Antique Yellow Pine? Finishing it?

[BigRob777]

I have a nice big slab of gorgeous wood, that I am pretty sure I have identified as antique yellow pine. The thing is that it looks and smells like fatwood. It is drenched with resin and I can light it with a match. The dark grain-lines are translucent and the smell of it when it is cut, lights the house, or shop up. The wood is also quite hard. You can barely leave a fingernail mark in it, well at least I have trouble leaving a mark, some folks may not be able to leafe a scratch at all. Others may be able to dig out a chunk. Here is a picture. Someone thought it was Tamarand, but he said that that wood doesn't have a pine smell, let alone a strong one. Here it is. How do I finish this wood? What is it? The closest match I can find is yellow pine, but quite old, which explains its hardness. Gorgeous zebrawood-like appearance.

 

[Mac In Oak Ridge]

Good old Southern Yellow Pine, AKA Heart Pine. Beautiful stuff for a floor, owned two houses in Savannah, Ga. One three story completely made of Southern Yellow Pine and the other brick with all the wood parts of yellow pine.

You'll find that the grain lines are too far apart on that piece to really show well on a pen. It still will be beautiful. If any of it has the grain very tight that part will make better pen blanks.

Finish as you do any other wood you work with. Nothing magic there.

 

[pastorbill1952]

Really gorgeous wood, but i would definitely use the DNA to glue up & before finish.

 

[wayneis]

You will also have to wet sand as it loads the sand paper like you wouldn't believe. I did a antique long leaf yellow pine pen and I wet sanded with BLO and then used a couple coats of wax after it dried good. If you look in my album there is a photo of a black titanium cigar that I did.

Wayne

 

[ctEaglesc]

Don't you think you should at least turn it before you try to figure out what you might consider finishing it with?
It has to be started before it can be finished.[]

 

[BigRob777]

Eagle,
Normally I would agree with you, but I don't want to cut it up for pens, or even take a chunk out of it if it isn't going to take a finish. It looks and smells like that fat wood that you use to start a fire.

Pastor Bill,
I agree, no sense taking a chance. Thanks. Did you see the oak I posted? I was going to put up another auction for the really wormy stuff, but the less wormy isn't selling yet, so I'll wait.

Mac,
The grain is gorgeous with about 8 rings per inch. Tight enough, I jwould think for a pen. Since I sell wood in many forms, I don't want to waste it, until I can get it identified. Is the yellow heart-pine as I just described, with translucent dark rings, every 1/8"? I could angle cut it to make it more spectacular. I did a test to see if it was fat wood. I lit it with a lighter and it caught fairly quickly, and the liquid bubbled out of the top and almost dripped down the side. It is so full of resin. I guess it must be over 40 years old, but I really don't know. It could be older. I guess that wouldn't qualify as antique, but it is probably about as old as I am. I researched fat wood and found that it isn't just one species, but it is taken from the stump, where the resin has collected, after a tree is felled.
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[Mac In Oak Ridge]

This is a photo of a Southern Huntboard made of 130 year old Southern Yellow Pine from a house built in Savannah, Ga. in 1868. The grain of yellow pine is as you describe and if you smell turpentine like odor from the wood then you got Southern Yellow Pine. I made the Huntboard around 1980 when I still lived in Savannah. The wood was left over stuff from the renovation of the house.

The guitar is a Martin Herringbone that I made from a Martin kit.

 

[BigRob777]

Mac,
Thank you, thank you, thank you. I have been trying to find out that answer for two months now. Is all yeller' pine that loaded with resin? It feels wet, even and it does cake up when you saw it on a band saw. I am glad that it will take a finish. It is most like the stile between your drawers. I'm going to try angle cutting it. Thanks.
Rob

 

[DCBluesman]

Rob--here's a thumbnail link of the longleaf pine...a relative of southern yellow pine.

It was finished with shellac for the base coat, followed by lacquer and topped with TSW.

 

[Mac In Oak Ridge]

In the South there were a lot of houses built of that stuff for the very reason that it was full of resin. There was no "green" treated wood around in the 1700's & 1800's. No way to treat wood for termites. Southern Yellow Pine has it's own natural treatment built right in. They used the heart wood, hence "Heart Pine". Back when there were first growth trees being cut you could get a lot of wood out of the heart of a pine tree.

It is slap full of resin. As you have seen the fine dust will cake up on your table saw and saw blade, between the teeth, under the table insert. Friction melts tiny particles of resin as the blade cuts it and when it flings it up against a cooler place it sticks. You saw enough of it and you'll find a stripe of pine resin right down the table where the saw kerf goes behind the blade.

 

[BigRob777]

Lou,
That's a gorgeous pen. The two woods do look very similar. I think I'm going to make my first pen out of it, and if it turns out anything like yours, I'm going to post some blanks for sale. I will of course keep a bunch for myself.
I just got a delivery to my door. It is a sample from a supplier in Jerusalem. Check out what I got as a sample. It contains 6 Jerusalem Olivewood and something else. I have to look that end piece up. It looks remotely like bocote, but with less color. My supplier is touring North America, so I can't ask him. I am trading bloodwood and some other things for it. I'll take as much as I can get. It isn't as dark as BOW, but it is nice.

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[swm6500]

Rob, most of the fat wood that I have ever seen is basically heart of pine. A little messy to work with, but nothing that cannot be overcame.

 

[JimGo]

Rob, that end piece almost looks like Cocobolo with both heart and sap wood. Is the color correct in your pic?

 

[BigRob777]

<b>Jim,
Yes, the color is correct, but the flash made them half of a shade lighter. I finally found the original e-mail, which identified the wood as Indian Rosewood with sapwood. It doesn't look anything like the East Indian Rosewood that I got from WestPenn Hardwoods. This sample is much nicer, cleaner and crisper lines. It will make a nice pen, but I don't know if I can turn it, as I am hyper sensitive to most rosewoods, if not all. One of these days, I'm going to do an allergy test on myself, that I read about somewhere. You put a pinch of saw dust on a round bandaid and put it on your skin for a day. That seems like overkill, and I would want to use just a few grains, otherwise, I'd end up with a bad case of the itch. Any idea if the Indian Rosewoods are different? I'm off to do some more research. I've got an hour before my wife gets up (I am the cook around here).

Sam,
Thanks for the valuable info. At least I don't have to worry about termites in my pens.[]

Does anyone have an opinion on whether or not these three woods: Heart pine, Jerusalem Olivewood and Indian Rosewood--will sell on this forum, or on ebay? I had stopped putting pen blanks up on ebay, and mostly sell bloodwood and other wood planks I have in stock. Oh yeah, I did put up some holly for this weekend. I'm saving the whitest board for IAP.</b>

 

[MDWine]

Did someone say HOLLY ??? [] [] [] [] [] [] []

 

[JimGo]

Rob,
You REALLY need to watch the use of that "H" word around Michael. He'll harass you for the rest of the week! []

I'll be happy to take that rosewood off your hand if you'd like... [] I can add it to my previous order with you. Just drop me an E-mail if you're interested.

 

[BigRob777]

Jim,
You can have it, no charge. Your business is much appreciated. This is really helping me to pay for my new machinery. I'm taking a week off from ebaying, so I can get my shop into shape and turn a pen.
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