The growth rings on old growth are tighter because that tree got a chance in life when one fell in the forest allowing sun light to reach the forest floor. So now that tree grows in shade which slows down the rate of growth. Modern pine in grown in full sunlight therefore grows much much faster.
Not completely true. Yes, denser trees grow slower while the cheap stuff grows faster. Though the standard cheap pine is planted in neat rows tight together. This will cause them to try and grow as tall as possible as fast as possible to not end up in the shade of all the pines around them. SSo they grows straight and tall. They will get all cut down at the same time after 20-30 years. The denser pine, however, grows more randomly and will not have to compete in hight with the other pines close to them. They will naturaly get more sunlight that does not get blocked by other pine trees as much. This will result in them having no need to grow tall and fast. So they use most of the energy they collect to grow thick and dense instead. These trees will in time grow large as well though it might take 50-100 years before they are cut down usually when a new unexploited forest is cut down. This way is not very profitable in the short term since it takes much longer to get less volume of wood in the same area.
@@rrmerlin3402 It's not a matter of choice though almost all plants have a genetic predisposition to reach for sunlight. That's why plants that are covered grow fast and long to reach the sun. Though they do that by reducing the energy needed to produce clorophyll since it needs sunlight to make enough of it. That's why they become more yellow or even white untill they either reach sunlight or die trying. This is also why you can reduce weeds by covering them with enough material so that they will die before they have a chance to reach the sun. Plants with bigger seads can survive longer and go up though the material that is blocking the sunlight. Weeds that spreads with rhibosomees will however get around this since other connected parts of the plant will supply these with the necessary energy to reach the surface. Anyway theses long shoots are usually too weak to stand up straight in the beginning since the stem is less dense than normal. If you remove the material that keept it from reaching sunlight they tend to fall over and will only get stronger after they have started to get sunlight. It's basically the same principle in forest plantation but not as severe. Since there are many trees tight together and they grow they will block out sunlight from trees in their shade which will trigger the shaded trees to grow faster to reach enough sunlight. They will in turn shade other trees which will also start to grow faster and so on. This is why lower branches have usually died of at the lower parts of the tree and don't have any large branches. If you go to a tree plantation like this and walk on the south facing side if this is not blocked by another line of trees you will notice the trees that get more direct sunlight will be shorter and have more branches then the trees behind them. This is most noticeble at south facing beaches. This happens even in normal forest as well but not as noticeble. Pine trees closest to the beach are usually shorter but they have massive branches that spread out while the denser the forest is the straighter and taller the trees get.
Great build, Andy. I like that you not only tell us what you're doing and how you're doing it, but also why you are doing it that way (e.g. sliding dovetails on the drawer dividers). Thanks. Stay safe. Bill
You asked about old growth and grain. Old growth forest were very mature stands of trees. Here in WI the old growth pines were so large and so dense that it was said that the forest floor was covered in needles. No under growth. Because of this the trees grew very slowly, bense the close grain.
My house is about 65 years old. I installed some pockets closet doors and removed some of the original pine studs. I counter 37 growth rings per inch in the original studs and five growth rings per inch in new Home Depot pine studs. That's the difference in old free-range lumber cutting and today's managed plantings. It 'wood' be interesting to see the strength difference in the two lumbers.
I only subscribed to your channel in the past couple of months, and one of the main reasons why is very simply because when you make something you alway's seem to have the camera at the best possible angles and you explain what you're doing and why. This alway's gives me the best way of following how you are doing the job inhand!. I've been interested in woodworking for the past couple of years but done nothing about it until now, I'm in the process of building a workshop just so I can watch and learn how to do asmuch as possible. That said it's why I found this a nobrainer when it came to subbing to your channel!!!. Keep up the good work Andy as you're helping me learn alot 👍. 💯% 👍🇬🇧. P.s I think it turned out great 👍.
Beautiful table Andy. In case you haven't already been informed, the reason Long Leaf Pine growth rings are so close together is because it grew so slowly much like the ancient Redwoods or if you look at a nice piece of Mesquite out here where we live in the Hill Country you will see the same thing. Foresters later bred the Slash Pine which grew much faster but had strength issues and then they started pushing the Loblolly Pine which still grows strong in East Texas to this day. There are patches of Long Leaf Pine still standing in East Texas but not many. Several different varieties were tried, I even heard at one point they tried to make the Pine grow with a split trunk to double production but that didn't pan out well either. Anyway that is the story behind it from all I have ever been told. I grew up in the Pine belt of East Texas and worked in the forest industry until 2004.
Obviously, you're skill level along with the equipment being used speaks volumes as to how busy your furniture business is, but if you could somehow find time for teaching woodshop, I'd enroll yesterday! Attention to detail is some of the best I've seen on RU-vid...thanks for sharing!
Old growth lumber has tight grain because the trees that produced it grew slowly in the shade of larger trees- the trees got less sun exposure. Rapid growth of trees results in wider grain because of faster growth during spring and summer. Ron
Awesome table and awesome video! Subscribed! Botanist here: The old growth trees have thinner growth rings because they are growing in a dense forest with competition for light, so they grow slowly. Second growth is essentially growing in a field, with optimal light and is often thinned to reduce competition; hence really fast growth and wide growth rings. Good for producing wood fibre quickly, but as you say, the quality is lower.
The tighter rings in old growth come about because it grew slower. Makes the wood harder and stronger. The same reason the late rings are darker and harder than the early rings.
I’ve always liked your videos. But since you’ve done your videos this way you’ve shot the top of my list of favorite makers. I’m not someone who truly matters but I truly appreciate your work.
Absolutely beautiful piece! Love the finish 👏 My wife said, "He makes that look really easy...Is it that easy?" To which I just laughed haha This is what I strive for.
fantastic build! @ 12:15 - I always have figured that the loss of tight rings in todays pine is due to the trees now being grown to a very large size extremely quickly, giving it the wide growth rings and softer density
That is a really beutiful piece of carpentry!! I know it's a shame to paint over the wood, but, as you said, some of the grain will show through the paint. I love how the dovetails are still visible on the sides of the draws. Definitely a piece of furniture that will be handed down the generations of thw family 👍
Such a cool project, the painted base annoyed me at first but seeing the final things it definitely was needed! Nice touch with the drawers, leaving the dovetails unpainted was an awesome idea. I'm definitely going to consider painted bases more often.
Andy, I love using shellac instead of polyurethane in some instances. On the few pieces of furniture I've built and on a few old dressers that I stripped the paint and in one instance I found beautiful red maple under the paint. I usually use clear shellac on dressers and such, but on shelves I've built I like to use the amber shellac. Beautiful table Andy and your craftsmanship is on full display. I look forward to your next episode and thoroughly enjoyed this one. You and yours stay healthy and safe and cheers from this old retired coot living in Tennessee.💖 👍 😷 🍻 👀 ✌
Totally love the construction. Painting the base but leaving the top natural is awesome. And the oak sides with the dovetails, what a beautiful touch. As always great piece of work, very inspirational.
Love it. Love it. Love it. It is soooo beautiful. The dimensions, the colour and the grain on the top, outstanding. Exactly what I would want in my forever home. And you made it in two weeks 😲 you are amazing Andy. And then, just when I thought I couldn't have been more happy, you close out with an RV update 🤗🤗🤗🤗 💙
Man you're really an insperation! I watch a lot of youtubers to learn most I can and you're now in the top 3! Keep up the good work! Cheers from Portugal!
Enjoyed following along with this on the Instagram stories and finally seeing it all come together here! I actually like the painted base, really nice color choice as well
Perfect. You are an animal Andy. It's funny I was making an island for our house this week with 180 year old oak I pulled out of the rafters of a smoke house I tore down for my neighbors. I did an airstream two years ago for a client too... I feel like we would be buddies if we were neighbors. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
This is the type of island I am thinking of making for my kitchen. I am hopping to put a Belfast sink in the center oh the island. Looks great keep up the great work
I don't know who was buying this piece, Andy, but the fact that they wanted quartersawn white oak as the drawer SIDES makes me think they're rolling in dough.
the quality of your videoing and presentation of yourself and your work has skyrocketed since your early work. Great to see Andy! Great job on the piece too :)
Fantastic work, Andy! It really looks amazing! 😃 I totally agree about painting pine. And there are some great inks for that! Anyway, stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊
I get anxiety watching you joint those boards while wearing gloves, and pushing them on the back. If that glove catches the cutter, it will eat your entire arm, yikes. Anyways, gorgeous piece! Cool to have you explain the mechanics in the joints etc.
Congrats on that build, true craftsmanship that piece look from a high end store , great contend all the joints perfect, when I grown up I wanna be like you.... keep bring them videos up, thanks
Andy, beautiful piece! I finished a dining room table with long leaf pine from This Old Wood in Austin, i love the look of the wood on a painted base. Great work as usual.
awesome video, it turned out beautiful. for jointing, you should check out the MicroJig Grr-Rip Block pushblock... i finally caved and bought some last month and they are INCREDIBLE. the hooks on the back really help guide the work through