Advice on Pitch Pine:

[Scrums]

I've got the offer of as much as I like Pitch Pine roof trusses and beams from a local factory various sections from 4 x 4 to 8 x 12 all decent lengths. Price: £4/cube.

Is it a good price? - they're about 120 years old, got a thin coat of white paint on them and no nails/bolt holes at all.

Any tips/ other advice on machining/using/finishing this stuff - never used it before.

Chris.

 

[Steve Maskery]

If it's in good nick I say that was a good deal. But bear in mind that PP is not like "normal" pine (e.g. redwood) it is, well, pitchy (although I'd have thought that it had stopped oozing decades ago) and it is very hard. More like a hardwood than a softwood. Nice grain though.

 

[houtslager]

grab as much as you can at that price - your a lucky man to be offered such a deal

Old timber fetches premium prices in general and if the genuine PP that is nearly worth its weight in gold

 

[woodbloke]

Scrums - Pitch pine is good stuff to work with but will gum up all your cutting tools with resin, I found it difficult stuff to glue and finish as well because of the resin - Rob

 

[Colin C]

Scrums - Pitch pine is good stuff to work with but will gum up all your cutting tools with resin, I found it difficult stuff to glue and finish as well because of the resin - Rob

Rob
Was the stuff you used before old or new as I think there will not be as many problems with the old wood.

 

[woodbloke]

Colin - the stuff I used was old, though no idea how old - I scrounged it from somewhere and I kept in my shop at school for years before I used it....good stuff to use if you allow for the resin, which can be a bit of a pain - Rob

 

[Scrums]

Oh well........tomorrow we shall see, I've got a 4x4 x 4' length to play with - I'll bandsaw it and plane it and sand it, see what we get.

Chris.

 

[woodbloke]

If you bandsaw it, check the wheels on the bandsaw for resin build up, may well make the blade track 'off' quite quickly - Rob

 

[Neil]

Steve Maskery is sponsored by FESTOOL Power Tools.

Cor! I've been wondering who the sponsor is - no wonder you're pleased! You sucketh mightily by the way...

Scrums, I would jump at the chance to get this at £4 a cube if it really is pitch pine - heres hoping its the real deal <sorry>

Cheers,
Neil

 

[Russell]

The problem with roof trusses is they have been under load. pitch pine often develops micro cracks that look like fine black lines. I have seen some crack dangerously while being turned on a lathe. It could be rough or OK have a look and take a metal detector if you can there may be lots of hardware in it.

 

[bill d]

FWIW I've also got some old pitch pine, from a Welsh chapel roof. Haven't had the problems with excessive pitch build up that others report here but it does split easily & I wouldn't try turning it on a lathe or router cutting it with anything but the sharpest cutters. It makes lovely kitchen cabinet doors though and the grain pattern is beautiful. I would guess that whether or not you get excessive pitch depends on how old the timber is and how well ventilated it's been throughout it's life. You do want some pitchiness left in it though, cos that's what makes it resistant to woodworm. Bill

 

[Scrit]

I'd agree with those who say that pitch builds-up in spades - so you need to soak your tooling in turps or something similkar at the end of each day before the resin goes hard..... also gums-up sandpaper, so open coat stearated is an absolute necessity. Smells nice when sawn, etc. but most of the old reclaimed stuff round here is as hard as nails, so sharp tools/tooling required. I find it a bit "bright" for cabinet doors unless painted (and for that it takes some sealing as even 200 year old stuff can bleed resin), but it's excellent stuff for durable exterior joinery. Prices are now up there with the lower cost hardwoods (i.e. £15 to £25/cube sawn to dimension), so £4.00/cube is really cheap.

Scrit

 

[Scrums]

Thanks for all your replies.....seems I'm getting a bit of a bargain then ?

Gonna try and get as much as I can afford. Couple of things I am apprehensive about though, brought up by your replies: will any resin residue affect glue performance & will it chip out - some of these sections are ideal for turning into farmhouse table legs. Only one way to find out....and carefully !

FYI: the sample I got had been laying around in the guy's yard for a couple of months - and it's rained constantly in that time. mc at the ends/outer faces was 24, but once I'd cut into the piece it was 12/14.

I've posted some pics at the following location: just quickly done, so might be slow d/l

www.works-in-wood.co.uk/pitch_pine.html

regards
Chris.