Old pine vs new pine

[MRDucks2]

Decided I had to get rid of a lot of old rotten nail ridden porch trim previous owners had kept. I cut short pattern pieces and burned the rest. The wood was a mix of poplar and pine. Thought I would show the difference between some "old pine" and new pine. The piece of railing appears original to the porches shown in photos as far back as 1900. The new pine was a piece of treated lumber I also burnt. Look at how tight those growth rings are in the old piece.

 

[1080Wayne]

Looks like you burnt back to about 1776 Mike . I`m willing to bet that the new stuff won`t last that far into the future .

 

[mark james]

I've seen the same at my In-Laws house (Southwestern Ohio). Built in the 1890's. Some trim is superb, others are very plain. But when we need to do repairs, the growth rings are incredibly tight. I suspect a mix of pine, sycamore, maple and poplar.

 

[MRDucks2]

I've seen the same at my In-Laws house (Southwestern Ohio). Built in the 1890's. Some trim is superb, others are very plain. But when we need to do repairs, the growth rings are incredibly tight. I suspect a mix of pine, sycamore, maple and poplar.

These were exterior trim pieces intended to be painted from the start bu I found it interesting that there appeared to be no discretion between when pine or poplar were used. The same pieces from different sections would be made of either pine, polar or a mix. A rail cap may be pine in one section and poplar in another. Some sections would all the same wood but may be either pine or poplar. Some trim would be pine in one run and the piece poplar in the next.

 

[PatrickR]

I salvaged a lot of wood from a couple barns and this kind of southern yellow pine was common. It's amazing that after all these years you still get the strong pine smell when working it.
The cross cut pieces look like nothing else. My 1920 house has a few pieces in doors that have a Birdseye figure. Honestly i think it makes a rather plain looking pen though.


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[Gary Beasley]

It may have been something like longleaf pine or another slow growing variety that was nearly logged out of existence. The pine common to construction lumber and grown on tree farms was selected for its rapid growth, hence the less dense growth rings.