Southern Yellow Pine Vs Douglas Fir Strength. Douglas fir is supposedly more sturdy and durable, however it is still a softwood like pine. Douglas fir is the framing lumber of choice here in the northeast. The clear wood strengths of douglas fir are given in table 5.
The clear wood strengths of southern yellow pine are given in table 4 in terms of the parallel, perpendicular, and shear directions.
They seem to be much straighter than anything else you can get. The ponderosa pine (pinus ponderosa) is found in the dry interior of bc. Douglas fir or southern yellow pine, and probably no less than 8 aluminum alloy choices, all fitting. Fairly easy to tell from the grain pattern which was peeled to make the plywood. If a twig bears needles in groups of two, three, or five, you can safely call it a pine. These are very different woods ito strength and stiffness, the southern yellow being superior. Southern pine (yellow pine) is better but still not up to spruce or fir for strength. Southern yellow pine is one of the strongest woods around and perfectly suited for use with bed slats.