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Here’s a close look at a piece of old-growth pine reclaimed from salvaged timber – on top of it is a piece of new-growth pine. Notice the difference in the growth rings (click on the photo to see a larger image). It’s no wonder some of the woodworking techniques used in the 18th and early 19th centuries wouldn’t go well with lumber we have available today. What would you do differently given these two different materials with which to work?
Pine is a great wood to work. Here’s a book of pine furniture for inspiration, a finish to get a pumpkin pine look and a piece by Bob Flexner on tackling pine finishing issues.
- “Country Pine Furniture Projects” by Bill Hylton
- “Carving out a Pumpkin Pine Finish” from Woodworking Magazine
- “Flexner on Finishing: The Pine Problem” by Bob Flexner
Here are some supplies and tools we find essential in our everyday work around the shop. We may receive a commission from sales referred by our links; however, we have carefully selected these products for their usefulness and quality.
That’s some beautiful old pine. But I can’t think of many modern techniques (not involving hand tools, at least) that I would change in dealing with it. I’d treat it like a hard wood and try making some nice furniture out of it. I’ll bet you can use a card scraper on it.
Every time I try out a new species of wood, I always prepare myself for a big difference in working properties. Of course every different species has its little peculiarities that make it unique. But somehow, I always come out of the experiment thinking to myself, “Yep, that worked like wood.”
Steve
literaryworkshop.wordpress.com
“It’s no wonder some of the woodworking techniques used in the 18th and early 19th centuries wouldn’t go well with lumber we have available today.”
Can you clarify which techniques you are thinking of?
I was fortunate enough to obtain an old floor joist which I used to make the stretchers on my workbench. It was beautifully clear and great to work with. My only issue with old growth lumber is not the wood itself but the lament of it’s loss. It almost seems that the loss of the trees/wood is put on the last generation or two of Americans when in reality those forrests were doomed almost 200 years ago. I have great respect for the intelligence and resourcefulness of the early American settlers but it seems that greed for the plentiful resources that they were given destroyed those forrests. It’s good to see that at least a few in our government have done much to insure that our forrests are well managed and that wood will continue to be plentiful for many years to come..