PacNW, so think it'll be tsuga heterophylla (western hemlock).

l'll give it a shot, and try a couple test pieces, and see what happens.

It'll be fun to try, and a great way to get a little extra exercise out in the woods.

: Depending on where you like...

: I assume you're talking about the conifer in the genus tsuga
: (unrelated to the plant poison-hemlock by the way). I know the
: Eastern species well. In New England we mostly have Eastern
: Hemlock (tsuga canadensis). My land was covered in it. I cut
: cords of it for firewood when I cleared the land. For a conifer
: it burns very nicely. The trees I had were a royal pain to
: split. It's quite knotty and yielded very little straight grain.
: The other problem is there is a marked difference in density
: between early and late growth. I couldn't image trying to split
: a 8-9' log. You'd have 6-8 whurls of branches, each marking that
: years growth.

: Western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) is a different beast. It grows
: much larger and yields clearer boards. You'd have better luck
: splitting it.

: You still have to bend it...