Uses for poplar

alinicoll · October 26, 2009, 02:26:36 PM

As the title sujests. Are there any uses for poplar?

jdtuttle · October 26, 2009, 03:45:22 PM

Makes great moulding. It's usually painted because of the color variations.
jim

hokie97 · October 26, 2009, 04:56:41 PM

how about barn siding?

alinicoll · October 26, 2009, 05:21:12 PM

Quote from: hokie97 on October 26, 2009, 04:56:41 PM
how about barn siding?

Whats moulding?

alinicoll · October 26, 2009, 05:22:13 PM

Thanks for the replies.

How does it respond to weather?

Tom · October 26, 2009, 06:06:49 PM

Kept dry, or in a place where it can dry quickly, it is probably as good as yellow pine.
Poplar is also used in inexpensive furniture because the grain patterns simulate so many woods. It is one of the few that can be made to look like walnut. (I'm not talking about Popple, but rather Yellow Poplar )

beenthere · October 26, 2009, 06:23:47 PM

Quote from: alinicoll on October 26, 2009, 05:21:12 PM

Whats moulding?

Moulding is trim wood, used to finish up a project. Picture frame material also included, as is casing and base.

celliott · October 26, 2009, 06:50:59 PM

I made a few canoe paddles out of yellow poplar. They are nice and lightweight, but not the strongest.

nb_foresttech · October 26, 2009, 06:53:59 PM

Here are just a few. Oriented strand board, high end paper, Bio fuel, veneer/plywood, food boxes and Rayon. Rayon is the fabric that some clothing is made from. There are 100's of uses for poplar and aspen.

Dave Shepard · October 26, 2009, 07:00:44 PM

Which poplar? Yellow, aka tulip? We've got the populus kind here, don't care for it much.

WDH · October 26, 2009, 07:51:19 PM

Yellow poplar is one of the best woods for use in any furniture or woodworking that will painted. Good for painted cabinets too.

Jasperfield · October 26, 2009, 08:33:15 PM

I believe, in the not too distant future, we will see Poplar become a sought-after wood. The reason it hasn't been so thus far is that there has been a plentiful supply of relatively cheap conifers.

Poplar is straight grained and relatively knot free. It has good working qualities and when properly dried remains straight.

The Southern Appalachians have an abundance of quite large, straight Poplars.

Ron Wenrich · October 27, 2009, 05:56:54 AM

Give us a little more info on your location. Your IP is coming back as England.

Aspen is known as poplar. Its a lightweight wood and we have guys on the board that cut this stuff all the time. They use it for lots of different things such as dimension lumber and such. It will rot in very little time, so it has to be kept away from the ground. I have even seen some furniture made from aspen, but the surface is very soft and will mar very easily.

Tulip poplar is a member of the magnolia family. Its found mainly on the east coast of the US. It has very good machining properties and is used in molding, cabinets and furniture. It is used in painted and stained products. It takes a stain very well and often can be matched with walnut or cherry.

We have sold tulip poplar logs to the European markets. After veneering, they dyed the woods different colors, mainly red, orange, blue, yellow and green. They would stack these in various colors and make molding for furniture. Its supposed to be very popular on the Italian markets.

WDH · October 27, 2009, 08:32:44 AM

It is about my favorite tree to saw. It has a nice lemony smell when you take off the first slabs. The heartwood sometimes has vibrant color, always green, sometimes with black, yellow, or vermillion streaks. It spalts well. I had a log that layed on the ground through this spring and summer. I opened it up Sunday, and the color was amazing.

alinicoll · October 27, 2009, 02:25:37 PM

some interesting replies.

I`m in southern england. They are hybrib poplar (populus) probably black poplar type hybrid. There are alot here, first planted for match stick for Bryant and May. Basically there is a small stand that the owner wants some out of at a time without clear felling so it would be good to see if there is a use. Biomass is an option i just wondered if there was anything else. Main traditional UK use seems for trailer beds.

Cheers,

Ali

Raider Bill · October 27, 2009, 04:15:12 PM

Quote from: Jasperfield on October 26, 2009, 08:33:15 PM
I believe, in the not too distant future, we will see Poplar become a sought-after wood. The reason it hasn't been so thus far is that there has been a plentiful supply of relatively cheap conifers.

Poplar is straight grained and relatively knot free. It has good working qualities and when properly dried remains straight.

The Southern Appalachians have an abundance of quite large, straight Poplars.

I have lot's of tulip polar, lot's. None of it's real big yet though. I have noticed that it doesn't have much of a root system. Should it be kept away from my buildings due to wind?

Ron Wenrich · October 27, 2009, 05:15:34 PM

Ice damage is more of a problem than wind. How protected is the house site?

thedeeredude · October 27, 2009, 05:22:10 PM

Wdh,
You speak blasphemy! Theres no painting tulip poplar, its got the coolest colors around. Clear finish works best ;D
This link has quite a few pictures of yellow poplar paneling http://batayte.com/MtnCabin/InsideCabin/index.html

Raider Bill · October 27, 2009, 05:24:59 PM

Ron, it's not I built on top of my hill, very windy there.

I have Poplar trees within 20 ft of the house.

WDH · October 27, 2009, 06:01:09 PM

Quote from: thedeeredude on October 27, 2009, 05:22:10 PM
Wdh,
You speak blasphemy! Theres no painting tulip poplar, its got the coolest colors around. Clear finish works best ;D
This link has quite a few pictures of yellow poplar paneling http://batayte.com/MtnCabin/InsideCabin/index.html

Hey Dude,

I can say that I have never personally painted any :D.

thedeeredude · October 27, 2009, 08:03:35 PM

I guess I'll let you go this time :D

Lanier_Lurker · October 28, 2009, 12:04:41 AM

Quote from: WDH on October 27, 2009, 08:32:44 AM
It is about my favorite tree to saw. It has a nice lemony smell when you take off the first slabs. The heartwood sometimes has vibrant color, always green, sometimes with black, yellow, or vermillion streaks. It spalts well. I had a log that layed on the ground through this spring and summer. I opened it up Sunday, and the color was amazing.

Some large over 30" pieces that I have busted up for firewood have even had purple and violet along with the green and yellow. It is quite amazing at times - but do these colors hold true during drying and finishing? How I got these big pieces is a sad story.

The clown that moved in 2 doors down from me about 3 years ago had the largest and most dominant yellow poplar in the immediate stand area taken down. It went right up beside his deck and was perhaps the most perfectly formed yellow poplar you could ever hope to see. Maybe 40" on the stump, clear and straight with little taper to over 70', absolutely perpendicular, and over 120' tall. When I came home from work that day and saw what he had done it really ruined my day. He'd had it cut into 3' sections and just tossed over into a pile on the Corps property. And then the fool was foreclosed on less than a year later and was gone. Oh that that tree could have not had an encounter with such a person.

Unlike some of the other yellow poplars that have been cut down in the area this one did not send out any stump sprouts. That surprised me.

I happen to think that yellow poplar is underrated as firewood. You would not want to burn *only* yellow poplar, but mixed in with oak, maple, and hickory it does great. I always keep some pieces of good dry yellow poplar around to liven up a fire that has gotten sluggish. I have no problems at all with it popping, unlike some of the white oak I have that pops like a fireworks show.

rickywashere · October 28, 2009, 03:52:44 AM

we have them here by the forest full .... they are very nice to work with but in my area they are mainly sold for peeler logs unless they are huge .. anything over like 20 inches you can get prolly 400.00 / 600.00 per thousand .. however some local mills use them as mining materials.. crib blocks, fly boards ect .. but i helped last year tear down a old house that was built around 1930's and it had some that where almost 30 inches wide that looked as good as the day they where nailed up beautiful wood .. i tried to get hold of some for a table but the guy was dead set on nailing them on his bard ////// what a waste//

WDH · October 28, 2009, 09:44:22 AM

Quote from: Lanier_Lurker on October 28, 2009, 12:04:41 AM
but do these colors hold true during drying and finishing? oak I have that pops like a fireworks show.

Without care, I believe that the color will fade. The bright green of the heartwood fades to a light brown with exposure to light. However, I suspect that a freshly sanded piece that was finished with a clear non-yellowing finish would retain a good bit of the original color.