Sizes: primarily 4/4 with some 5/4, 6/4 and 8/4. Primarily 4-11″ wide and
8-12′ long.
Applications: ideal for flooring, paneling, furniture as well as all other interior
applications.
Grade: character or clear grade, sound tight knot. No nail holes, very limited
checking.
Defining characteristic: unusual coloration from being under water so long
Milling and texture options: planed surface Grain density: about average for
heart pine, not loose but not especially tight either.
During the heyday of the industrial revolution most of the 100 million acres
of the original long leaf southern yellow pine forest was cut down. The
logs were often transported to local mills via river. Along the way, as
many as ten percent of them sank. These sinkers were usually dense young
trees. Young trees have a higher percentage of live sap wood and therefore
a higher percentage of water, making them heavier and more susceptible to
sinking. Many of these logs were axe cut and some had a chevron cut into
them to pull the turpentine out while they were still standing. The logs
this wood came from were pulled from Cape Fear in South Carolina.
Unlike heart pine from industrial timbers, sunken heart pine has been
absorbing the minerals of the river bottom for over a hundred years. Black,
green, brown and grey tones wash into the previously vibrant red and gold of
virgin heart pine to create a muted, dark tone; while the characteristic
grain of heart pine remains as bold as ever.