Another cool project, Rich! My guess on the wood is Yellow Pine. A lot of old barns and houses over this way (Western, PA) are sided with the stuff. The density varies from medium to hard. My last house was covered in 70-yr old yellow pine; I re-sided it with foam board insulation and vinyl siding - running siding nails into that stuff was a real adventure. I kept a cordless drill with a pilot bit in the belt at all times
-Darren