There are different types of pine wood, with varying features. This article provides information about the basic pine wood types.
Pine trees are among the most abundantly seen evergreen trees in the northern hemisphere. There are around 120 pine tree species. While some of them are used for ornamental purposes; most of the species are of commercial importance, as they are sources of timber as well as wood pulp.
Pine wood is widely used for making furniture, paneling, floors, roofing, and window frames. This wood is said to be strong, and is easy to work with. Being soft, pine wood is also ideal for carving.
Humans have been using pine wood for various purposes, since time immemorial. It was commonly used for building log cabins. Even today, it is widely used for construction and furniture making.
Apart from being strong, pine wood is easily available and cheaper, as compared to some other wood types. It is highly versatile and can be stained easily. As mentioned above, there are different types of pine wood, that are used for different purposes. They include yellow pine, white pine, blue pine, and deal pine.
White Pine Wood
Native to North America, white pine trees are also known as northern white pine, soft pine, and eastern white pine. Sugar pine is also classified as white pine, as it has almost all the features of the latter. Initially, white pine wood was mainly used as ship masts.
This pine is often found as tall, straight trees with minimum knots. White pine wood is soft, and its color ranges between white to golden shades. Its wood has a close and even grain structure, with a smooth surface that has no raised grains.
Though it is lightweight, white pine wood is strong and durable; and is not prone to warping, swelling, shrinking, checking, or splitting. It is widely used for making door frames, furniture, cabinets, and interior walls.
Yellow Pine Wood
Yellow pines or Southern yellow pines are natives to the Southeast parts of the United States. As the name implies, these pine trees have yellowish wood. Yellow pines include various types of pine trees, and the most commonly used varieties are loblolly, longleaf, shortleaf, and slash pine.
Yellow pine is said to be cheaper, as compared to other types of pine wood; and is usually preferred for constructions that are meant for heavy use. This is due to the strength and durability of this wood, which is versatile too.
It is said to be the strongest type of pine wood with a high load bearing capability. So, this wood is preferred as a flooring material, and is also used for boat building. However, it can be prone to shrinkage; and sometimes, decay too.
Blue Pine Wood
Another type of pine wood is blue pine, which has bluish or grayish hues. In some types of blue pine wood, brown shades can also be seen. Blue pine wood is also strong with a good load bearing capacity. It is said that blue pine is similar to yellow pine in characteristics, except the color.
However, staining can be a little bit difficult in this wood, due to the blue shade. It is said that the blue color is attained by the action of fungi inside the bark of pine trees. The mountain pine tree beetles that carry fungi on their body, bore through the tree trunks. Thus the fungi get access to the wood.
Deal Pine Wood
Deal pine is another pine wood type, which is popular for its dark-colored knots that dot the grains. Deal pine wood is usually used for interior house trim, wooden doors, and paneling. This type of pine wood can be bought in red as well as yellow varieties.
Deal pine wood trees are mostly found in Europe and North Asian countries. In America, white pine woods with several small knots are used instead of deal pine wood. In such cases, white pine wood is sanded and treated with ammonia, so as to achieve the characteristic yellow color, and the knotty pattern of original deal pine wood.
Another type of pine wood is clear pine wood, which has a white to creamy color, that may change to dark orange with age. This wood is said to be soft with a uniform texture.
The above said are the four basic types of pine wood; but, each type has different varieties with different local names. So, it is important to understand the specific type, before you choose one.
If you are looking for a good fencing, there are different types of pine wood fencing that vary in size, pattern, and style. The same applies to pine wood furniture and panels. So, try to choose the appropriate type of pine food, according to your requirement.
