Spruce
Pine
READ MORE ABOUT NORDIC TIMBER
A log usually has a long section with few knots. The colour of sound knots does not differ much from the colour of the surrounding wood material. The surface of boards and panels is evenly light in colour.
Pine bottom log has valuable, branchless surface wood that can be used to make the most valuable carpentry products.
Versatile Nordic wood
Spruce quality varies throughout the log less than pine does.
Pine has a high degree of heartwood with good properties. Heartwood is naturally rot-resistant and weatherproof.
Slow-growing Finnish wood creates durable and tough sawn timber that is easy to work with and refine for various purposes.
Spruce sawn timber is particularly suitable for
MARKKU RIMPILÄINEN photo MIKKO TIKKA/FOTONOKKA
interior and exterior cladding, woodworking products and glulam production. Because the wood has a straight grain its grain does not rise during grinding or planing.
Bottom logs density is higher than that of the top log. Boards and side boards made of bottom logs are strong.
Although Finland is one of the best growth areas in the world for sawn timber, the growth season is relatively short and the trees grow slowly. This slow growth creates timber with straight fibres. Softwood – pine and spruce – usually has very few branches, and they are generally healthy and small. The trunk is relatively straight and round, and the wood is dense-grained, hard, compact and dense, with low tension and few internal cracks. This makes Finnish pine and spruce easy to work with and handle. It is possible to use regular sawn timber for most purposes with no changes, but most of the time it is refined in some way before use, such as by planing. In terms of weight, the sawn timber is tough and durable. Pine and spruce differ slightly but in many applications they are simply alternative materials. The compact structure and appealing appearance of softwood timber, as well as its high proportion of heartwood, are properties that the furniture makers and carpenters love in their products. Thanks to its good strength/weight ratio, Finnish softwood is well suited for load-bearing structures in various kinds of spaces. This sawn timber also has good moisture and thermal properties thanks to the deep-grained nature of the wood, which also reduces deformation.
Pine surface wood is light, and the heartwood darkens quickly in sunlight.
Spruce wood is light in colour and its heartwood and surface wood are similarly coloured.
A pine log is divided into three quality classes: the branchless bottom log, dry-branched bottom or middle log, and the healthy-branched top log.
With its healthy branches, spruce is used in carpentry and planing.
Pine is suitable for making window frames, doors, door frames and furniture, to name just a few examples.
The sapwood absorbs only a small amount of water. Boards sawn from sapwood are very durable in facades.
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Sources: Puuinfo, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Sahateollisuuskirja, Metsä Fibre.
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