Tamarack uses

Mosquito_Swatter · March 12, 2003, 08:51:07 PM

Hi All,

I'm new to the Forum -- been lurking awhile -- just joined tonight. Here on Mosquito Ranch we have a lot of Tamarack. Most of it is on really wet ground and starts to die out at about 8-10" dbh. I have sawed a lot for fence boards and I have enough of those now. Anybody know of a market or other use for Tamarack boards?

DanG · March 13, 2003, 09:20:25 AM

DonT know nuffin 'bout no Tamarack, but I do want to welcome you aboard.

It's always good to have another sawmiller around, and a good preacher is sorely needed, hereabouts. ;D

Den Socling · March 13, 2003, 12:32:12 PM

Swatter,

check out this site

http://www.tamarackflooring.com/

Den

Ron Wenrich · March 13, 2003, 01:45:39 PM

I sawed a log cabin out of the stuff for a guy. He used a 6x 8 cant that was left round on one side. Turned out pretty nice.

Minnesota_boy · March 13, 2003, 05:49:11 PM

Tamarack can be used for lumber when exceptional strength and sag resistance is needed. It is considered a softwood (from what I'm told) but is one of the harder of these. The logs often have binding and warping problems when sawn. Once dry, it is very difficult to nail without drilling holes and it will hold a nail so well that the nail will pull in two before it can be pulled out. I've seen it used for flooring and as cabinet material (beautiful!!!), but it is more commonly requested as timbers for trailers or hay wagons. Waste from twisting is more than any other wood I saw. This is about the only wood that I use my water lube on my Woodmizer for. I cannot saw an 8 foot cut without lots of water flooding the blade without the pitch sticking so bad I have to replace the blade. This is true even when frozen.

Minnesota_boy · March 13, 2003, 05:51:30 PM

By the way, welcome to the board, Mosquito_Swatter. I'll bet you thought I had forgotten my manners there. ;D

Mosquito_Swatter · March 13, 2003, 07:27:01 PM

Hey,
Thanks for the welcome and the info. You're right about the water, Minnesota Boy. So far I've been using it green so the nails slip right in. Hope I don't need to pull any.

BW_Williams · March 13, 2003, 08:41:13 PM

Welcome M.S, I don't know if your trees get big enough, but any clears may be suitable for boat building. Is there alot of tension in the lumber, especially quartersawn? I've found that to be the case in Western Larch that we have here in the PNW. As soon as the snow melts I intend to lay the keel of a 16' lapstrake sailboat out of Larch I milled last fall! (Don't tell the bosslady) BWW

biziedizie · March 13, 2003, 08:54:43 PM

Is this tree only in the States or does it grow elsewhere? I've never heard of it but it sounds interesting! When you say you bend alot of nails are you talking about hand nailing or using a spiker?

Steve

Ron Wenrich · March 14, 2003, 03:34:32 AM

Tamarack is also known as larch. It is the only conifer that loses its needles in the winter. There are also European and Japanese varieties that are used in plantations.

biziedizie · March 14, 2003, 04:22:24 AM

K now I've heard of larch so I have a better idea of things!
What's so cool about being here is that I'm finding out about so many different types of trees. When I got my sawmill I thought there were only a few types of trees but I was so wrong! It's cool learning about all the different strains and where they come from and things like that.

Steve

burlman · March 14, 2003, 12:54:45 PM

Hi mosquito swatter welcome. Tamarack is from an Indian name meaning "tree of the cold swamp" according to french folklore here in Quebec. We do saw some here. I have sawn some up to 24 in dia. Thats 'cause we have no shortage of cold swamps. Older farmers like to use it on the stable floors It is very rot resistent and the horse shoes have a hard time wearing it down. We built alog home last year and put down a tamarack floor. It turned out beautiffuly. Great color and grain. I saved some pieces to try on some furiture when I get a chance. Sawing it does cause alot of grief. It is chock full of resin pockets. Run a warm blade through one and your blade completly gums up to the point of stalling the blade. Lots ands lots of water is a must. You can also use them as fence posts, due to their rot resistance. good luck...burlman

Mosquito_Swatter · March 14, 2003, 05:51:43 PM

Ours usually mature (die out) at about 14", Though I have some on the higher swamp ground that look healthy yet ane are past that size.

There doesn't seem to be a lot of tension in these logs, but I have not tried quartersawing them yet. Logs are too small and I need more experience with the mill before attempting it.

Gerry_Mazerolle · March 16, 2003, 04:51:09 PM

Well horselogger said I could not sell woodlots here until I've posted 50 times so I guess I better started.

A couple of years ago I was running a sawmill (lath mill) and we were selling laths in the USA and other parts of Canada. Laths are 3/8 " X 1.5" X 4' and are used for sand and snow fences as well as for lobster traps (pots) and also for other varied production. They were shipped in a 50 lath bundle.

We were shipping our product by tractor trailor so weigh was very important to our bottom line. Although they made good laths they weight too much to ship. A bundle of 50 Spruce lathes would weigh 23 lbs but when it came to Tamarack the total weight for a 50 lath bundle came to a whopping 48 lbs. We could only put about half the load compared to Spruce so it was not viable. Also as stated in previous post, it would twist when drying.

Ron Scott · March 17, 2003, 12:27:11 PM

Whatever happened to Forum member "Larch Man"? He was interested in Larch oils etc.

Larch Man · March 18, 2003, 12:34:39 PM

I have been away from the Forum for a long time. Many thanks to Jeff for notifying me of Mosquito Swatter's inquiry.

Mosquito Swatter was looking for another use or market for tamarack boards and I wish I could help in that regard, but I
am not "in the know" about that. I can, however, tell you about a unique use for tamarack trees.

Our company extracts a compound called arabinogalactan
( AG for short ) from trees in the Larix genus. AG is used in dietary supplements, food additives, animal feeds, personal care products like shampoos and lotions among other products.

When consumed, AG has a positive affect on the immune system and colon health.

As has been mentioned by others, there are several species of larch. Eastern larch is found in most of the northern states of the U.S. from Minnesota east. Minnesota contains the largest growing stock volume of tamarack. Western larch is found in Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. Montana has the largest volume of growing stock for this species.

Canada has large volumes of tamarack in the central and eastern provinces and western larch is found in British Columbia.

It's a fascinating tree!!

Mosquito_Swatter · March 18, 2003, 08:41:38 PM

Thanks for expanding my horizons about tamarack useage. I can't wait to have the time to search for more info on arabinogalactan.

The deeper I get into this the more amazed I am at the value of our forests. So many around here treat tamarack as a weed tree - mostly because the paper mills don't particularly want it and it tends to die out before it's large enough to make really top quality saw logs.

Thanks to everyone for the info, ideas and comradship.