Radiata or Oregon pine?

[Lenz]

At work we made a door and window into 1 big door, I kept the old beams to cut up. Firstly I thought it was Oregon, but the more I machine them, they seem to be radiata :'(
Is there a simple way to tell what it is?

[Fuzzie]

If they were made in Brisbane they might be Hoop Pine. A picture would help with the guessing game.

[Lenz]

the house is about 20 odd years old, this pic has the rough sawn state on the left, and the dressed on the right.

[Scribbly Gum]

the house is about 20 odd years old, this pic has the rough sawn state on the left, and the dressed on the right.

Definitely oregon.
Cheers
SG

[Lenz]

What do you look for to decide which one it is?

[Scribbly Gum]

What do you look for to decide which one it is?

Those clearly defined and close growth rings are typical of oregon - as is the distinctive colour and difference in colour between the rings.
Hope this helps
SG

[Lenz]

Very much so. Appreciated.

[IanW]

Well, I'm not as sure of the ID as Scribbly. Differentiating softwoods from a picture is a fraught business indeed. That side grain pattern could just as easily be the sort of radiata we see round these prts, IMO, and coming from a house built 20 years ago in Brisbane, I would say radiata is far more likely as structural material. It is also more the colour I would associuate with radiata, but colours are not reliable because they can vary, as do growth ring spacings, especially in plantation wood. Smell can be a good guide. When freshly cut, radiata has a resinous, typical "piney" odour, while Oregon (Douglas fir - not a pine species), has a very different, slightly 'spicy' smell......

Cheeers,

[Scribbly Gum]

Well, I'm not as sure of the ID as Scribbly. Differentiating softwoods from a picture is a fraught business indeed. That side grain pattern could just as easily be the sort of radiata we see round these prts, IMO, and coming from a house built 20 years ago in Brisbane, I would say radiata is far more likely as structural material. It is also more the colour I would associuate with radiata, but colours are not reliable because they can vary, as do growth ring spacings, especially in plantation wood. Smell can be a good guide. When freshly cut, radiata has a resinous, typical "piney" odour, while Oregon (Douglas fir - not a pine species), has a very different, slightly 'spicy' smell......

Cheeers,

I agree with Ian.
But I still think it is oregon .......:U

[Pops]

Hi Lenz,

I agree with IanW and with SG here. But if I had to have a guess from the photo I would be leaning towards Oregon. I have a few boards in the shed and it does look quite similar to the photo.

One other way to test it, (that I find reasonably reliable) is to feel for the hardness of the darker grain compared to the lighter grain. Generally Oregon will have much harder darker grain to the lighter grain. Whereas Radiata is not that much different, well at least on the Radiata that I have seen.

Well that is my guessing finished with.

Oregon does have a different smell to Radiata but don't ask me to describe it, I just know it when I smell it.

Cheers
Pops

[mic-d]

I'm inclined to lean towards Oregon. Brisbane 20 years ago saw lots of oregon beams, but I can't recall seeing any radiata beams, unless they were glulam. Something is not quite right about the grain either. Radiata tends to have visible 'mottling'/'streakiness'/'heterogeneity' (yeah I don't know the right word) in the early growth, like in the picture of radiata below. The early growth of oregon is quite uniform as in your photos. Slash pine is another one that can look like that, but it is very resinous and I think you would have noticed. Oregon for mine.

Cheers
Michael

[GraemeCook]

I agree with Ian.
But I still think it is oregon .......:U


Me too, sort of, but ......

I bought some timber last month with a very similar colour and grain pattern. It was plantation baltic pine - pinus sylvestris - aka deal, scots pine, riga pine, etc, etc. It is so ubiquitous in Europe that every nook and cranny has its own local name. Mine came from NZ!

Fair Winds

Graeme

[IanW]

Gentlemen, I think we are agreed! Identifying softwoods from a pic is a chancey business. :;

The more I look at the original picture, the less certain I am it's radiata, but it just doesn't look quite right to me for Oregon, either. However, I would not be in the least surprised if that's what it is. I wish we could transmit odour electronically, that could settle the matter in a flash. If you want to drop round to my shed some time, Lenz, I will run a bit of each through the saw and you can savour the difference. :U

When all said & done, it matters little which one it is, for most purposes........

Cheers,

[fxst]

go to a timber yard and check out the 2 types. I say oregan as well. If you can access some scraps of radiata try the smell test (unless youre a smoker) as they smell different too.
Pete

[chambezio]

Mr Lenz
Can I ask a few personal questions (I am playing detective here :B)
You say you made up a door and window into a big door. You say "we".
Are you an apprentice (new to trade)?
Are you a new tradesman?
Who are you working with? (At work.as you mentioned)
What I am getting at is...what experience do you and your fellow work mates have?

Now the reason for my questions. If you are working with more experienced people around you it would be a normal topic of conversation about the timber. I find it strange that you are asking this question of us Forumites, who incidentally have superior intellect and we all wear our underpants on the outside of our tights, rather than talking about it with your fellows.

One thing that this discussion has brought out is the differing views of these Super-Forumites. For what its worth I would tend to say Radiata but one would need to see, feel and smell the sample to make a concise judgement.

Today I was tidying my shed and came across 2 pieces of Oregon that were part of a bench set up that I aquired. They were both about 900 long X 190 wide and 45mm thick. One side of both had had a rough coat of white paint splashed on it and sins of weathering on the exposed faces. I made a resolution to get ruthless and convert to fire wood anything that wasn't "good stuff". So I cut both with a radial arm saw. One cut well and clean and fast (as expected, also with nice pine smell)The other cut slower but clean. I immediately thought "This can't be Oregon" mainly because it cut so differently. When I compared them....the first one that cut so quick had rays about 2.5 to 3mm apart while the second one's rays were about 1mm apart. "Crap" I thought, I should be using this for a display box or some thing to show the grain but due to the dings and weathering cracks around the outer faces it ended up with the firewood.
The first one would be classed as Merch while the second would have been classified as Number One Clear.
"Merch" merchantile grade would be framing material (Studs and plates)
"Number One Clear" grade would be machinable standard (Window sashes, quads, parting beads, stop beads and the like. Mouldings, thats what I am trying to say)

[rustynail]

Nobody has mentioned hemlock. I think top piece in photo is oregon and the rest are hemlock.

[El Grovero]

I definitely think it's oregon. Looks like the camera flash has turned it yellower than it really is. Further away from the camera, to the left, it has the light pink brown colour characteristic of Oregon and the grain lines seal the deal in my opinion

Also you'd expect to see a lot more knots if it were radiata.