How do you tell the difference between southern yellow pine and douglas fir?

[Josiah Bartlett]

Part of the problem with identification is that the floor is more or less quartersawn and the window trim is plain-sawn. Most of the old growth douglas fir flooring I've seen has tighter grain than that, but I'm used to seeing old Pacific NW houses with top grade timber. I'm used to sniffing more western species of pine than SYP, but to me fir smells more "brown", or earthy than pine. You could get a known sample of each to compare in a sniff test.

[Brian Klare]

Both are pine. Trim is flatsawn and the flooring is quarter sawn heart pine-no doubt. Identical to mine up in Omaha

[Jerry Dickens]

Both are pine. Trim is flatsawn and the flooring is quarter sawn heart pine-no doubt. Identical to mine up in Omaha

I think Brian has it correct. The rings are too big for fir to me anyway in the floor pic. For sure YP for the trim. And I would say QS YP for the floor, take up a piece of baseboard and cut you a splinter off with a utility knife where it will not be seen. You can tell for sue by the smell. If betting oh which is illegal in Georgia I would put my money on the YP

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

That's a tough one visually...I think Josiah's got the right idea by smelling it.

fir:
Attachment 70475 Attachment 70478
pine:
Attachment 70477 Attachment 70476

And there in lies the great secret~!!

Fir slants off to the left Pine off to the right.

[John Headley]

Another opinion, the trim definitly looks like SYP. The floor is a little harder because of the straight grain, but looks like heart pine to me.

[John Thompson]

Being in Georgia and having recovered many linear feet of "heart pine" from tear-downs where it was common in older houses for wains-coating.. and have also recovered and used much older doug fir from beams in civil war ware-houses... I agree with Lee Hingle's theory.

The wilder grain in the trim appears to be syp and the tight grain in the floor appears to be doug fir to me at first glance.. but as Lee mentioned the turpentine smell is a good indication that you have very tight grained syp "heart-wood" floor.

Been around pulp mills here in Georgia where syp grows in every yard and the turpentine smell is a give-a-way as it is a common by-product of that species. I am not familar with "douglas fir being a source of resin" that produces turpentine even though Canadian balsam or Canadian turpentine comes from the Canadian balsam fir.

Could be fir.. but I would put my money on "heart-pine"...

Sarge..

[John Thompson]

I think Brian has it correct. The rings are too big for fir to me anyway in the floor pic. For sure YP for the trim. And I would say QS YP for the floor, take up a piece of baseboard and cut you a splinter off with a utility knife where it will not be seen. You can tell for sue by the smell. If betting oh which is illegal in Georgia I would put my money on the YP

Morning Jerry...

"If betting on which is illegal in Georgia"... JD

If you check with the "boys" down at the Dawsonville Pool Room, I "bet" that they would mention that running "moon-shine" in Georgia is illegal also! But.. a little thing like that didn't stop anybody in Dawson County from supporting a family once upon a time. Of course as things became more law-abiding and respectable around these parts... they had to get rid of those "moon-tanks" and resort to go "racin" with NASCAR for an alternative pay-check.

Sorry.. couldn't resist. Have a good day up the road in D'ville... :>)

Regards from L'ville...

Sarge..

[Scott Hayes]

We grow mostly Douglas fir on our tree farm near Forest Grove, Oregon. Our second growth timber generally produces 3-4 rings per inch; the flooring in this discussion thread looks like old growth Df to me. At the turn of the century if an old growth log had any knots and less than 10 rings per inch it was culled. I have several old floor boards probably cut in the 1930s from old growth Df that have about 40 rings per inch. It still smells like Df, especially when wet. Also on the tree farm when falling 60+ year old timber, an occassional stump will have a pitch pocket. I have a jar with about 3 cups of pitch - if you want a test patch mailed on an envelope, let me know.

[Ron Williams]

I agree that the trim is Southern Yellow Pine and The floor is Southern Heart Pine

[Ed Falis]

I'll also vote SYP for the trim and Douglas fir for the floor. Looks just like what I have in my 1908 house (he says, looking down at the floor under the office chair).

[Greg Funk]

Heres some older growth fir with up to 75 rings per inch.

Greg

[Jim Thiel]

Fir slants off to the left Pine off to the right.

That is just the funniest thing I've read today.

I wish I knew how to put one of those laughing smilies in a post.

Jim

[Steve Schoene]

The authoritative place to send your samples is:

Center for Wood Anatomy Research
USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory
One Gifford Pinchot Dr.
Madison, WI 53726-2398

The ideal sample size is 1" x 3" x 6", though smaller samples can be used if necessary (as in antiques). This is a free service for US citizens (for up to 5 samples per year.) Time is about 2-4 weeks.

http://www2.fpl.fs.fed.us/WoodID/idfact.html

[Matt P]

Your headline sounds like the intro to a joke..

[adam prochaska]

Thank you to everyone who responded. I can't believe the debate on this topic. The votes are still split. My plan is to cut out a piece of floor and smell it. I may also send pieces to the Center for Wood Anatomy Research. This forum has been extremely helpful. Your help has convinced me to become a contributing member.