Pinus resinosa
Family: Pinaceae
Red Pine

The genus Pinus is composed of about 100 species native to temperate and tropical regions of the world. Wood of pine can be separated microscopically into the white, red and yellow pine groups. The word pinus is the classical Latin name. The word resinosa means resinous.

Other Common Names: Amerikansk rod-tall, Canadese rode pijn, Canadian pine, Canadian red pine, eastern red pine, hard pine, northern pine, Norway pine, Ottawa Red pine, pig iron pine, pig-iron-norway, pin de norvege, pin resineux, pin rouge, pin rouge d'Amerique, pin rouge du Canada, pino rojo americano, pino rosso americano, pitch pine, Quebec pine, red deal, red pine, shellbark Norway pine, tannub ahhmar, yellow deal.

Distribution: Red pine is native to Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, southern Quebec and Maine, west to central Ontario and southeastern Manitoba, south to southeastern Minnesota and east to Wisconsin, Michigan, southern Ontario, northern Pennsylvania, northern New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts. Also locally in northern Illinois, eastern West Virginia and Newfoundland.

The Tree: Red pine trees reach heights of 80 feet, with diameters of 3 feet. A record tree was reported at 150 tall, with a diameter of 5 feet. Long lived stands may contain as old as 200 years.

General Wood Characteristics: The sapwood of red pine is nearly white to yellow, while the heartwood varies from red to reddish brown. It has an oily feel and has a resinous odor. It is straight, even grained, medium textured and moderately heavy. It is intermediate in density between longleaf and eastern white pine. It is also relatively strong and stiff and is moderately high in shock resistance. It is moderately durable for uses not in contact with the ground and is easy to treat with preservatives. It has moderately large shrinkage, but is not difficult to dry. It is easy to work with hand tools, holds nails and screws well, finishes well, but has difficulty holding paint.

Mechanical Properties (2-inch standard)

				Compression
	Specific gravity	MOE x10^6 lbf/in^2	MOR lbf/in^2	Parallel lbf/in^2	Perpendicular lbf/in^2	WML^a in-lbf/in^3	Hardness lbf	Shear lbf/in^2
Green	0.41	1.28	5800	2730	260	6.1	340	690
Dry	0.51	1.63	11000	6070	600	9.9	560	1210
^aWML = Work to maximum load. Reference (56).

Drying and Shrinkage

Type of shrinkage	Percentage of shrinkage (green to final moisture content)
	0% MC	6% MC	20% MC
Tangential	7.2	5.8	2.4
Radial	3.8	3.7	1.5
Volumetric	11.3	9.2	3.8
References: (56, 192).

Kiln Drying Schedules^a

Conventional temperature/moisture content-controlled schedules^a
Condition	4/4, 5/4 stock	6/4 stock	8/4 stock	10/4 stock	12/4 stock	British schedule 4/4 stock
Standard	TT12-B4	NA	T11-B3	T7-A3	T7-A3	L
^aReference (28, 185).

High temperature^a
Condition	4/4, 5/4 stock	6/4 stock	8/4 stock	Other products
Standard	410	NA	411	NA
^aReferences (28, 184).

Working Properties: It is easy to work with hand tools, holds nails and screws well, finishes well, but has difficulty holding paint.

Durability: It is moderately durable for uses not in contact with the ground.

Preservation: It is easy to treat with preservatives

Uses: poles, pilings, cabin logs, posts, lumber for construction (girders, beams, joists, studs, stair parts and trusses), house siding, framing, shelving, trim millwork, lawn and garden furniture, woodenware, novelties, toys, pulp and paper. The trees are planted for wind breaks and Christmas trees. The bark is used for tanning and the old stumps are used for turpentine and rosin production.

Toxicity: In general, working with pine wood may cause dermatitis, allergic bronchial asthma or rhinitis in some individuals (4, 9 & 14).

Additional Reading and References Cited (in parentheses)

1. Boone, R. S.; Kozlik, C. J.; Bois, P. J., and Wengert, E. M. Dry kiln schedules for commercial woods - temperate and tropical. Madison, WI: USDA Forest Service, FPL-GTR-57; 1988.

2. Dallimore, W.; Jackson, A. B., and Harrison, S. G. A handbook of Coniferae and Ginkgoaceae. London, UK: Edward Arnold Ltd.; 1966.

3. Elias, T. S. The complete trees of North America, field guide and natural history. New York, NY: van Nostrand Reinhold Co.; 1980.

4. Hausen, B. M. Woods injurious to human health. A manual. New York, NY: Walter de Gruyter; 1981.

5. Henderson, F. Y. A handbook of softwoods. London: HMSO; 1977.

6. Kallio, E. and Benzie, J. W. Red pine, an American wood. Washington, DC, USA.: USDA Forest Service, FS-255.; 1980.

7. Kraemer, J. H. The effects of three factors upon the cross-breaking strength and stiffness of red pine. Lafayette, IN, USA.: Purdue University, Agricultural Experiment Station, Station Bulletin 560.; 1951.

8. Little, jr. E. L. Checklist of United States trees (native and naturalized). Washington, DC: USGPO, USDA Forest Service, Ag. Handbook No. 541; 1979.

9. Mitchell, J. and Rook, A. Botanical dermatology: plants and plant products injurious to the skin. Vancouver, BC: Greenglass Ltd.; 1979.

10. Rudolf, P. O. Pinus resinosa Ait. Red Pine. in: Burns, R. M. and Honkala, B. H., tech. coords. Silvics of North America. Volume 1, Conifers. Washington, DC: USDA Forest Service; 1990; pp. 442-455.

11. Simpson, W. T. Dry kiln operator's manual. Madison, WI: USDA Forest Service, FPL Ag. Handbook No. 188; 1991.

12. Summitt, R. and Sliker, A. CRC handbook of materials science. Vol. 4. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, Inc.; 1980.

13. USDA. Wood handbook: wood as an engineering material. Madison, WI: USDA Forest Service, FPL Ag. Handbook No. 72; 1974.

14. Woods, B. and Calnan, C. D. Toxic woods. British Journal of Dermatology. 1976; 95(13):1-