# Hardack ?



## Brian VT (Mar 24, 2009)

I've been scrounging some wood from a roadside powerline cut (with permission).
A bunch of it, 2 full loads in my Ford Explorer, is heavy stuff and my buddy says it's Hardack (sp?)
and could melt my stove if I'm not careful. Anyone here know another name for this tree ? I Googled
it and searched here but came up empty.


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## drdoct (Mar 24, 2009)

Unless it says super unleaded or Pure Potassium on the side then I wouldn't worry about melting your stove with any wood.  Post a pic and you'll get the answer pretty quickly but maybe not with this title.


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## LLigetfa (Mar 24, 2009)

Tamarack maybe?  Needles like an evergreen except they shed in Winter.  Tamarack is a hot burning wood and purported to be hard on the grates of cookstoves but fine in any other stove.


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## firefighterjake (Mar 24, 2009)

I've never heard of that species . . . maybe you're thinking hackmatack . . . which is another local name here in Maine for tamarack as LLigetfa mentioned although some folks mistakenly call it juniper as well.


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## Brian VT (Mar 24, 2009)

It's not an evergreen (well, I guess tamarack really isn't either).
It's hard and very heavy. I'll try to post a pic. I just thought someone here might have heard of something being called hardack.
I've talked to a few people that call it that but none know any other name for it. I thought maybe it was locust but my buddy said:
"Nope. Hardack. Burns hotter'n hell. That's a locust over there. Burns hot too."


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## Brian VT (Mar 24, 2009)

I guess it's a VT/NY thing ?
http://burlington.craigslist.org/grd/1058401579.html
http://watertown.craigslist.org/for/1059595694.html


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## Brian VT (Mar 24, 2009)

Finally found something.

"and I made 12 gallons on 63 taps, all of which are in mixed woods with hemlock, yellow and white birch, cherry and hophornbeam (?spelling aka hardack)."

http://www.sfrc.ufl.edu/4h/Hophornbeam/hophornb.htm

Also known as ironwood.


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## JerseyWreckDiver (Mar 24, 2009)

Brian VT said:
			
		

> Found something finally.
> 
> "almost all of mine are reds also and I made 12 gallons on 63 taps, all of which are in mixed woods with hemlock, yellow and white birch, cherry and hophornbeam (?spelling aka hardack).
> 
> ...



Well if it is Hophornbeam its dam good wood. What kind of diameter you have?

Post a couple pics, I know the bark well and can confirm if thats what you've got.


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## Brian VT (Mar 24, 2009)

Here's what I've grabbed so far. 
There's some more smaller/bent stuff that might not be worth trying to split but there's 2 large chunks. One I couldn't even move, never mind get in my car.
It's the big brother to the one under the beer can. I'll have to bring my saw and buck it up.
The bark isn't as stringy looking as the pic in the link I posted. Maybe because it's an older tree ? Maybe it's not hophornbeam ?
.







.
.


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## Rowski (Mar 25, 2009)

I just cut some standing dead "hardhak" a few weeks ago. I really have not had a chance to burn with it yet. Some split easy some split really hard. I've been told it burns hot and leaves little light ash.


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## jpl1nh (Mar 25, 2009)

Brian VT said:
			
		

> Here's what I've grabbed so far.
> There's some more smaller/bent stuff that might not be worth trying to split but there's 2 large chunks. One I couldn't even move, never mind get in my car.
> It's the big brother to the one under the beer can. I'll have to bring my saw and buck it up.
> The bark isn't as stringy looking as the pic in the link I posted. Maybe because it's an older tree ? Maybe it's not hophornbeam ?
> ...


That's definately hop hornbeam.  Awesome firewood, about as dense as it gets, (like me!  hh: ) Found this mention doing a search "The Hop-hornbeam running along the top of the railing system came from woodland in Waitsfield, Vermont that is being managed for maple sugar production. The "ironwood" or "hardack" as it is called in Vermont, was harvested as a favor to a farmer.  Tje Genesee Beer is a dead giveaway, thats where the "hops" in the hornbeam comes from.


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## Brian VT (Mar 25, 2009)

Cool. Now I'm anxious to see how it burns. Probably takes 2 years to dry, huh ? 
Maybe I'll put a few splits in the paint drying booth at work for a few months.  :cheese:


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## RAY_PA (Mar 25, 2009)

will you have to cut those rounds to length?....if so...your in for a new experience, it has the nic-name 'ironwood' for a good reason!


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## Brian VT (Mar 25, 2009)

Yah. I guess I'll be doing quite a bit of filing.


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## kalevi (Mar 25, 2009)

Tree that look like an evergreen that shed their needles in winter are called Larch.


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## kalevi (Mar 25, 2009)

From Wikepedia

Larch is a wood valued in for its tough, waterproof and durable qualities; top quality knot-free timber is in great demand for building yachts and other small boats, for exterior cladding of buildings and interior panelling. The timber is resistant to rot when in contact with the ground, and is suitable for use as posts and in fencing. The hybrid Dunkeld Larch is widely grown as a timber crop in northern Europe, valued for its fast growth and disease resistance.


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## Todd (Mar 25, 2009)

kalevi said:
			
		

> From Wikepedia
> 
> Larch is a wood valued in for its tough, waterproof and durable qualities; top quality knot-free timber is in great demand for building yachts and other small boats, for exterior cladding of buildings and interior panelling. The timber is resistant to rot when in contact with the ground, and is suitable for use as posts and in fencing. The hybrid Dunkeld Larch is widely grown as a timber crop in northern Europe, valued for its fast growth and disease resistance.



Also known as Tamarak around these parts


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## LLigetfa (Mar 25, 2009)

Yes, Tamarack is valued for fence posts because of the resistance to rot.  I remember cutting down a big Tamarack to use as a clothesline pole decades ago.  That sucker was heavy to carry out and a chore to up end to drop into the hole I dig for it.


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## firefighterjake (Mar 26, 2009)

Todd said:
			
		

> kalevi said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



. . . and hackatack or juniper around here (although the only "true" juniper is ground juniper which is more of a bush).


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