Woodworker's Journal 2008-32-4, страница 20

of the King:

Longleaf Pine

By Rob Johnstone

The story has come full circle regarding the "once and future king" of Southern pine forests.

a few years ago, I thought longleaf pine was just a regional nickname for some sort of "real" pine — you know, like Norway or white pine. (For example, in the South, where longleaf hails from, a "coke" can be Mountain Dew, ginger ale or, heavens forbid ... a Pepsi.) Then I hooked up with Tim Knight and Rhett Johnson, two foresters who at the time were located in southern Alabama. While we were engaged in an entirely separate pursuit (quail hunting), they educated me about the long and romantic history of this sovereign species, which (of course) piqued my curiosity about the possibility of using it for fine woodworking.

.. - * '• August 2008 Woodworker's Journal

The longleaf pine is one of the oldest growing plants in North America. Its life cycle, and the ecosystem it creates, depend on regular and intense fire events. A longleaf seedling, shown in the "grass" stage above, can survive for 10 years or more until a fire event opens the canopy to allow sunlight to reach the forest floor.

Hardwood or Softwood?

When you compare longleaf pine to most of its cousins, it actually has more in common with hardwood lumber — in terms of density, durability and workability — than softwoods (say, Norway or white pine, for example). In addition, its resinous nature makes it extremely rot-resistant It grows straight and tall with tight annual rings. When cut in quartersawn fashion, it presents a lovely figure that evokes old-growth Douglas fir, but with a creamier background, offset by rich reddish and orange hues. In short, it is a stunningly beautiful wood to look at. While it is a true softwood, to think of it in terms of its more common pine lumber cousins would be a serious disservice to this unique wood, akin to comparing a Ferarri to a minivan — simply because they both have wheels.

A Glorious Past

Historically, longleaf was used to build everything from fine furniture, barns and cabins, flooring, beams and rafters to the tall ships of the Gilded Age. Recently, reclaimed longleaf lumber has become a much desired commodity in Britain. Vast supplies of it were shipped to England by the antebellum South, and now it has become all the rage. In the Northeast U.S., piers that accepted the Atlantic trade ships of our Colonial days were mostly made of longleaf pine — because it is so rot-resistant. It's fair to presume that the Boston Tea Party was carried out on longleaf pine planks.