Pine board composition.

[u/CtrayX]

Learning to hand cut dovetails. Been a long week. Why are the insides of some of these big box pine boards like this? Some are solid and compact like the bottom board with the tails. Some are loose and falling apart like the top board with the pins. Why is this happening? Is it the board or me?

[u/trebonius]

Pine is cheap for a reason. It's so soft it's being compressed when you chisel. It's like chiseling bread.