Cottonwood - is it worth milling?

[warren46]

Got an offer of some free cottonwood logs.  Is it worth milling?  Is it good for anything except sticker material?

Warren

[Larry]

Cottonwood is a great utility wood.  I've used it for unseen cabinet parts, wood shelving (much preferred over pine), and all kinds of utility projects.  I've sawed some that was used for paneling and it looked nice.  When OSB/plywood prices went through the roof after the gulf war I sawed quite a bit as a replacement for OSB and also for sub-flooring.  I've read that a lot of casket makers use cottonwood...they must know how to finish it.

It has three annoying problems.  Some wood will fuzz when planing, you will loose a few boards due to warp while drying, and it stinks while machining.

I've never met a wood that I couldn't some use for.

[dgdrls]

I understand it makes good wood for barn stalls,

DGDrls

[haywire woodlot]

I understand it makes good wood for barn stalls,

DGDrls

I've been told that as well, any idea why?

[rmack]

it's generally a highly stressed wood, at least around here. Easy to mill, will warp when drying if allowed to, does not stand up well to moisture... rots fairly quickly, but it can be very strong when dry. good price for dunnage.

[Left Coast Chris]

If any of them have figure, it makes great scroll saw art or bowls.  It finishes pretty well and is attractive.

[delvis]

Reading this, I was thinking cottonwood sounds like poplar.  Turns out it is closely related to poplar.  Learn something new every day.

[ST Ranch]

Re-Cottonwood good for horse stalls

I understand cottonwood is good for both horse stall floors and for lowbed decking. Has to do with the fiber length and the tendancy not to split and splinter like the usual softwoods we are accustomed to in BC. 

Apparently when it is dry it is very durable.

I have an old barn with 8 old dairy stalls and I removed the floor in one section to build a feed room. When trying to saw thru the floor, it was like iron - [chain saw felt like I had hit a bunch of sand]. An old timer told me it was probably cottonwood that had become preserved with the manure and urine from the cows - it had stained a dark purple and looked like juniper. but was still solid and well preserved.

I have cut a bit for B & B siding and agree it has a fuzzy nature to it - a bit like cutting WR Cedar.
Tom

[5quarter]

Pallets, pulp, blocking etc... Personally, I wouldn't saw it. Oh, and barns. Most of the barns around here are framed with cottonwood.

[dgdrls]

I understand it makes good wood for barn stalls,

DGDrls

I've been told that as well, any idea why?

What ST said.  I also understand horses will not chew on it,

DGDrls

[Banjo picker]

As Larry said, It stinks...probably taste bad too. ;D  Banjo

[giant splinter]

Cottonwood is a good material, I agree with all of the above posts and would not recommend trying to eat it  :D  I use it all the time as long as it is not near or placed in the ground it stands up well and is very strong, works ok for firewood although it takes a couple years to dry enough to burn well in my area and once the water is out of cottonwood it is very light weight and easy to work with.

[Bigbo1234]

I have lots and lots of cottonwood. One of the best things about cottonwood, it's big, free, an plentiful. One of the drawbacks is that it has so much stress, and when you cut these stressed logs the stress transfers over to the sawyer. After cutting the boards from the cant I've seen some lay perfectly flat, some get up and look at you, some walk off the mill, and some dance away. I framed my hole second story with it as 2x4. It is strong and light but does not hold a nail well. And screws spin out easily. Also if grown in a low laying areas( as it often does) It has a tendency o pull silica out of the ground and will dull your blades faster than normal. Be sure to peel the bark as it is one of the hardest barks there is, and hold dirt. That's just my experience.

[Brucer]

In my corner of the continent, what everyone calls "cottonwood" is actually Trembling Aspen (Populus Treuloides), which is related to poplar.

The trees can get pretty large and branches don't appear until 10 to 20 feet up. This gives a lot of clear wood in the trunk.

It tends to move a lot when you saw it. It moves a whole lot more if you dry it without restraining it (i.e., stack and sticker, with weight on top). The grain is kind of interwoven which makes it tough, but a little difficult to work precisely with hand tools. Horses won't chew on it. The smell is distinctive, but it doesn't bother me.

I just sawed some for a customer -- she's going to use it for flooring in a guest room. A fungus had got into the tree so the entire heart was dark grey, but it hadn't started to decay yet. The grain was quite striking.

A guy I do business with had a bunch sawn, dried, and processed to make tongue and groove boards for a ceiling. The wood is white and it gave the room a light, open feeling.

Two of the 8x8 posts supporting my tractor shed are Aspen. They're doing just fine after 30 years .

Dry, the wood is quite light. Green it's a backbreaker :(.

[Ianab]

I understand it makes good wood for barn stalls,

DGDrls

I've been told that as well, any idea why?

Horses don't like the taste, so they don't gnaw on it when they get bored, which they may do with more tasty wood.