Pine

[JFC]

The term pine has become very loosely used over the years to the point i find even the timber yards don't know what they are selling .
I've been after some spruce (picea abies or picea sitchensis) for my guitar project but have been offered silver fir ,whitewood (abies alba) as spruce . Today i read on a boating forum that Robbins have loads of pitch pine (pinus rigida)
When i asked at my timber yard if their spruce was a picea i was told it was unspecified . I assume the pitch pine will also be unspecified ?
To me that means its not the timber they are saying it is . Normally to me it wouldn't matter but for tone woods or boat building etc it is important to get the right wood or you sink or sound bad .
So are these unspecified woods what they say they are or has pine become a general term for most soft woods ?
And yes i have been reading my wood book :lol:

 

[dexteria]

Hi,

Today I called a local salvage yard and asked if they had any reclaimed timber. The lady on the other end said "Oh yes, we've got lots of that in the yard". I asked "Do you have any Scots Pine?" Reply "Oh no, we've only got normal wood"

:?

Normal wood?

Mark

Still looking for clear reclaimed Scots Pine

 

[JFC]

Thats my point , what do you call Scots pine ?

 

[Anonymous]

Wow all those latin names, someones had their head in the books, never placed you in the boffin camp JFC, unlike moi :lol:

As for the tonal sounds, even if you find the right stuff, you shouldn't admit it and blame any bum notes on the timber qualities.

By the way my mental image of you playing the guitar is a cross between George formby (when i'm cleaning windows) and the fella from spinal tap. :shock: with all your mates dancing around their handbags

 

[tnimble]

Over here for timbers only Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris, that we call Grenen) and Spruce (Picea abies or Picea excelsa , that we call Vuren) are held on stock. For Parquet (ready boards sold in sealed packs) also Pinus rigida (we call it also Pitch Pine) is stocked.

However in the last couple of years any softwood is sold as Spruce and even as Scots Pine which is held to be much more durable and stronger for construction work.

Some of the more specialized dealers in fine wood and exotics for the furniture making industries don't even stock them any more because of the unreliability of the type of species. I know of 2 dealers holding special stock of various pine species for the instrument makers which is also dried with more care and over long time. Thats 2 dealers from about near 40 Dutch and Belgium dealers contacted a while ago for a friend in need of Scotch Pine for a rebuild of a rare instrument on display at a museam.

 

[bjm]

I guess it depends on who you are dealing with. I used to work in wood science and when we needed, eg, Scots pine (all the time) we would deal with the larger suppliers as they could provide information on source etc. I would also do a wood ID to confirm what we had.

My experience has been to be weary of what people think they are selling. I think it is mainly a limited understanding of the way timber names can be misleading when taken from a trading and/or botanical perspective. The history of timber trading is full of examples - African mahogany (Khaya ivorensis) is not a true mahogany (Swietenia spp) but was traded based on it's similarity.

I don't know if you are aware but there is a British Standard on wood names: BS7359: 1991 Nomenclature of commercial timbers including sources of supply.

 

[dexteria]

Thats my point , what do you call Scots pine ?

Redwood

Mark

 

[engineer one]

i always thought that scots pine was what the highland railway and the caley used as the sleepers on the railway.

most uk railways in early days got their sleepers from canada, it was used as ballast on the ship back over here, and of course since mainly british contractors built the railways in canada and east coast america, they often got paid after they went bust, in wood products.

also when the russian railways were built they also had financial problems and paid in wood. they were all types of pine.

but i do find that unless you know what the wood looks like, no one in the yard has any real idea

paul :wink:

 

[lurker]

My understanding of scots pine ( my wood knowledge is minimal) is that due to the crap weather in the far north (something I do know all about, having lived on the Pentland Firth!) was the wood was slow growing thus dense.
My house doors are a lovely pine (assumed scots) and cut more like a hard wood than the white stuff the barns sell.

 

[tnimble]

What I know of the Pinus sylvestris is that it is a native northern European Pinus specie. In southern Europoe it grows in the higher maintain regions. This secies is a slow growing Pinus resulting in its density and hardwood like hardness.

In England its called Scots Pine because this species mainly grows in Scotland nowadays due to exploitation. SPruce and Aspen are not over exploited and grow throughout the British Isles.

In the Netherlands most Pinus sylvestris comes from Norway, Russia and Syberia.