poplar

[downeastmark]

hey guys,
   I'm learning a lot from this forum.  i was just wondering if anyone could tell me if there are any uses of poplar for sawing, as i have a pretty good abundance of it.  if its no good i'll let it stand if its any good i'll cut it.  thanks guys.

[Paper Maker]

   I know of a couple of people that put it up in their camp house. I liked it so well that I cut about 600 bf to put in office at the shop when I get a chance. Around here if its has good color and about 6 inches wide or more, it goes for around .75 cents a bf. Check out Craigslist or a farmers bulletin and see what the prices are in your area.

[Brad_S.]

Depends on what you are calling poplar.
Yellow poplar, aka tulip poplar, is great for furniture. It takes paint well and when stained properly, it can be a dead ringer for cherry.
Cottonwood and aspen are also refered to as poplar and while they do have uses, they are not very stable. I have been told that cottonwood is a good choice for horse stall material because the horses don't like the taste.

[downeastmark]

I'm looking for boards and studs, but i really don't know if poplar is suitable.  i know that people use spruce, pine, and even big fir when applicable, but i do not know about poplar, if anyone else knows about what i'm looking for let me know please.

[SwampDonkey]

Being as your in Maine, it is aspen poplar your asking about. I guess it all depends on the traditions of the area. If folks use it for structural material they will buy or if it's for yourself, go for it. But in my area, structural wooden material for buildings are softwood mostly. Hardwood is used sometimes as planking in sheds where vehicles or farm produce processing equipment are traveling over. Like here with father, the older potato shed had deep in ground bins to keep potatoes cool and there was 3" hardwood planking placed down on the floors overhead of the bins to run a binpiler overhead, to load the bin via tunged shoots. That kept the potatoes from free falling and bruising. I don't know anyone locally sawing aspen for framing lumber, it deteriorates fast if it gets wet a lot. The send it too the pulp mills. At one time they had a veneer market for the nicer stuff around here but the price was no better than pulp so no one much bothered. The bigger loggers wouldn't bother sorting it for the price.

Just a for instance.

[bandmiller2]

Mark,I've found offbeat woods hard to sell,hobby woodworkers and furnature makers like some of the lighter woods for backing and drawers.Cut some and try it you have little to loose. Frank C.

[ladylake]

Around here in MN there are a lot of outbuildings built with poplar  studs etc. It need to be sawn fresh as lumber coming off of logs a couple years old will look like skies.   Steve

[Knute]

I built a garage 10 years ago and used it for vertical siding. 1x9 or 1x10. It is holding up fine. I soaked the ends of the boards in a mixture of linseed oil and paint thinner, 1 part oil and 4 parts thinner. Sawed the boards 5/8 thick. It makes good lumber if you can keep it straight while drying. A little harder to nail than pine if you are using a hammer.

[mad murdock]

Poplar makes really nice looking T&G paneling.  The blonde color is really nice.  I built a dog sled from poplar as a high school wood shop project, turned out great, and was light and super strong!  The wood is really long-grained, and has nice bending qualities.  I knew of a violin maker back in N. Wisc. who used poplar instead of maple for his violins, and they turned out very nice as well, (top and bottoms were still spruce).  When poplar boards get aged, they get really hard, as long as they are kept dry they will last a long time, if they are anywhere around moisture, they willl rot away in a flash.

[beenthere]

One thing that would really help the FF forum members and guests is to call Aspen either Aspen or popple, and use the term poplar to refer to Yellow Poplar. We keep adding to the confusion of many by slip sliding between the names. ;)

People hear the terminology "popple" and translate it to poplar easily. Then the confusion begins.

And both aspen and yellow poplar can be used for structural dimension material. Drying in flitch form and then ripping after drying helps to get straight material. Sometimes referred to as the SDR system (saw dry rip).

[SwampDonkey]

You got that right. But, as they say we are all set in our ways words. :D

Helps to know where someone is coming from (geography) so you can discount it as probably not growing there. Problem is many over look that and just go by the posted message. That being said, please don't assume SYP grows up here. Just joking of course. ;)

[mad murdock]

please don't assume SYP grows up here. Just joking of course. ;)

Southern Yellow Poplar?   ;D

[woodmills1]

up here our aspen poplar serves well for paint grade trim, most interior but a few exterior uses with good caulk and paint

[millwright]

Around my neck of the woods(N Wis),a lot of aspen is used for framing and also for verticle siding.

[Slingshot]

    We grow yellow (tulip) poplar around here in Kentucky. I have lots of it and milled and sold
quite a lot. I had a logger come in and take out a bunch of Poplar trees from right back of my house
that were larger than I wanted to deal with myself. Some bordering a power line that he had to pull
on with his skidder winch. Off of a 2-1/2 acre area he logged and sold a  little over $11,000 worth.
(one half of that to me)  And still left plenty of the smaller ones that I will work on along with the
  oak and cherry.

Here are some pictures I made of some of the larger ones:










































_______________________________-

[paul case]

    wow those are some nice logs charles. my saw's mouth is watering.   pc

[Slingshot]

   I would have liked to have sawn and milled them all myself but I don't have the market for
that much milled lumber. Besides, I still have all I want to cut and mill. They did get some
nice logs. Out of all they cut there were only about 3 or 4 that had some rot in the center.
the logger was amazed.



____________________________
charles,   

[thecfarm]

I've sold a few to pallet mills and I mean a few. But this was 20 years ago too. They did not mind SOME in with the load but did not want a whole load of it.Are you talking for your own use,out buildings? I would build something out of it,but trying to sell it to others will be a hard sell here in Maine.