Woodworker's Journal 2008-32-4, страница 21

C E Hi

The Arts & Crafts bookcase featured on page 34 was built entirely from plantation-harvested longleaf pine. The lumber is now available at rockler.com.

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Building a Sustainable Future

While the vast majority of longleaf pine's original range has been lost (see Tim Knight's story at right), the species is being actively managed and responsibly harvested in its remaining acres. Organizations like the Longleaf Alliance (www.longleafalliance.org) and Tall Timbers (www.talltimbers.org) are working to increase longleaf acreage and lumber production.

Presently, most newly harvested longleaf lumber still goes into the building trades. Flooring and structural uses (where extreme strength is required) are its main products. But woodworkers are beginning to rediscover the beautiful nature of longleaf and use it more and more in furniture making. Until recently, most of the furniture made from longleaf came from reclaimed sources. Because of its limited nature, this wood tended to be expensive, but it was the easiest way for woodworkers to get their hands on high quality stock. Now, longleaf is becoming easier to come by in kiln-dried, newly harvested lumber. (The easiest way to find it today is at Rockier Woodworking and Hardware — visit rockler.com for locations.)

Because my Alabama friends sent me home with a significant stash of lovely quartersawn longleaf, I have had the opportunity to build and work with the lumber. I have turned it into cake serving dishes, built cabinets and even made speaker boxes for my son's car stereo components from the stock I brought home. It is a well-behaved wood that works well with hand and power tools. It glues up and sands well, and it smells wonderful as you machine it. The only tip I would offer to those of you thinking of giving it a go in your shop involves the finishing process. Because of its highly resinous nature, I use a shellac-based sealing coat on my longleaf projects. With that step as a base, my finishes have always looked wonderful. I may be overly cautious, but I don't like my finishes going awry.

With quality longleaf stock now starting to enter the woodworking market, I would expect that it will soon find a new and comfortable place in home workshops. This is sure to be a pleasant chapter in the storied and romantic history of this king of the pines. J&

Woodworker's Journal August 2008

Pinus palustris

Longleaf pine once grew in the coastal plain from southeastern Virginia into southern Florida and west into eastern Texas, as well as in the low mountains of Alabama. This ecosystem had occupied up to 94 million acres, but by 1995 was reduced to three percent of its native range. This is mostly federal and state lands and a handful of large plantation estates.The longleaf pine ecosystem consisted of continuous open forest with a grass-covered floor that was even more diverse in species than the Amazon rainforests.

Frequent fires in its natural habitat developed the longleaf's system of sporadic seed production, it sprouts but does not begin growth for six to 10 years. During this stage, the seedling is said to be in the "grass" stage because it looks very similar to bunch grass.These seedlings wait for some natural event that removes the canopy, providing sunlight to the forest floor and allowing the seedlings to begin to grow. During the grass stage (and any other time they are not actively growing), they can survive intense fires, as can the mature trees.

Just after the 19th century, logging companies left the cutover forests ofWisconsin and Michigan and soon decimated the vast majority of the longleaf ecosystem. Due to its slow early growth, and a basic lack of understanding of longleaf reproduction, most longleaf pine stands were converted to faster growing loblolly or slash pine.These pines can't tolerate regular burnings, so they were protected from fire. In the areas where this took place, the complete ecosystem collapsed, as all living things in a longleaf pine ecosystem are adapted to, and very much need, frequent fire.Today, the greatest threat to the remnants of the longleaf ecosystem on federal and state lands is hardwood tree encroachment caused by fire suppression and misguided management actions.

Longleaf pines grow up to 130 feet in height and three feet in diameter. They are the longest living of all southern yellow pines, known to live more than 300 years.They produce the highest quality wood of all North American pines. Their self-pruning growth leads to few knots. Growth rings are thin and tightly spaced.

The good news is that we now understand much of the ecology of the longleaf pine, and efforts are underway to restore the habitat.

T.C. Knight, Silviculturist

Oden, Arkansas