Why was pine used more often in homes from the 18th and 19th century compared to other species such as Oak?
Precision milling machines, kilns and power tools were unheard of for working with wood in the “old days”. Pine was also easier to work with as compared to hardwoods. Further, pine was known to be more stable than hardwoods (generally 30% more stable) such as Oak. In fact, for those that desired hardwoods in those days, it was not uncommon for them to use pine and then stain it to look like mahogany, walnut, etc.
