SonomaProducts.com wrote:
It's pretty much like Pine. The lumber trades have a designation SPF
that stands for "Spruce, Pine, Fir". When you buy SPF, you will get one=

of those three. They consider them pretty much interchangable.
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I think the S and P are pretty much the same but the Fir can be a lot
nicer if you get the straight grain variety and that is also much like
Hemlock which si nearly indistinguisable from Fir as a tree and lumber.=

P.S. Hemlock trees have a limp top section, the very top of the tree
hangs over pointing toward the ground.
=20


I think Hemlock can be a little more brittle and splintery as I recall.=20
Great for chopsticks as the wood seems to "grip" well. Beautiful soft=20
leaves (needles). Turns yellow in the fall as I recall.

Fir I think is lighter and is much smoother and less splintery -- but=20
would have to look up the specs to be sure. You're right about nice=20
tight grained fir - beautiful wood... Fairly flexible and springy in=20
many applications. (From memory not from a reference -- so I am=20
comparing to other woods I had available over the years.)

Fir can be used for masts and general boating applications as I recall.

--=20
Will R.
Jewel Boxes and Wood Art
http://woodwork.pmccl.com
The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those=20
who have not got it.=94 George Bernard Shaw