I'm cutting down some "pine" trees

[Jim Jackson Wyoming]

In the next week or two I'll be cutting down some trees. I'm no tree expert so I call them pine trees. They are some kind of short needle evergreen tree. They are 30 or more feet tall, and the trunks are about 12-14 inch in diameter.
Any recommendations on what to do with some of the wood? All of my experience thus far with turning has been dry pieces of various types of wood. I've read about turning green wood, is my "pine" worth trying? How do I process some of this for future use?

[John K Jordan]

In the next week or two I'll be cutting down some trees. I'm no tree expert so I call them pine trees. They are some kind of short needle evergreen tree. They are 30 or more feet tall, and the trunks are about 12-14 inch in diameter.
Any recommendations on what to do with some of the wood? All of my experience thus far with turning has been dry pieces of various types of wood. I've read about turning green wood, is my "pine" worth trying? How do I process some of this for future use?

You might look at tree ID web sites. You can probably identify the tree from the needles. If you know the species, someone might have experiences to share.

Some evergreens are good for turning, green or dry, some not so much fun. Unless kiln dried or heated to set the pitch in some pine, it can be a problem when turning and/or finishing. Those trees are large enough to be sawn into boards if you need some, but again, the pitch can be a problem in certain types of pine unless kiln dried. If air drying boards, treat for power post beetles first or a few years from now they will likely be full of holes.

I'm in the process of taking down a bunch of pines to give space for the hardwoods under my forestry plan. Some are 24" in diameter. Most of ours are Virginia Pine, often called Scrub Pine. I've sawn some but didn't enjoy it - the pitch kept gumming my my Woodmizer blade and I had to stop and clean it a lot. What I cut down will either go to to my (big) tree compost pile to eventually decay or to the burn pit.

But I live in an area with lots of hardwoods - walnut, cherry, persimmon, osage, maples, poplar, and more so I don't have much incentive to turn pine. If you live where hardwoods are scarce you might think differently. I've seen some nice things turned from pine, some large bowls turned green and smaller things turned dry. You might cut some relatively small blanks with chainsaw/bandsaw, seal the end grain, and let them dry in the shop and give them a turn.

JKJ

[Jim Jackson Wyoming]

Thanks John. I'll try to ID the trees and report back.

[Doug Herzberg]

If the branches are grouped at the same level all around the tree, like a Norfolk Pine, you can get some interesting patterns from the knots. Also what John said.

[Brian Brown]

Jim,

I'm not sure where you are located, but with a name like Jim Jackson Wyoming, I'll make the mental leap and guess that you live near Jackson Hole. Most of the coniferous species near you are, are white bark and limber pines, sub-alpine fir, and Engelmann spruce at the higher altitudes. Lodgepole pine, Douglas fir, and blue spruce are usually at lower altitudes and on the valley floor. The easiest way to differentiate whether it is a pine or fir is to take a single needle between your index finger and thumb, and try to roll it side to side. If it rolls, it is pine, and if your fingers just slide over the top, it is fir, Fir needles are flat. This late in the season the blue spruces have a slightly heavier needle, and have a bluish coloration compared to pine trees. There may be some green spruce there also, and they are more difficult to tell from pine trees until you reach in and grab a branch with your bare hand. Ouch!.

Personally I like the look of pine wood, but not so much the look of fir or spruce. Not to mention the spruce trees are wicked to deal with, because of the pitch and prickley nature of the branches. I need to cut some blue spruces in my mothers yard, and am finding every excuse to put it off. Even kiln dried pine can have some oozie pitch, and makes a huge mess. Fir will always have an oozing pitch no matter how dry it is (kiln or otherwise). I think the look of a nice piece of pine is worth the mess, but definitely not fir, or spruce. Pine is soft to turn, and takes a little different "touch" than hard woods.

I am curious where you are actually located. You may be the closest Creeker to me. I am in Eastern Idaho; over the pass and through the woods, over the pass and through the desert, past a few spud farms, and there I am. Hows that for a road map? Good luck with your cutting. It will be interesting to see what your come up with from your haul.

[Jim Jackson Wyoming]

Jim,

I'm not sure where you are located, but with a name like Jim Jackson Wyoming, I'll make the mental leap and guess that you live near Jackson Hole. Most of the coniferous species near you are, are white bark and limber pines, sub-alpine fir, and Engelmann spruce at the higher altitudes. Lodgepole pine, Douglas fir, and blue spruce are usually at lower altitudes and on the valley floor. The easiest way to differentiate whether it is a pine or fir is to take a single needle between your index finger and thumb, and try to roll it side to side. If it rolls, it is pine, and if your fingers just slide over the top, it is fir, Fir needles are flat. This late in the season the blue spruces have a slightly heavier needle, and have a bluish coloration compared to pine trees. There may be some green spruce there also, and they are more difficult to tell from pine trees until you reach in and grab a branch with your bare hand. Ouch!.

Personally I like the look of pine wood, but not so much the look of fir or spruce. Not to mention the spruce trees are wicked to deal with, because of the pitch and prickley nature of the branches. I need to cut some blue spruces in my mothers yard, and am finding every excuse to put it off. Even kiln dried pine can have some oozie pitch, and makes a huge mess. Fir will always have an oozing pitch no matter how dry it is (kiln or otherwise). I think the look of a nice piece of pine is worth the mess, but definitely not fir, or spruce. Pine is soft to turn, and takes a little different "touch" than hard woods.

I am curious where you are actually located. You may be the closest Creeker to me. I am in Eastern Idaho; over the pass and through the woods, over the pass and through the desert, past a few spud farms, and there I am. Hows that for a road map? Good luck with your cutting. It will be interesting to see what your come up with from your haul.

I'm located in Evanston Wyoming, so your road map may have me going a longer route than necessary, but the desert and spud farms are still part of the trip.

After a little Google investigation I think my "pine" trees are actually blue spruce. All new growth is a pale blue/green which goes to a dark green the following year. These trees are prickly nasty things to mow around for sure. I think I'll take a branch to the county extension office and see if they agree with my investigation skills. If confirmed is blue spruce a wood best used for the compost pile?

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

I am not aware of any pine that has short needles. Spruce indeed, even hemlock and larch. Blue Spruce and Norway Spruce were very popular landscape trees 40 to 60 years ago. My area of central PA is full of Norway and Blue Spruce trees that were planted back then, now 40 to 50 ft high. Cutting off the lower branches of the taller trees doesn't seem to be a thing here but was when I lived in Northern VA.

[Russell Nugent]

I turned green spruce once. Not something I will ever do again. A sticky mess.