Western White Pine

Western white pine (Pinus monticola) is commonly found in the drier parts of Vancouver Island, the adjacent mainland Coast and in the wetter parts of the southern Interior, particularly at low elevations. It is a large tree, up to 60 metres high and 2 metres in diameter. It may form nearly pure stands, but is usually found in mixture with other species. Western white pine only constitutes 0.1% of British Columbia's total growing stock.

Common Uses

Western white pine is generally sawn into lumber, which finds its main use in windows, doors, matches, boxes, patterns, as well as construction lumber. Lower-grade boards are often used for sheathing, knotty panelling and sub-flooring. The high-grade material is used for applications such as siding of various kinds, both exterior and interior woodwork, and millwork.

Western white pine lumber is dried according to end-use and customer specifications. Kiln drying inhibits natural staining of the wood, improves its strength and stiffness, enhances its appearance, and increases its resistance to decay and attack by insects.

 

 

Physical Properties
Density (kg/m3)	Green	355
	Air Dry	383
Specific Gravity (12% M.C.)	Standard	0.36
Hardness (N)	Side	1700
	End	2280
MOE (Mpa)	Green	8200
	Air Dry	10100
MOR (Mpa)	Green	33.3
	Air Dry	64.1
Compression Parallel (Mpa)	Air Dry	36.1
compression Perpendicular (Mpa)	Air Dry	3.23
Shear (Mpa)	Air Dry	6.34
Cleavage (N/mm Width)	Air Dry	35.4
Shrinkage OD=oven dry air=air dry 12%	Radial (OD)	3.7%
	Tangential (OD)	6.8%
	Volumetric (OD)	10.7%
	Volumetric (air)	6.0%
	Tang / Rad ratio	1.8

Working Properties

Western white pine is moderately light in weight and moderately low in strength, but it has good working properties. The wood dries rapidly with small dimensional movement and little tendency to check. It is relatively easy to work, with good machining qualities. It turns, planes and shapes well and can be sanded to a smooth finish. The wood glues easily, has moderate nail and screw holding ability, and takes a good finish.

Process	Performance	Comments
Machining
Planing	Good planing quality	Recommended planer settings 12o or 20o hook angle and 20 kmpi (knife marks per inch).
Turning	Good to low surface quality	Excellent results with rotary-knife lathe and poor results with single-point lathe.
Sawing	Very easy to work	Cutting edges should be sharp. Resin exudation can sometimes negatively affect sawing properties.
Boring	Medium to well	Medium boring quality with both brad and single twist bits.
Mortising	Good	Good mortising quality when using a hollow chisel mortise.
Shaping	Good to excellent shaping quality
Veneering	Good	Slight tendency to split during drying.
Sanding	Good
Fastening
Screwing	Moderate - Good	Average screw retention: 378 lb.
Lateral Nail Holding	N/A
Nail Retention	Moderate
Gluing	Easy	Bonds very easily with adhesives of a wide range of properties, and under a wide range of bonding conditions.
Finishing
Staining	Easy	Wood is soft and produces a grainy appearance. Dark stains appear blotchy. Recommended: light stains and natural finish.
Painting	Good paint holding ability
Lacquering	Good	Multiple coats of clear or a clear coat with a high build is recommended.
Waxing	Good	Best results are obtained when using light coloured waxes (e.g. Mellow Pine).
Drying
Ease of Drying	Easy to moderately easy	Stable after drying, moderately high shrinkage.
Durability
Natural Decay Resistance	Slightly durable	Not appropriate for prolonged outdoor exposure.
Treatability	Impermeable to extremely impermeable	Can be improved by incising.

Commercial Availability

Western white pine is of limited availability. It is produced for millwork applications under NLGA rules for clears, shop lumber and moulding stock.

Sources

BC Wood Specialties Group, www.bcwood.com

Council of Forest Industries, www.cofi.org