The Wood Guide · Calculating with wood
The tree behind the woodEvergreen, resinous and surprisingly tough. From the Siberian tundra to the Mediterranean coast, pines have adapted everywhere — and one species supplies the pine timber we work with.
Pines are evergreen, resinous conifers. Most species grow 15 to 45 metres tall, but the range within the genus is huge — from creeping shrubs to trees of eighty metres.
That resin is exactly what makes pine so recognisable: the smell when you saw it, the knots that can bleed through a coat of paint, and the natural protection that makes its heartwood more durable than that of spruce. For anyone who works with pine , that is not trivia but everyday practice.
The tallest known pine is a ponderosa in southern Oregon: over 81 metres. The smallest are the Siberian dwarf pine and the Potosí pinyon, which never grow beyond a few metres. And Methuselah, a Great Basin bristlecone pine, is almost 5,000 years old — one of the oldest living organisms on earth. Its relative Prometheus, found near Wheeler Peak in Nevada, was estimated at around 4,900 years.
From cold tundra to Mediterranean coast — and one you come across almost every day without knowing it.
Scots pinePinus sylvestris
The most important one for us: this is the tree that gives pine timber. Native from Scotland deep into Siberia, usually 25 to 35 metres tall.
Used for construction timber, furniture making and paper production.
Black pinePinus nigra
Grows to about 25 metres, with dark, greenish-black bark. Popular as an ornamental tree in parks in Europe and North America.
Siberian dwarf pinePinus pumila
A low, often creeping pine a few metres tall that grows in the coldest climates and survives temperatures down to -50 °C.
Canary Island pinePinus canariensis
Native to the Canary Islands and Madeira, usually 20 to 25 metres. Remarkably fire-resistant: after a forest fire it simply sprouts again.
Western white pinePinus monticola
From western North America, up to around thirty metres tall, with long slender needles that turn yellowish brown as they age.
Korean pinePinus koraiensis
From East Asia, known for its large edible pine nuts — the most widely traded pine nut in the world comes from this species.
Scots pine gives the pine timber you find in fences, picnic tables and garden sheds.
You can recognise pine by its reddish-brown heartwood, the clear knots and the smell of resin. The heartwood reaches durability class 3 to 4; the pale sapwood around it class 5. That is why it is pressure-treated for outdoor use — just like spruce, the wood of the spruce tree.
We build our KING picnic tables in pressure-treated softwood, with 40 mm boards — and the ROYAL KING range at 45 mm.
On pines, the needles grow in bundles of two to five. On spruces they grow singly along the branch. That difference carries through into the wood: pine is more resinous and warmer in colour, spruce paler and more uniform. The full story is in pine or spruce.
Scots pine, Pinus sylvestris. That is the wood the timber trade sells as pine — warm reddish-brown heartwood with clear knots.
A hundred to a thousand years, depending on the species and the site. Methuselah, a Great Basin bristlecone pine, is almost 5,000 years old, making it one of the oldest living organisms on earth.
The needles: on pines they grow in bundles of two to five, on spruces singly along the branch. The wood differs too — pine is more resinous and warmer in colour than spruce.
Because the tree has resin canals that can stay active after sawing, especially around the knots. Heat makes the resin runny. When painting, seal resinous spots with a primer first.
Know the tree and you understand the wood. And the other way round.
Have a question about your project? Just ask — we're happy to help.
Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Pinus sylvestris — Dominicus Johannes Bergsma, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Pinus nigra — Cayambe, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Pinus pumila — Σ64, CC BY 3.0 · Pinus canariensis — Flocci Nivis, CC BY 4.0 · Pinus monticola — Mat Honan, CC BY 2.0 · Pinus koraiensis — Agnieszka Kwiecień, Nova, CC BY-SA 4.0
