Species data
Lodgepole Pine
Pinus contorta - a softwood from western North America. Also sold as shore pine.
Properties at a glance
| Janka hardness | 480 lbf |
| Stiffness (MOE) | 1,340,000 psi |
| Specific gravity | 0.47 |
| Density | 29.3 lb/ft3 (470 kg/m3) |
| Weight per board foot | 2.44 lb |
| Shrinkage, green to oven-dry | 6.7% tangential / 4.3% radial |
| Movement coefficient (CT / CR) | 0.00234 / 0.00148 |
| Indicative price | $3.50 per board foot (estimated) |
Values are at about 12% moisture content. Density is specific gravity times 62.4; a board foot is one twelfth of a cubic foot, so weight per board foot is that density divided by twelve. Anything marked estimated is our own figure, not a measured one.
How Lodgepole Pine compares
Measured against the 113 solid woods in this database: it is harder than 15% of them, heavier than 23%, and stiffer than 21%. Soft enough to dent in service - worth knowing before using it for a worktop or a floor.
What that means in the shop
A 4/4 board 8 inches wide and 8 feet long is 5.33 board feet, so in Lodgepole Pine it weighs about 13.0 lb. A stack of ten is 130 lb - worth knowing before you load a rack or a car.
Against red oak, the trade's usual yardstick at 1,220 lbf, Lodgepole Pine is about 39% as hard and 67% as heavy.
Its shrinkage is 6.7% tangential against 4.3% radial, a ratio of 1.6 to 1. The wider that ratio, the more unevenly a flatsawn board moves across its width as humidity changes, and the more it wants to cup; anything near or above 2 to 1 is worth quartersawing or restraining for panels and wide tops. This one moves comparatively evenly.
Woods of similar hardness
Closest to Lodgepole Pine on hardness in this database: White Fir (480 lbf), White Spruce (480 lbf), Butternut (490 lbf), Incense Cedar (470 lbf). Similar hardness does not mean similar behaviour - check density and movement before substituting one for another.
Working with it
Workability. Cooperates well with both hand and machine tools; finishes and glues well
Durability. Heartwood's decay resistance runs from moderate down to low
Typical uses. veneer, plywood, sheathing, posts and poles, interior trim, construction lumber.
Related calculators
Sources
- The Wood Database - Lodgepole Pine
- Dimensional change coefficient table (Hoadley / FPL Wood Handbook), reproduced by Popular Woodworking
MOE, SG (12% MC), Janka and shrinkage from The Wood Database (cites USDA FPL Wood Handbook). CT/CR from the "Pine, lodge pole" row of the FPL/Hoadley table. Uses, region, durability and workability summarized from The Wood Database. Price indicative.
These calculators are for planning and estimation. Engineering results (shelf sag, wood movement) use published average material properties; real boards vary by grade, grain, moisture and defects. Verify load-bearing designs with a professional.