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This week we have lined up another topic that makes up the heart of CREUSE and that is Pinewood. Have a read!
1.1 What is Pinewood and its origin
Pine(Pinus) belongs to the family of trees known as conifers. Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants. The leaves of pine are thin and have a needle-like appearance. It is usually found in a variety of locations in Northern, Central, and Eastern Europe. Pinewood is known for its availability, durability, workability as well as its great appearance.
There are an estimated 250 species of pine trees out of the 60,065 species of trees in the world. In the early stages of growth, some trees will be cut down to make room for the trees around them to grow better. Pinewood is used to make many things, including houses, furniture, and paper.
Pine is commonly used in pallets because softwoods tend to be more consistent in weight than hardwood, giving the product a high strength to weight ratio. It can also be kiln-dried without causing any damage. As pine is not as dense as hardwood, these pallets are much easier to handle. Pallet makers looked for wood that is not only fit for purpose but also readily available.
1.2 Radiata Pine & Scots Pine
The two common pine species XCEL use for pallets are Radiata Pine & Scots Pine.
The Scots pine is the native pine tree in Scotland and has been widely planted elsewhere in the UK while the Radiata pine is a species of pine tree that is originally from California. These pines were introduced to New Zealand to see if they could be grown for wood. They grew quickly in different climates and soils, and so were good trees for plantation forests.
1.3 Anatomy & life cycle of trees
As we delve deeper into the topic, let us take a quick look at the anatomy of a tree and its life cycle.
1.4 Grain directions
There are 3 main types of grains directions found on a piece of wood; End grain, Edge grain and Face grain.
End grain: End grain can be found at the end of the wood.
Edge grain: Edge grain is the “side” of the wood. It’s usually the side that woodworkers measure the “thickness” of the wood.
Face grain: Face grain is what you would normally see on the “outside” of the board. It is where you see most of the grain and beauty of a piece of wood.
For your better understanding, we'll be using wooden cutting boards as an example to explain the benefits and differences of the grains below.
Hence, if you're looking for a durable cutting board, we would recommend using the end grains of hardwood!
1.5 FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification
Our pinewood is sourced from FSC certified plantations as part of our company's goal to promote and support sustainability. 😃
According to the Forest Stewardship Council, FSC certified forests are inspected and certified against strict standards based on FSC’s 10 Principles of Forest Stewardship. These inspections are undertaken by independent organisations, such as the Soil Association, that are accredited by the FSC.
In order to be given FSC certification, a forest must be managed in an environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial, and economically viable manner. This is what makes the FSC system unique and ensures that a forest is well-managed from the protection of indigenous people’s rights to the methods of felling trees. Forests that meet these strict standards are given FSC certification and the timber allowed to carry the FSC label.
1.6 How do we use our reclaimed pinewood
Here at CREUSE, we use reclaimed pinewood from damaged pallets to upcycle them into lifestyle products! Visit our Shop to check them out!
This week’s blog gives us an overview of pinewood and we hope that you managed to learn something new! Catch us on our next blog post and feel free to let us know what are some topics we can include in our future blogs.
Have a good weekend! 🙌
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