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red pine

Started by west penn, January 05, 2011, 05:26:42 PM

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west penn

  Has anyone had much experience with red pine? Does it make decent framing lumber or sheathing? Does it hold up to the elements at all? What is it most commonly used for? I sawed some quite a few years back and it twisted every which way when air drying so I've avoided it altogether . Now I'm wondering if that is a common trait or maybe I just had some bad logs. I have a chance to get a few loads pretty cheap but am a little leery of the stuff. Thanks for any input.

DeepWoods

Most of what I have cut has been Red Pine.  I have not had any problems with any twist or bowing.  I have had an occasional wide board (12" to 16") cup, but I kind of expected that.  I have used it for construction with no problems.  In fact the 20' x 48' garage I built was made from full 2 x 4's.  I really have had no problems if properly stacked and stickered. I have used the 1" stuff for cabinets for my shop, and was satisfied with the results.  It is on the soft side, and would not use it for exterior use unless painted.  I used live edge 1x for sheathing the garage mentioned, and have had no problems other than some of the bark peeling off.
Norwood LM2000 with 23 HP Briggs and 21 foot track, Hand Built Logging Arch, Cooks Cat Claw Sharpener and Setter. 48" Xtreme Duty Logrite Cant Hook.

Jeff

This project was framed with about 80% red pine, and sided with 100% redpine.

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,14094.msg272154.html#msg272154

Still looks good. :)
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

ladylake

 I cut around 200 1-1/2   x  5-1/2   x 12'  which I stacked and stickered real good then air dried, about 2/3 of them twisted but didn't bow too bad.  These were smaller logs, the edge boards did good , the center ones twisted.  Maybe would get more straight lumber off bigger logs.  I also cut some 1-1/2  x  5-1/2  x 14  that I used after about 1 month drying which stayed nice and straight.  If I use red pine for building again it won't be very dry when I put it up.   Steve
Timberking B20  18000  hours +  Case75xt grapple + forks+8" snow bucket + dirt bucket   770 Oliver   Lots(too many) of chainsaws, Like the Echo saws and the Stihl and Husky     W5  Case loader   1  trailers  Wright sharpener     Suffolk  setter Volvo MCT125c skid loader

Chuck White

I have sawn probably 35,000 bf of Red Pine over the years for myself and for customers and mostly it was used for framing, anything from 2x4's to 2x10's, but sawed lots of 1" also.  If siding with Red Pine, get some oil stain on it as soon as it's ready.

I agree with Steve (LL), I won't let it get too dry before using.  If it does get dry, air dry it  s l o w l y and it shouldn't give you much problem.
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

Jeff

We built the little cabin I linked to as the wood came off the saw.  The siding was trees 5 days before it was on the cabin.
Just call me the midget doctor.
Forestry Forum Founder and Chief Cook and Bottle Washer.

Commercial circle sawmill sawyer in a past life for 25yrs.
Ezekiel 22:30

red oaks lumber

we saw alot of redpine ,kiln dry all of it , stickering is very important(within 2"from end and 14" between stickers) big logs are way better than the small plantation wood,redpine is used alot for framing lumber.
the experts think i do things wrong
over 18 million b.f. processed and 7341 happy customers i disagree

barbender

Small red pine will twist, especially if it's knotty. But it makes nice framing lumber, it's fairly strong for a softwood. It's also used around here for siding and interior paneling. Dry it in the shade with some weight on your piles.
Too many irons in the fire

SwampDonkey

We had a big round kitchen table made from 1-1/2" thick red pine, it never warped or twisted. That was 25 years ago now and my mother has the table in her new house. Seems most red pine that gets used is large diameter stuff unless your selling pulp or biomass chips. One fellow has chipped a lot of young red pine for biomass. The power plant is up in Fort Fairfield, Maine. Been running for 20 years or so.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

woodmills1

It makes an interesting paneling or baseboard with a clear finish also
James Mills,Lovely wife,collect old tools,vacuuming fool,36 bdft/hr,oak paper cutter,ebonic yooper rapper nauga seller, Blue Ox? its not fast, 2 cat family, LT70,edger, 375 bd ft/hr, we like Bob,free heat,no oil 12 years,big splitter, baked stuffed lobster, still cuttin the logs dere IAM

Kingcha

Glad that I came across this old post as I am planning on cutting some red pine next spring/summer.   My trees are 10-16 inches and I hope to get some good wood out of them.

matt
a Wood-mizer LT15 10hp Electric, 45hp Kioti tractor, electric smoker, wood-fired brick oven & yes a custom built Solar Kiln

GeneWengert-WoodDoc

Twist is a common issue with red pine.  This results because the grain spirals up the tree, especially during the first 15 rings.  It then stops spiraling and usually reverses direction.  So, lUmber near the core will twist the most...small trees.  Also, those few trees that do not reverse the spiral will have lumber that twists.  Spiral grain is genetics, so sometimes that means a lot of spiral from one planting and then none from the next.

I have a short report on this if you email me a request.
Gene - Author of articles in Sawmill & Woodlot and books: Drying Hardwood Lumber; VA Tech Solar Kiln; Sawing Edging & Trimming Hardwood Lumber. And more

SwampDonkey

Our tamarack grows with spiral grain and the leader looks like the end of a cork screw on some. You can usually see spiral grain by looking at the bark. It was actually a quality call on west cost of BC timber cruising. You estimated a 1 meter window starting at 5 meters above ground and visualized this 1 meter section having 10 slices vertical. Every slice the spiral in the bark passed from 0 to 1 meter up the trunk was the severity rating. So if the grain crossed 5 slices from 0 to 1 up the trunk it was spiral grain 5. This was only done on the coast and islands (Vancouver and Prince Rupert Forest Districts) and not the interior.
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

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