covers Gum through Willow. This last part is devoted to the Conifers.

CONIFER - A tree belonging to the order Coniferales. Trees with needles or scale-like leaves and cones as opposed to broad, flat leaves that more often than not are coneless.

EVERGREEN - perennial plants which normally keep foliage or needles through the entire year.

SOFTWOOD - Softwood trees are usually evergreen, bear cones, and have needles or scale-like leaves. They include pine, spruces, firs, and cedars. Wood hardness varies among the conifer species, and some are actually harder than some hardwoods.

General_Notes - read this first to understand the layout.

Commercial Names & the Species

Eric Sloane's Quick Softwood Species Identifier

Cedars -

Chamaecyparis - hard Eastern & Western White Cedars

Juniperus - Eastern Red, Pencil Cedars

Libocedrus -

Thuja - Western Cedars

Others - Cedars from other parts of the world.

Cypress - Taxodium ,Southern conifer that sheds its leaves each year

Douglas_Fir - Pseudotsuga menziesii - Douglas Fir

Fir - Abies & SPF

Hemlock - Tsuga

Larches - Larix

Pine - Pinus - General

White Pine

Yellow Pine

Other - Pinyon (Pinion), Red & others from around the world.

Redwood - Sequoia

Spruce - Picea

Yew - Taxus

Wetwood - green wood with an abnormally high moisture content that generally results from infections in living trees by anaerobic bacteria, but may also result from water logging during log ponding. Wetwood can occur in both softwoods and hardwoods; green lumber is usually difficult to dry without defects. Wood with this defect is also difficult to glue. Although difficult to recognize, wetwood is often characterized by a translucent, water-soaked appearance and a sour or rancid odor.
General Notes:

At first glance the softwood category is very confusing. Having worked with many of the commercial brands & some of the local woods, I have trouble telling the difference in many cases with any certainty. I find hardness & grain differences between two boards of supposedly the same kind that make them seem like a different species. This can actually be the case. The genus of the wood is more easily understood.

A)  There are only 13 different genus of softwoods on the continent.

1)  Abies - Firs

2)  Chamaecyparis - Cedars

3)  Juniperus - Eastern Redcedar

4)  Larix - Larches

5)  Libocedrus - Cedar

6)  Picea - Spruce

7)  Pinus - Pine

8)  Pseudotsuga menziesii - Douglas Fir

9)  Sequoia - Sequoia

10)  Taxodium - Baldcypress

11)  Taxus - Yew

12)  Thuja - Northwest Cedars

13)  Tsuga Hemlock

B) The genus pretty well fits our common names & the workability of the wood, if you have the translation.

C)  Some other changes are as follows:

1)  The Cedar grouping contains 4 of the 13 genera:

a)  Chamaecyparis - west & east coast white cedar (hard)

b)  Juniperus - Eastern Redcedar (soft)

c)  Libocedrus - Incense Cedar (western only)

d)  Thuja - Northwest Cedars (hard & soft)

2)  Pinus or Pine can be broken into 3 groups; White, Yellow & others for most purposes.

3)  Douglas Fir is in a class by itself. Its scientific name is Pseudotsuga, 'pseudo' meaning 'False' & 'Tsuga' being the genus of Hemlock, so it is a False Hemlock. If you're familiar with construction grade wood, you'll know it actually has better strength for long spans than Hemlock.

4)  SPF lumber is not "Spruce, Pine or Fir", but generally Fir. Fir is softer than pine & less brittle, but often mistaken for it. There are only 3 typical domestic, commercial varieties of Fir; usually Silver, Noble or Balsam. Typical SPF is Balsam or White/Silver.

D) If you tally up the changes above you come out with a chart that looks like this:

1)  Abies - Firs

2)  Chamaecyparis, Juniperusedar, Libocedrus, Thuja - Cedar

3)  Larix - Larches

4)  Picea - Spruce

5)  Pinus - Pine

-White Pine

-Yellow Pine

-Other Pines; Pinyon, Red & other continent's Pines

6)  Pseudotsuga menziesii - Douglas Fir

7)  Sequoia - Sequoia, Redwood

8)  Taxodium - Baldcypress

9)  Taxus - Yew

10)  Tsuga - Hemlock

This is how I've laid out the woods & why. The table on the next page helps sort the species out. I've also tried to mark whether a species is local or not. Note that this is based on what the USFS & other sources have to say, generally about the commercial use. Sports or even small forests could be most any place.

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Nomenclature of commercial softwood lumber
Standard Lumber Name / USFS Name / Botanical Name
(only noted if different)
Cedar:
Alaska / Chamaecyparis nootkatensis
Eastern red / Juniperus virginiana
Incense / Libocedrus decurrens
Northern White / Thuja Occidentalis
Port Orford / Chamaecyparis lawsoniana
Southern White / Atlantic White / C.thyoides
Western Red / Thuja plicata
Cypress / Bald Cypress / Taxodium distichum
Douglas Fir / Pseudotsuga menziesii
Fir:
Balsam / Balsam Fir / Abies balsamea
Fraser Fir / A. fraseri
Noble / A. procera
White / California Red Fir / A. magnifica
Grand Fir / A. grandis
Pacific Silver / A. amabilis
Subalpine / A. lasiocarpa
White Fir / A. concolor
Hemlock:
Eastern / Tsuga canadensis
Mountain / T. mertensiana
West Coast / Western / T. heterophylla
Juniper, western / Alligator / Juniperus deppeana
Rocky Mountain / J. scopulorum
Utah / J. osteosperma
Western / J. occidentalis
Larch, western / Larix occidentalis
Pine:
Idaho White / Western White / Pinus monticola
Jack / P. banksiana
Lodgepole / P.contorta
Longleaf Yellow / Longleaf Pine / P.palustris
Slash pine / P.elliottii
(Note:must also have at least 6 annual rings per inch on one end &
at least 1/3 summerwood. Sometimes exported as "Pitch Pine".
Northern White / Eastern White / P.stobus
Norway / Red Pine / P.resinosa
Southern Yellow / Longleaf Pine / P.palustris
Shortleaf / P. echinata
Loblolly / P. taeda
Slash pine / P.elliottii
Pitch / P. rigida
Virginia / P.virginiana
Sugar Pine / P. lambertiana
Redwood / Sequoia sempervirens

(go to the next page for more)

Spruce:
Eastern / Black Spruce / Picea mariana
Red / P. rubens
White / P. glauca
Engelmann / Blue / P. pungens
Engelmann / P. engelmannii
Sitka / P. sitchensis
Tamarack / Larix laricina
Yew, Pacific / Pacific Yew / Taxus brevifolia

Home

Home

Cedar: Chamaecyparis, Juniperus, Libocedrus, Thuja,, other

The Chamaecyparis

Pacific Cedar: Not sure that's a proper name, but back in the late '70's, I worked for a company that built playhouses out of rough cedar. It came from the Pacific coast & that's the name it was ordered under. The Reddish stuff wasn't as red as ours here in the east but was pretty solid stuff & the white was almost as hard as Oak. We never glued it or did much beyond cutting it to size, stapling & nailing it together. It was Jim Moody's Playhouses in Dallas, Texas. I was in the army with his son, Pete.

(RU) Atlantic White Cedar (chamaucyparis thyoides) is scarce now. Was mined from bogs often. Also found in glades on the Atlantic & Gulf coasts.

(JL) {White Cedar.}

White Cedar, so call'd, because it nearly approaches the other Cedar,

in Smell, Bark, and Leaf; only this grows taller, being as strait as an Arrow. It is extraordinary light, and free to rive. 'Tis good for Yard, Top-Masts, Booms and Boltsprits, being very tough. The best Shingles for Houses are made of this Wood, it being no Strain to the Roof, and never rots. Good Pails and other Vessels, free from Leakage, are likewise made thereof. The Bark of this and the red Cedar, the Indians use to make their Cabins of, which prove firm, and resist all Weathers.

Alaska Yellow Cedar
Botanical Name: / Chamaecyparis nootkatensis
Other Names: / Pacific Coast Yellow Cedar, Fake Cypress, Yellow Cypress.
Natural Characteristics: / Straight grain with a fine tight texture.
Color: / Pale Yellow.
Workability: / Excellent
Finishing / Good
Durability: / Fair
Uses: / Boat building, furniture, and veneers.
Comments: / Distinctive cedar odor which tends to fade over time.
Alaskan Yellow Cedar is getting harder to find.
Price: / Moderate

Cedar Shakes: I think all the shakes come from wood that originates in the NorthWest, but most of it is now shipped to the Far East to be split. Back in '80-1, I lived out in Centralia, Washington & it was a horribly depressed area because all the Shake Mills & other lumber finishing mills had closed. There are a lot of varieties of Shakes, the cheapest are cut, smooth ones being used for shims when building since they are tapered & easy to cut. Most doors, windows & cabinets have at least some shakes hidden behind their trim. They're originally for roofing, but they're hell to walk on & with today's requirements of making everything so tight, they're an expensive way to hold down roofing felt. More expensive varieties are the various splits & lengths. Rougher & longer seems to equal more expensive.

From the USFS:

Cedars - Chamaecyparis spp.

The genus Chamaecyparis is composed of six species native to Japan, Taiwan, and both coasts of North America. The word chamaecyparis is derived from the Greek chamai (dwarf) and kuparissos (cypress). The three North American species are listed below. The wood of each of the three species in this genus is anatomically distinct. An asterisk means that technical information is available on this species and is included in this text.

Scientific name Trade name

Chamaecyparis lawsoniana* Port-Orford-cedar West Coast only

Chamaecyparis nootkatensis* Alaska-cedar North West Coast only

Chamaecyparis thyoides* Atlantic white-cedar Local

Atlantic White-Cedar

Chamaecyparis thyoides

The word chamaecyparis is derived from the Greek chamai (dwarf) and kuparissos (cypress). The term thyoides means “like Thuja,” a related genus containing northern white-cedar. The other two North American species are Port-Orford-cedar (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana) and Alaska-cedar (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis). The wood of each of the three species in this genus is anatomically distinct.

Other Common Names: Amerikansk vit-ceder, cedar, cedre blanc d’Amerique, cedro bianco, cedro bianco Americano, cedro blanco Americano, cipres blanco, cipresso bianco, coast white cedar, juniper, kogelcypres, post cedar, retinospora, southern white-cedar, swamp-cedar, swano white cedar, vit-cypress, white-cedar, white chamaecyparis, white cypress, witte Amerikaanse ceder, zeder-zypresse.

Distribution: Atlantic white-cedar is native to the Coastal Plain of the eastern United States from central Maine south to northern Florida and west to southern Mississippi.

The Tree: Trees of Atlantic white-cedar reach heights of 60 ft (18.29 m), with diameters of 1 ft (0.30 m). Under optimal growth conditions, this tree can reach heights of 120 ft (36.58Êm), with diameters of 5 ft (1.52 m).

General Wood Characteristics: The sapwood of Atlantic white-cedar is narrow and white, and the heartwood is light brown with a reddish or pinkish tinge. The wood has a characteristic aromatic odor when freshly cut and has a faint bitter taste. It is light weight, has a fine texture, and is straight grained. It is moderately soft, low in shock resistance, and weak in bending and endwise compression.

Working Properties: It works easily with tools, finishes smoothly, holds paint well,

and splits easily.

Durability: Atlantic white-cedar heartwood is resistant to very resistant to decay (56).

Preservation: No information available at this time.

Uses: Cooperage, wooden household furniture, boat building, fencing, and industrial millwork.

Toxicity: No information available at this time for Atlantic white-cedar.

Chamaecyparis thyoides - Atlantic Whitecedar, Whitecedar Falsecypress Cupressaceae

Habit and Form

·  an evergreen tree

·  narrow, columnar form

·  up to 50' tall and only 10' to 20' wide

·  medium growth rate

·  medium texture

Summer Foliage

·  bright to bluish-green needles

·  sharply pointed

·  leaves turn brown second year and persist

·  leaves are very small

Autumn Foliage

·  no autumn color

·  brown needles persist on branches for several years

Flowers

·  not of ornamental importance

·  monoecious

Fruit

·  brown cones

·  cones are clustered on small branchlets

·  0.25" across

Bark

·  light gray to reddish brown bark

·  irregularly furrowed

·  very thin, spreading branches

Culture

·  prefers deep, moist, sandy soil

·  best in full sun

·  naturally grows in swamps and bogs

Landscape Use

·  lawn tree

·  for evergreen features

·  specimen

·  naturalized area

·  wet sites

Liabilities

·  no serious pests

·  retains dead needles

ID Features

·  scale-like leaves

·  white markings typical of chamaecyparis

·  bluish-green leaf color

·  small brown cones

·  irregularly furrowed bark

·  retains dead leaves

Propagation

·  by cuttings

·  by seed

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The Juniperus:

Aromatic Cedar: I'm not sure which species this is as most references list aromatic properties for all the cedars. I've always gotten it in a box or through some type of special order. I've seen it red, but generally it's got red-white sap wood & a red-brown heartwood that streaks through the boards. It has an odor as strong as regular cedar fresh cut. It's fairly hard for Cedar & splits easily. Often have to pre-drill it, as it is generally T&G or at least cut to lap. As you'll see below, Woodzone.com calls Eastern Red Cedar by this name.

The Eastern Red Cedar is pretty, but very soft & full of oil that makes gluing a chancy business. It's the only one I know that is local, but there are a lot of other varieties out there. It is actually a Juniper, but we all call it Cedar.

It moves an awful lot depending on the moisture. As Eric Sloane noted in one of his books (Barns?), you can look through an old shake barn roof & see lots of day light on a sunny day. As soon as it starts to rain, the wide gaps close up tight. Barely a drop of rain gets in. This movement makes it hell to join together with fasteners or glue. Its propensity to split along the grain makes joinery tough too. Lap joints & pegs work the best, but make sure to keep the pegs at the 1/3 marks & you'll have to go back & tap them in every year, at least if you expose it to weather. Our back deck & awning were all cedar & all the nails worked out.