Wood species
Radiata pine wood
Radiata pine is a softwood (Pinus radiata). At 12% moisture content it has a Janka hardness of 750 lbf (3,336 N) and it weighs about 31 lb/ft³ (504 kg/m³), 2.6 lb (1.19 kg) per board foot.
Also called: Monterey pine.
Key numbers
- Janka hardness, 12% MC
- 750 lbf (3,336 N)
- Green: 480 lbf (2,135 N)
- Weight at 12% MC
- 31 lb/ft³ (504 kg/m³)
- Handbook estimate (Eq. 4-13): no shrinkage is published
- 2.6 lb per board foot
- Specific gravity (oven-dry weight)
- 0.42 on green volume
- Shrinkage, green to oven-dry
- Not measured tangential
One source: USDA Forest Products Laboratory, collected from the world literature (its Tables 5-5 and 4-4)
Why: From the USDA Wood Handbook, which collected these values from the world literature; radiata pine's density is worked from its specific gravity with the Handbook's own equations.
How much radiata pine moves
The 2021 Wood Handbook prints no shrinkage or movement coefficient for radiata pine, so this page gives no movement figure rather than borrow one from another species.
Color, grain and working
- Color
- Light brown to pinkish brown heartwood in plantation trees; paler cream sapwood.
- Grain and texture
- Wide, distinct growth rings; moderately even, fine texture; grain not interlocked.
- Working and character
- Strength comparable with red pine but variable. Dries quickly with little degrade, machines easily (grain tears around big knots), nails and glues easily and takes paint well.
- Uses
- The same jobs as US pines, including veneer and plywood.
Native to California but planted mainly in Chile, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. The 2021 Handbook prints no shrinkage for it.
Adapted in our own words from the Wood Handbook, Chapter 2, p. 2-39.
Strength
Bending strength is the modulus of rupture (MOR); stiffness is the modulus of elasticity (MOE). Values for radiata pine from Wood Handbook Table 5-5b (p. 5-24), which the Handbook says were collected from the world literature, on clear, straight-grained specimens. Knots and cross grain make lumber weaker than these clear samples (Handbook Chapter 5).
| Property | Green | 12% MC |
|---|---|---|
| Bending strength (MOR) | 6,100 psi (42 MPa) | 11,700 psi (81 MPa) |
| Stiffness (MOE) | 1,180,000 psi (8.1 GPa) | 1,480,000 psi (10.2 GPa) |
| Crushing strength (compression parallel to grain) | 2,790 psi (19 MPa) | 6,080 psi (42 MPa) |
| Shear parallel to grain | 750 psi (5 MPa) | 1,600 psi (11 MPa) |
A dash means the Handbook prints no value; none is filled in.
Dust and health
- Wood dust is classed as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1) by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, chiefly for cancers of the nose and sinuses.
- NIOSH recommends keeping wood dust exposure to 1 mg/m³ of total dust, as quoted in OSHA's sawmill guidance.
This is what the named authorities publish, not medical advice.
Compare with
Why these numbers
Why these numbers?
The situation
The Wood Handbook prints 750 lbf of side hardness at 12% moisture content for radiata pine, a value it says was collected from the world literature (Table 5-5b, p. 5-24).
One source: USDA Forest Products Laboratory, collected from the world literature (its Tables 5-5 and 4-4) , sources [1]
What that means
Side hardness (Janka) is the load needed to press a 0.444 in (11.28 mm) steel ball halfway into the wood across the grain; a higher number dents less (Handbook p. 5-5).
One source: USDA Forest Products Laboratory, collected from the world literature (its Tables 5-5 and 4-4) , sources [1]
So
The Handbook gives only the green specific gravity (0.42) for radiata pine, so it is moved to 12% with the volumetric shrinkage of undefined% (Eqs. 4-9 and 4-11), then multiplied by water's density and 1.12 (Eq. 4-14).
Arithmetic: exact by definition , sources [1]
The number
About 31 lb/ft³, or 2.6 lb per board foot (1/12 ft³), at 12% moisture content.
Arithmetic: exact by definition
Sources