Species data
Ponderosa Pine
Pinus ponderosa - a softwood from western North America. Also sold as western yellow pine, bull pine.
Properties at a glance
| Janka hardness | 460 lbf |
| Stiffness (MOE) | 1,290,000 psi |
| Specific gravity | 0.45 |
| Density | 28.1 lb/ft3 (450 kg/m3) |
| Weight per board foot | 2.34 lb |
| Shrinkage, green to oven-dry | 6.2% tangential / 3.9% radial |
| 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 Ponderosa Pine compares
Measured against the 113 solid woods in this database: it is harder than 12% of them, heavier than 19%, and stiffer than 18%. 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 Ponderosa Pine it weighs about 12.5 lb. A stack of ten is 125 lb - worth knowing before you load a rack or a car.
Against red oak, the trade's usual yardstick at 1,220 lbf, Ponderosa Pine is about 38% as hard and 64% as heavy.
Its shrinkage is 6.2% tangential against 3.9% 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 Ponderosa Pine on hardness in this database: Incense Cedar (470 lbf), Redwood (450 lbf), Lodgepole Pine (480 lbf), White Fir (480 lbf). Similar hardness does not mean similar behaviour - check density and movement before substituting one for another.
Working with it
Workability. Responds well to both hand and power tools; glues and finishes nicely
Durability. Heartwood offers only moderate to low resistance to decay
Typical uses. veneer, plywood, sheathing, interior trim, cabinetry, construction lumber.
Related calculators
Sources
MOE, SG (12% MC), Janka and shrinkage from The Wood Database (cites USDA FPL Wood Handbook). Not listed in the FPL/Hoadley dimensional change table, so CT/CR omitted. 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.