hemlock

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NOTE: there is rarely any "standard" or "typical" look for a wood so take what's in this table with a grain of salt the REST of the pictures on this page will give you a better overall feel for this wood
	hemlock / Tsuga spp. 3" x 3" flat cut, 3" x 3" quartersawn, 3/4" wide end grain, and a 1/4" x 1/4" end grain closeup. This softwood does not contain resin canals and the transition from light earlywood to darker latewood ranges from vague to abrupt. Plentiful rays are thin but visible at 10X (contains one for Eastern hemlock and one for Western hemlock)

Includes at least the following (this list is NOT complete but gives you some idea of the range of names and the way they overlap among the species)

Tsuga canadensis (Eastern hemlock, Canadian hemlock, white hemlock, black hemlock, water hemlock, hemlock spruce, etc.)
Tsuga caroliniana (Carolina hemlock, hemlock spruce)
Tsuga chinensis (Formosan hemlock, Japanese hemlock)
Tsuga diversifolia (Northern Japanese hemlock)
Tsuga dumosa (Chineese hemlock, Indian hemlock)
Tsuga heterophylla (Pacific hemlock, Western hemlock, white hemlock, hemlock spruce, etc.)
Tsuga longibracteata (Chinese bristlecone hemloc)
Tsuga mertensiana (alpine hemlock, mountain hemlock)
Tsuga pattoniana (Patton's hemlock, mountain hemlock, alpine hemlock, weeping spruce)
Tsuga siebaldii (Southern Japanese hemlock)

my samples:
NOTE: these pics were all taken in very bright incandescent lighting ("soft white" at 2700K)
colors will vary under other lighting conditions

both sides and both ends of a flat cut sample plank

end grain closeup of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

quartersawn sample plank and end grain sold to me as Western hemlock / Tsuga heterophylla --- check out the really tight growth rings on this piece (over 20/inch) as compared to the sample directly below (about 4/inch) --- looks like this is old growth and the one below is new growth.

end grain closeup of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

both sides of a sample plank of Western hemlock / Tsuga heterophylla --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site. --- check out the really low growth ring count on this piece (about 4/inch) as compared to the sample directly above(about 20/inch) --- looks like this is new growth and the one above is old growth.

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

both sides of a sample plank of Western Hemlock / Tsuga spp. --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site. The vendor of this sample, who is VERY unreliable about figure designations, has this as "bird's eye" figure, which is just silly. It DOES have some indented grain (see the end grain update below) and a few circular marks here and there but that does NOT make it bird's eye. The labeled side is raw but the other side is sanded down to 240 grit and shows as much cleaner and does not have the slight patina (and some dirt) that the labeled side has.

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above. I see that I got this upside down, but more interestingly, you can see by comparing this to the end grain closeup directly above that this very slight amount of sanding that happened between the two made a significant difference in the indented grain section, indicating that it does not persist very long the way it does in, for example, bear claw Ponderosa pine, but rather causes slight circular or oval marks, exactly like what you see on the flat cut surface of this piece.

first face and the end grain of a sample of Western hemlock / Tsuga heterophylla. This part of a collection which is discussed here: COLLECTION A

the second face, before and after sanding, showing how the patina from aging is only surface deep.

end grain closeup and END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above.

both sides of a sample plank of Western hemlock / Tsuga heterophylla --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by Mark Peet whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

both sides of a sample plank of Western hemlock / Tsuga heterophylla --- HUGE enlargements are present.

end grain and HIGH GRIT END GRAIN CLOSEUP of the piece directly above

both sides of a sample plank sold to me as Eastern hemlock / Tsuga canadensis --- the large flawed area is typical of the poor quality of the samples I received from the IWCS.

end grain and end grain closeup of the sample plank directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above --- there are some sanding scratches on the left side but the fine grain detail is clear over most of it

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

both sides of a sample plank of Eastern hemlock / Tsuga canadensis --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site. OOPS ... I see I didn't get the focus right on the labeled side. Too late now, the sample has already gone back to David.

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

both sides of a sample plank of Eastern hemlock / Tsuga canadensis --- HUGE enlargements are present.

end grain and HIGH GRIT END GRAIN CLOSEUP of the piece directly above

first face and the end grain of a sample of hemlock / Tsuga canadensis. This part of a collection which is discussed here: COLLECTION A

the second face, before and after slicing off 1/8" showing how the patina from aging is only surface deep.

end grain closeup and END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above. Note the slightly indented grain

first face and the end grain of a sample of hemlock / Tsuga canadensis. This part of a collection which is discussed here: COLLECTION A

the second face, before and after sanding, showing how the patina from aging is only surface deep.

end grain closeup and END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above.

both sides of a sample plank of Carolina hemlock / Tsuga caroliniana

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above --- the closeup should have just a bit more of an orange tint

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

both sides of a sample plank of Carolina hemlock / Tsuga caroliniana --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

both sides of a sample plank of straight grain Japanese hemlock / Tsuga sieboldii --- HUGE enlargements are present

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

both sides of a sample plank of flat cut Japanese hemlock / Tsuga sieboldii --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above --- I did the update from the other end because I didn't want to risk a resin leak from that knot when the upgrade sanding process made the wood hot, which it does.

both sides of a sample plank of flat cut Japanese hemlock / Tsuga sieboldii --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by Mark Peet whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

both sides of a sample plank of mountain hemlock / Tsuga mertensiana --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.

end grain and END GRAIN UPDATE of the piece directly above

both sides of a sample plank of mountain hemlock / Tsuga mertensiana --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by Mark Peet whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

first face and the end grain of a sample of hemlock. This part of a collection which is discussed here: COLLECTION B

the second face, before and after slicing off 1/8" showing how the patina from aging is only surface deep.

end grain closeup and END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above.

The three pieces of wood in this section are from 3 different reclaimed barn planks and were sent to me for ID. Based on the lack of resin canals, the look of the wood, characteristics of the earlywood/latewood, the density, I am confident that these are hemlock and almost certainly Eastern hemlock. The fact that the barn was in Michigan adds to my belief that these are Eastern hemlock and not Western. Mark Peet took a look at them and almost immediately declared them to be Eastern hemlock (with no prompting from me).

both sides of a the first plank --- HUGE enlargements are present. The first side is as I received it and the second side is sanded to 240 grit

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

both sides of a the second plank --- HUGE enlargements are present. The first side is as I received it and the second side is sanded to 240 grit

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

both sides of a the third plank --- HUGE enlargements are present. The first side is as I received it and the second side is sanded to 240 grit

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

The Wood Book pics

flat cut, quartersawn, end grain
Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) from The Wood Book --- both levels of enlargement are present for all 3 views

flat cut, quartersawn, end grain
Western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) from The Wood Book --- both levels of enlargement are present for all 3 views

flat cut, quartersawn, end grain
Carloina hemlock (Tsuga caroliniana) from The Wood Book --- both levels of enlargement are present for all 3 views

flat cut, quartersawn, end grain
Patton's hemlock (Tsuga pattoniana) from The Wood Book --- both levels of enlargement are present for all 3 views

web pics:

end grain

log end, apparently long dead since clearly some rot has set in, of Eastern hemlock / Tsuga canadensis

plank listed as hemlock / Tsuda heterophylla and that has wet and dry sections

hemlock slab

planks

plank listed as reclaimed hemlock

planks listed as hemlock / Tsuga heterophylla

plank listed as hemlock / Tsuga canadensis

a plank specifically listed as Western hemlock, Tsuga heterophylla; appears to be a distance shot of some high ring count wood but the pic is so bad I can't tell for sure.