On 03/19/2017 8:27 AM, philo wrote:
....

They actually measure 2" x 4" and use better wood that today's soft
pine.

My question is: what kind of wood was actually used.

It's denser than soft pine but not actual hardwood, though it is
sometimes referred to as such.
Many were built using "local lumber".Others used Douglas Fir or old
growth white pine, or even old growth spruce.
The "local lumber" could be anything from jack pine to white cedar to
elm, maple, chestnut ash, or Gumwood.. Some of the wood used for
framing back then would be good for high end trim today!!
My shed is all "mixed hardwood", some of it 2 1/2 X 4 - originally
used as pallets for sheet metal




Thanks for the good answer. I know the old wood has a lot of value.

Depends greatly on location as the above implies; much framing lumber
even as early as before/around WW I was SYP except it was first-cut
rather than "plantation-grown" as is most all today. As such it has a
much finer grain pattern and typically is also from much larger logs so
has a higher percentage of heartwood vis a vis sapwood.

There was no native lumber out here on the High Plains; the barn and
house were built in early '10s to about 1920 when rationing after WW I
was lifted. They're all SYP, also full dimension, and there are
built-up columns in the loft of the barn of 3 2x6 that are 24-ft in
length. I've looked at some of them carefully while we were doing the
repair/restoration/re-roof and there are a few that appear to be
knot-free over that entire length...

We built a set of bins in the loft in the late '50s for a small feed
mill, the framing lumber for it came from west coast instead of east and
is Doug fir. There are some leftover 2x12-20 still stacked up there
that are also clear; I've no idea what one of them might cost today! I
haven't yet found a project that justifies cutting one of them. since
I've been back... They're the 5/8"-over era instead of full
dimension before the pare-back to the current 1/2". Nice for the extra
"beef" for strength but a pita for matching up for doubling up as you've
got an extra eighth or quarter-inch to make up, depending...

But, the general tenor is true; the quality of framing lumber these days
is far inferior and it is mostly owing simply to there no longer being
the virgin timber stands to harvest and so it comes from mostly
faster-growing species and plantation-grown stands that simply don't
produce the same wood properties.