Old Buildinss Prove Durahlity Of \Vest Coast Hemlock Lumber

West Coast hemlock lumber has a brilliant sales future. It has strength, rvorkability, resiliency, pleasing pattern, and, above all, durability-just about everything a consumer wants in a soft wood lumber.

Authority for this bit of sales talk is D. W. (Bill) Gossard, sales manager for Weyerhaeuser Timber company's White River branch at Enumclaw, Washington.

Gossard has sold lumber for 33 years. During this third century of marketing experience, his enthusiasm for selling West Coast hemlock has mounted steadily.

"West Coast hemlock," he says, "canbe used interchangeably with Douglas fir,with but one exception. In long joists, ,where great stiffness is needed, Douglas fir is the preferred wood. Otherwise, West Coast hemlock is every bit as good as Douglas fir for building purposes."

In several old buildings in Enumclaw, Gossard can show you just how serviceable West Coast hemlock can be in building construction.

West Coast hemlock siding 28 years old covers the north side of an old lumber storage shed in Enumclarv. This siding has never been painted. Yet it hasn't split, decayed nor tw'isted. The wood still grips the nails tightly.

Under the same shed are West Coast hemlock posts and joists, also 28 years old. They are still in sound, serviceable condition

The floor of an adjacent storage shed rests on West Coast hemlock joists that are 47 years old. They are endchecked, but otherwise sound. A knife blade, probing the r,veathered surface of these joists, reveals good, bright wood.

Gossard can also r1't61y yorl West Coast hemlock siding that has been on an old retail lumber yard office building for 47 years. Though the siding was last painted 27 years ago and has been exposed to about 50 inches of rainfall a year, it is still sound and serviceable. Paint still clings to the boards. Nails are firmly seated in the u,ood.

In tr,vo old homes in Fnumclaw-one built in 1902-West Coast hemlock lumber s.as used extensively. Gossard has gone into the history of these trvo houses and has found that the hemlock is 60 years old in one house, 50 years old in the other. In both instances, the wood is rvell preserved, and has many years o{ service ahead of it.

In seiling West Coast hemiock, Gossard stresses the durability and these other points as rvell :

Western hemlock is dense, has a long fiber, is one of our stronger and n.rost resilient soft woods

It is non-resinous and is therefore receptive to ltaint and r'vill hold finishes many years without flaking.

It has a pleasing pattern, ferv knots and no pitch pockets. This makes it excellent for wall panelings.

It is moderately light in u'eight .rvhen dried and is easy to work and machine.

It is fine textured and straight grained and will not split nor splinter easily

It has neither taste nor odor, therefore is a good wood to use in shelving and cupboards.

It increases in hardness with age.

It grips all fastenings tightly because of its density.

It was used during World War II in airplane and glider construction; plane and glider manufacturers liked the strength, durabilitv, light n'eight and resiliency of the wood.

It is currently much used for manufacturing industrial ladders and fire ladders because it is strong, resilient, free from pitch and will machine to a satin finish.

It is widely used for industrial flooring because it resists lvear, doesn't splinter and grorvs harder with age.

Gossard has lvatched the increased use of West Coast l.remlock u'ith special interest. For many years he tried to destroy prejudices against hemlock that existed in the lumber trade. These prejudices, he says, got their start in the forest and the lumber mills.

Loggers sarv hemlock logs, u'ith the bark still on them, decay more quickly than logs of other species. Thev concluded that hemlock n,as not as durable as Douglas fir.

\\rhat the loggers didn't understand, Gossard says, is that the hemlock logs decayed more quickly because they had more rvater in them. A thousand board feet of freshly sar,ved West Coast hemlock, for example, rvill have from 500 to 1.000 pounds more rvater in it than an ectual amount of Douglas fir.

"If the bark is left on a hemlock 1og that's lying in the

These old shed

Wash., ate 47 yecrs old. They hcve end-Ihecked slightly where wcter hcs dripped over them, but otherwise cre sound. Dcrrk spots on sides of ioists necr the ends show where wecthered gurlcce hqs been chipped awqy to revecl bright, strong wood,

1voods," Gossard explains, "the r,vater can't get out. The higher water content makes'the hemlock log decay faster than a Douglas fir 1og. Loggers and others tvorking in the woods saw this occur and came to believe that hemlock decayed quickly.

"At the same time, loggers and mill men didn't like to handle hemlock logs because they were smaller in size and harder to mill because of their greater \veight, density and $rater content."

In years past, Gossard points out, some West Coast hemlock was improperly dried. Some of this ca.se-hardened and developed \varping tendencies.

"Today," Gossard says, "we know that hemlock must be kiln dried for a longer time than Douglas fir-to get rid of

Los Angcles Hoo-Hoo Meeting

The Los Angeles Hoo-Hoo Club held a golf tournament and dinner meeting at the Rio Hondo Country Club, Downey, Friday, November 14.

Jim Forgie, chairman of the Golf Committee, presented the prizes to the following golfers:

Low gross, Davidson Plywood & Lumber Co. trophy, Rex Wall.

First Flight-first prize, George E. Ream trophy, Sid Simmonds-second prize, The California Lumber Merchant trophy, Dee Essley.

Second Flight-first prize, Weyerhaeuser Sales Co. trophy, George Myers-second prize, Roy Stanton trophy, Boris Kutner.

Third Flight-firstprize, Atlas Lumber Co., trophy, Norm Ward- second prize, Bohnhoff Lumber Co., Inc. trophy, Ralph Steffen.

The guest prize was won by "Bud" Gerich, and the the higher water content. When West Coast hemlock lumber is properly dried, as it is today, it is one of our most useful, durable soft woods.

"As a matter of fact, much of the air-dried West Coast hemlock lumber produced years ago was serviceable and of higlr quality. The 47-year-old joists under the old lumber storage shed in Enumclaw were probably put in greennot dried at all. Yet they have stood up for almost half a century and haven't rvarped or split."

Some of the old prejudices against West Coast hemlock lumber still exist, but this wood is now fast earning Lhe recognition it deserves. No one gets more personal satisfaction from this than Bill Gossard. For 33 years, he has been trying to u.in wider acceptance for \\rest Coast hemlock. In his book, it's "a truly wonderful n.ood."

Dubs prize u-ent to Baker Lee. They received trophies presented by the Club.

Winners in the special events were awarded golf balls. Harvey Koll was in charge of the golf tournament.

President Don Bufkin presided overthe after dinner ceremonies, and announced that the Annual Christmas Party will be held at the Oakmont Country Club on Friday, December 12. A new Paul Bunyan sound motion picture was shown through the courtesy of the Weyerhaeuser Timber Co. and Larry Weiland of the A Arrow Lumber Co. showed motion pictures of the last Hoo-Hoo concat. The Gay Gates Trio provided songs and music during the cocktail and dirrner hours. There was a good attendance, 150, Old Cats sitting down to dinner.

Appointed Assistant Mcrncger

Jack Raines, manager of Hammond Lumber Company, Pomona, announces the appointment of Wilbur I-app as assistant manager. He was formerly yard manager.