What kind of wood is this?

[OurPhillyRow]

Hi all.... Is this pine?

I am preparing to tackle the restoration of our original 1852 staircase. It has some structural issues as well as very loose banister and balustrades, so I am going to hire a restoration carpenter to fix it up. In conjunction, I am looking to strip the decades of paint from the staircase, but probably not until next year.

Meanwhile.... My curiosity got to me, so I grabbed my Speedheater Cobra and, after a minute to warm up, I did this test area in less than a minute. It was super easy to get to wood in a single pull of the scraper (I know the bead will be a pain in the arse). It looks like pine to me, perhaps yellow pine? It also looks like there was a layer of shellac topped by only two or three coats of paint.

Thoughts?

First photo is where I did my test, second photo is location of test area for reference.

[PaulJohnson]

Looks like long leaf pine to me.

[Gothichome]

Ya, looks like pine, what kind I can not tell. The pine was shellacked before staining. That was common practice. If your going to restain, you will need to reshellac or or go with a wood conditioner. If you don’t you’ll get blotches.

[OurPhillyRow]

Ya, looks like pine, what kind I can not tell. The pine was shellacked before staining. That was common practice. If your going to restain, you will need to reshellac or or go with a wood conditioner. If you don’t you’ll get blotches.

The jury is out on whether I will be repainting or staining. A lot will depend on how well I get the paint out of the crevices along the bead.

[1918ColonialRevival]

It's pine. Most tongue and groove panel of the late 19th and early 20th Century was usually made of white pine, though yellow pine was sometimes used. If it's thick and hand planed, it's likely original to the house. If it's thinner and looks to be machine planed, it was added later, though it's still at least a century old.

To get paint out of the grooves, use a stripper like Soy Gel. Once it starts to work, use something like an awl or ice pick to dig it out. A heat gun will work on the flat surfaces. If you refinish, some one pound cut shellac with a few drops of the appropriate color Trans-Tint dye works wonders.

[OurPhillyRow]

It's pine. Most tongue and groove panel of the late 19th and early 20th Century was usually made of white pine, though yellow pine was sometimes used. If it's thick and hand planed, it's likely original to the house. If it's thinner and looks to be machine planed, it was added later, though it's still at least a century old.

To get paint out of the grooves, use a stripper like Soy Gel. Once it starts to work, use something like an awl or ice pick to dig it out. A heat gun will work on the flat surfaces. If you refinish, some one pound cut shellac with a few drops of the appropriate color Trans-Tint dye works wonders.

Thanks 1918ColonialRevival - I know for a fact that it is original to our 1852 house. The boards form the wall between the stair-hall and the stairs to the basement. They are quite wide (9”) and a full inch thick. They are clearly hand planed and even have an edge bead on the reverse side along with several layers of calcimine paint (see images). 



I am thinking it is yellow pine because that is what our floors are, as well as door and window casings. Thanks for the tip on Soy Gel for the bead grooves, it will take some work, but will be nice. As for the flat areas, I have a Speedheater Cobra and I swear by it. So fast and easy, not terribly messy, and no lead fumes.



Backside of wall from basement stairs.


The edges of each 9” board were hand planed.


Close-up of edge beading.

[1918ColonialRevival]

It'll take some work, but that should clean up nice. It wouldn't surprise me if the panels in the "service" areas of the house, such as the basement stairwell, were originally painted and the ones on the main levels were shellacked.

The good news is even with a heat gun, lead paint doesn't get hot enough to vaporize the lead. The fumes that dissipate are impurities that are either on or in the paint. I once stripped a kitchen door that smelled like fried chicken as the paint was coming off!