Tulip Tree Uses?

[wdncno]

Years ago the bodies of buggies and sleighs were made of tulip wood.   Now lots of cheap or laminated canoe paddles, and iI think most stratocaster guitar bodies.

[brendonv]

That's an idea, I have a room that I can use it for paneling.  I hauled them today, will take a pic.

[Al_Smith]

I'm not certain if tulip or cottonwood or both are made into trim pieces for houses .I've heard said cottonwood is and if they sold it as cottonwood nobody would buy it .Lump it all together as poplar nobody is the wiser .

[brendonv]

I took home 10 logs, all 8'6" and 9'6". 

[Al_Smith]

Tulip is some wet stuff fresh cut .You can drive an axe clear to the handle and can't split it often plus it weighs as much as oak .About 6 months later it's like balsa wood .

[WDH]

Brendon,

Those are nice logs!

[brendonv]

I'd love to peel the bark for some gable accents on the outbuildings around here.

Poor timing I suppose, would be ideal in spring when that bark almost peels itself off.

Anyone ever process the bark off season?

[Okrafarmer]

it weighs as much as oak .About 6 months later it's like balsa wood .

That has not been my experience. Tulip in any condition is noticeably lighter than oak in the same condition, for all of it I have ever handled. Which is quite a bit.

[Too Big To Fail]

I swung by a very large lumber operation in my neck of the woods last week.  I asked the guy we were working with what his best seller was, and he said he could sell YP all day long to cabinetmakers in NYC if he could maintain the supply side of the equation.

[Okrafarmer]

I swung by a very large lumber operation in my neck of the woods last week.  I asked the guy we were working with what his best seller was, and he said he could sell YP all day long to cabinetmakers in NYC if he could maintain the supply side of the equation.

I'd be happy to help him with that. We have an endless supply of it here, and it grows an inch or more diameter per year. The faster we mow it, the faster we grow it! (Dr. Seuss reference)

[Al_Smith]

Perhaps it might be lighter in SC than Ohio .However  spring cut green trees in these parts ,tulip ,cottonwood have so much water in them it runs out like cutting a sponge .That stuff is heavy as lead for maybe a month or two after . Oak of course is heavy no matter what or when .

[Okrafarmer]

The bottom log of any tree generally seems to be the densest, or heaviest per cubic foot. But tulip logs are pretty light regardless, around here. No heavier than yellow pine.  :snowman:

[Jay C. White Cloud]

Just to add my two cents, it is one of my favorite woods.  I didn't notice it in the thread, but Tulip tree wood, (Liriodendron tulipifera) is a Magnolia species.  I have seen it in every thing from barn frames to flooring, picture frame to fine oiled cabinetry.  It is one of my favorite woods to timber frame with also.  Just love the stuff.  You are lucky to have those trunks and yes the bark is a great siding material.

Regards,

Jay

[Magicman]

During the early 1900's, Yellow Poplar was known as "poor man's lumber" because all of the suitable SYP had been logged out and Poplar was all that was left for folks to build homes with.

Even today, there are landowners that simply do not have SYP, so they use Poplar.  I saw quite a bit of Yellow Poplar for framing lumber.  2X4's, 2X6's, etc., and have such a job within the next couple of weeks.

[Jasperfield]

As I posted months ago; We will see increased demand for medium to large diameter Yellow Poplar, grown at higher elevations and on North-facing slopes. Not for "Popple" or Aspen, but hard Yellow Poplar.

It's hard, straight, and easy to work. Kind of like a "poor man's American Chestnut".

[WDH]

It is one of my favorite woods to work with.

[Magicman]

I seriously doubt that it would meet the structural specifications for strength required for graded framing lumber, but for practical uses, it works very well. 

[beenthere]

There are design values for yellow poplar structural lumber, just not as high as SYP

http://www.srs4702.forprod.vt.edu/pubsubj/pdf/9032.pdf

plus more hits if google on 'yellow poplar structural lumber'

[Jay C. White Cloud]

(Sorry I did the best I could lining things up.)

Magicman, we use it in place of White Pine, which is one of, if not the most popular timber framing materials.  It is as strong or stronger in most cases.

A:     Static Bending Modulus of Elasticity 10^6 psi
B:     Impact Bending, Height of Drop Causing Failure in Inches
C:     Compress. Parallel to Grain, Max Crushing Strength  psi
D:     Compress. Perpen.  to Grain, Fiber Stress at Prop. Limit psi
E:     Shear Parallel to Grain, Max Shear Strength psi

Tree Species                A      B        C       D         E

Yellow-poplar             1.58   24   5,540     500      1,190
Pine, Eastern white   1.24   18   4,800     440      900
Pine, Western white   1.46   23   5,040     470      1,040
Pine, Jack                 1.35   27   5,660     580      1,170
Pine, Loblolly      1.79   30   7,130     790      1,390
Pine, Lodgepole      1.34   20   5,370   610      880
Pine, Longleaf      1.98   34   8,470     960      1,510
Pine, Pitch              1.43   -   5,940     820      1,360
Pine, Pond              1.75   -   7,540     910      1,380
Pine, Ponderosa      1.29   19   5,320     580    1,130
Pine, Red               1.63   26   6,070     600      1,210
Pine, Sand              1.41   -   6,920     836   -
Pine, Shortleaf      1.75   33   7,270     820      1,390
Pine, Slash              1.98   -   8,140     1,020  1,680
Pine, Spruce           1.23   -   5,650     730      1,490
Pine, Sugar               1.19   18   4,460   500    1,130
Pine, Virginia           1.52   32   6,710      910      1,350

SYP (Southern Yellow Pines are a group of species such as: Loblolly, Longleaf, Shortleaf, and Slash pines.  Depending on grade and condition, Yellow Popular is a better Timber Framing wood.

[brendonv]

Interesting table, wow!

I bought shed plans from Jim, I am now hoping to turn those logs into a small timber frame to act as a small rope storage, and saw workshop for my business. 

[beenthere]

The "table" looks to be copied from a National Design Standards book or other published data.

Maybe Mr White Cloud would give note of his source. ;)

[Magicman]

Magicman, we use it in place of White Pine, which is one of, if not the most popular timber framing materials.  It is as strong or stronger in most cases. 

I stand by the statement that I made: 

I seriously doubt that it would meet the structural specifications for strength required for graded framing lumber, but for practical uses, it works very well. 

Since our "standard" is SPIB which of course is a pine standard, even your source shows that the Southern Yellow Pines excel in every category.  That being said, I would simply refer you to my Reply #38 above.

[Jay C. White Cloud]

I seriously doubt that it would meet the structural specifications for strength required for graded framing lumber, but for practical uses, it works very well.

Sorry, Magicman, I wasn't trying to counter your reply (#42) for graded framing lumber. I'm not up on current standards for framing lumber, as I work in timber frames most of the time.

I do know that White Pine historically, and today, has been one of the most popular timber framing woods used.  Tulip Poplar, where it was available was also used extensively.  It can replace White Pine, and from what I have gathered from P.E.s, it can, if you pay for the grader to come out, as we did in North Carolina, not only be used for the timber frame, but also replace standard "graded framing lumber," the client was going to buy.  They had a real nice stand of Tulip Poplar that they wanted to use.

All the Southern Yellow Pines, as you know, are fine trees and I have seen plenty of beautiful timber frame Tobacco Barns built with it.  I don't dislike the wood in anyway, considering the strength and stunning grain patterns it has.  Timber frames made with it are very nice.  It does have some "pitch," issues that you do not get with Tulip Poplar, and the difference in strength seldom is an issue that becomes a problem in most domestic timber frame designs.

Beenthere,

I pulled my info off an old sheet I picked up at a TFG conference many years ago.  It was just a photo copy of something one of the presenters was handing out.  He was discussing design criteria in Timber Frames and different wood species. Tulip Poplar was part of the discussion.  He also referenced "Understanding Wood," by Hoadley. Which has some of the information I use.  I scanned the Web this afternoon, and you are correct, there are several Web sources that have similar charts to the one I referenced and they are really easy to find.  Sorry, the copy I used doesn't seem to have a source on it, but when cross referenced the numbers seem accurate.

Regards,

Jay

[Dave Shepard]

Interesting table, wow!

I bought shed plans from Jim, I am now hoping to turn those logs into a small timber frame to act as a small rope storage, and saw workshop for my business.

We need more details than that. :D Do you still have that boring machine? Are your chisels sharp? Do you have heat in your garage yet?

[jimF]

The pines are often separated into soft pine (eastern & western white and sugar pines) and hard pines, all the others.  While the soft pines may be used in timber framing, I would not use them for stick framing.  Even from the table listed above, you can see the difference.  Yellow poplar is a species that can be used for both timber and stick framing.  Lots of research in the past at the Forest Products Laboratory on this.  But one needs to be careful though.  It often is brash, meaning brittle with little visual indication.  And if it is green in color, I find it is very soft and it would be good if you don't use that material for structural purposes.