Purdy Poplar

[TomR]

Got a call to save this storm damaged tree in Downtown Atlanta a couple months back and we are so glad we made the pick up. This thing sure did surprise us. 

3 logs
1st; 14' 30-34"
2nd; 14' 34-36"
3rd; 9' 36-49"

Headed back to get one just down the street. Tree company said the new one is also a poplar but looking at the photos they send I had to disagree. Not sure what it is but will find out tomorrow and with any luck it will be a beaut also!!
 

[DPatton]

   Your right that is Purdy indeed!

[nativewolf]

"Rainbow Poplar"  highly desirable, fades though so get it out of sun.  YH sells a lot of it I think he's said.

[TomR]

Thanks DPatton!!

Nativewolf, yes it does fade, all in the shade as this was while it was on the mill. We have a couple of slabs in the new Idry vacuum kiln. When they are done Ill post some dry pictures

[YellowHammer]

We sell pallets and pallets of it.  The rainbow colors, I.e reds, bright yellows, and pink will oxidize and seem to fade in direct sunlight but after they are kiln dried and heated, they will darken, loose some of their red pigments and turn incredible deep smoky purples, blacks, blues and are locked in and will have fire like streaks and twists and if anything look better than walnut.  We have one lady in Oklahoma who refurbishes Airstream Trailers and uses it for countertops.  She says that properly dried and prepared, the pigments outlast the poly coat, about 15 years.  She came from Oklahoma to Alabama to get some.  Quite a drive.  Many people confuse the kiln dried, darkened material with walnut and that's why sell so much of it, walnut at a Poplar price but with more "motion".  Put an oil on it and it's tough to beat.

The best boards are more smokey black and blue, they dry and look like they have been dipped in blue ink.  The bright reds do fade, but the beauty is in the non fading blacks, purples and indigos and also in the contrast between the dark streaks and the lighter wood.

Here are some kiln dried boards, and a turkey call made by a championship turkey caller who drove 8? hours from Texas to Alabama to buy a couple hand picked boards a couple weeks ago.  

Just so happens that I've been sawing "Purple Poplar" logs most of this week.  The trick is to use different sawing techniques that emphasize the twists and motion of the grain, like the board below.  I'm giving away my secrets now, well maybe not all of them. ;D

These are the darkened, post kiln dried, post planed and non fading remanants of the original "rainbow" colors.  Quite a nice board.  Can't buy these at Lowes or Home Depot.

<  
Here are a couple that had almost all Purple Heart, the color is completly through the boards. When oiled, these will turn royal purple.  


 

 

[xlogger]

I believe that this question had been brought up before but can you look at the saw cut of a poplar log and tell much about how the color is? Anyone have a  picture of the log before it milled?

[YellowHammer]

As with most highly figured or unusual wood, the biggest problem is getting enough of the right color variation logs.  It's fairly rare around here, pigments can be seen from the butt cuts, but since they fade it's difficult to distinguish a truly nice log from one that just has a darker than normal heart, or rot, or many other things beside the "right" stuff.  Pick the wrong log and cut into it, it's just a green heart and brown sapwood Poplar.  I sort through literally mountains of Poplar logs to find the few good ones.  

[Magicman]

Lawg Dawg just posted this that has the potential for being "purdy".

Whatcha Sawin' ??? in Sawmills and Milling

[nativewolf]

I believe that this question had been brought up before but can you look at the saw cut of a poplar log and tell much about how the color is? Anyone have a  picture of the log before it milled?

Once it is felled it tells all, right in the open cut it will have all sorts of tinting.  

[Slingshot]

   Here is a poplar log that laid on the ground for about 3 years.....





Here is what it looked after sawing, about 26 inch wide boards...





   Small table made from it with 2 coats of poly.....







__________________________
Charles in KY

[Crossroads]

Very pretty 

[YellowHammer]

Nice 

[TomR]

Im sure I have a photo of one before the mill. The but end of the logs with the most color look almost black. Let me track down a photo and Ill post it up. 

[nativewolf]

 

 

So here are two poplar (liriodendron tulipifera), left is the rainbow poplar.  Team cut these today

[samandothers]

Was there something in the tree's environment that was/is unique?

[nativewolf]

They don't really know what causes it from what I have read.  This one however was scared and scared badly all the way down trunk.  Some in my forest that I had cut were perfect outside, could never tell what caused it.  Still kicking myself for letting it go without getting it sawn. 

[TomR]

Thanks for the photo Nativewolf, I can't find the one I was looking for. Old timers in my area think its minerals from ground water but not sure if that would be correct. 

[nativewolf]

if I could figure it out I'd spike the stumps of my Poplars  :D