Species data
Red Pine
Pinus resinosa - a softwood from northeastern North America. Also sold as norway pine.
Properties at a glance
| Janka hardness | 560 lbf |
| Stiffness (MOE) | 1,630,000 psi |
| Specific gravity | 0.55 |
| Density | 34.3 lb/ft3 (550 kg/m3) |
| Weight per board foot | 2.86 lb |
| Shrinkage, green to oven-dry | 7.2% tangential / 3.8% radial |
| Indicative price | $3.00 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 Red Pine compares
Measured against the 113 solid woods in this database: it is harder than 22% of them, heavier than 36%, and stiffer than 50%.
What that means in the shop
A 4/4 board 8 inches wide and 8 feet long is 5.33 board feet, so in Red Pine it weighs about 15.3 lb. A stack of ten is 153 lb - worth knowing before you load a rack or a car.
Against red oak, the trade's usual yardstick at 1,220 lbf, Red Pine is about 46% as hard and 79% as heavy.
Its shrinkage is 7.2% tangential against 3.8% radial, a ratio of 1.9 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 Red Pine on hardness in this database: Jack Pine (570 lbf), Northern Catalpa (550 lbf), Alaska Yellow Cedar (580 lbf), Yellow Poplar (540 lbf). Similar hardness does not mean similar behaviour - check density and movement before substituting one for another.
Working with it
Workability. Cuts easily by hand or machine; surplus resin can occasionally interfere with paint adhesion
Durability. Ranges from moderately durable to perishable, but accepts preservatives readily for posts and poles
Typical uses. utility poles, posts, railroad ties, pulpwood, construction lumber.
Related calculators
Sources
MOE (1,630,000 lbf/in2), Janka (560 lbf) and shrinkage (T 7.2%, R 3.8%) from The Wood Database, which cites the USDA FPL Wood Handbook. Specific gravity 0.55 is the 12% MC value (page lists basic 0.41, 12% MC 0.55). No dimensional change coefficient given: Red Pine has no exact row in the FPL/Hoadley table reproduced by Popular Woodworking, so CT/CR are omitted. Region, uses, 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.