What makes Eastern White Pine such an ideal choice for woodworking? Craftsman Scott Wunder, owner of WunderWoods Custom Woodworking in St. Louis, Missouri, gives us a few reasons in the form of gorgeous hollow beams, dark-stained tables made for a brewing company, custom shelving and other projects. As one of the tallest and largest trees used for wood projects, with trunk circumferences often passing fifteen feet, it fits the bill when large slabs of wood are needed, with a little extra pliability and smooth texture to boot.
Wunder shows off just how big Eastern White Pine can get in a photo showing an unusually-shaped trunk, which was trimmed down to 60 inches wide to fit in a Lucas mill for processing. One commission involved a series of long, wide tables milled for Goebel & Co. Furniture, which ultimately ended up at Urban Chestnut Brewing Company. Another required a bunch of new pine lids to be created for vintage wine boxes, to be displayed on hand-hewn pine shelving in a wine cellar.
Says Wunder, “Pine is the perfect choice for anything with a rustic feel because it can easily be worked with hand tools, distressed with minimal effort and is naturally rustic in feel with the characteristic knot patterns. But, white pine isn’t always knotty. The big logs can produce completely clear lumber for projects with a more modern look, and even smaller logs can produce clear lumber between the knots, which can be used for smaller projects.”
“White pine is also fantastic for woodwork hat needs to stay straight, like interior doors, because of the trees normally straight up growth pattern which produces consistently stable lumber. I have built many doors with white pine, and I love knowing that the doors will stay very straight.”
A notable bonus? “The wood smells great and leaves my shop smelling fresh and clean.”
