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tulip popler for timberframe?

Started by Tremel, December 05, 2005, 01:13:38 PM

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Tremel

Can Tuplip popler be used in a frame?  As I walk my propery every year during hunting season, I take a mental inventory of my trees.  I don't have many oaks, but I do have an abundents of popler trees.  I have cut serveral off of my place to use for siding and general building materials.  It's alot like working with pine. 

My thoughts are that I would like to tackel a small project first, like a small barn or guest house and use the popler as the frame.

Any thoughts?
Bill Tremel
Claysville, PA
Collector of Antique engines, Trucks, tractors and hobby farmer.

Greg

Quote from: Tremel on December 05, 2005, 01:13:38 PM
Can Tuplip popler be used in a frame?  As I walk my propery every year during hunting season, I take a mental inventory of my trees.  I don't have many oaks, but I do have an abundents of popler trees.  I have cut serveral off of my place to use for siding and general building materials.  It's alot like working with pine. 

My thoughts are that I would like to tackel a small project first, like a small barn or guest house and use the popler as the frame.

Any thoughts?

This has been discussed before, several times I think, you should try a search.

The short answer is yes. Its stronger than white pine, but not as strong as oaks.

In fact, I am using tulip poplar 8x8 posts in my shed right now. We too have an abundance of these trees. In some ways, they are ideal trees for beams, they grow fast and straight, dropping its lower branches.

One thing to watch out for, this wood will check violently around the heart, esp. if drying fast, so I suggest sealing up all ends and exposed mortises right away!

Greg

sawmillwill

Tulip, poplar and cucumber trees although similar among themselves, aren't very similar with pine.  Mainly in the area of modular elasticity, or, the amount of bend or flex a piece of lumber under load will take before failure.  I did inspect some poplar beams and dimension one time in Virginia for a couple that had a small mill and lots of trees on their acreage that they were using to build their home.  I used some federal guideline, but one thing to remember is that the second you alter that lumber, via driving a nail through it, ripping it or trimming it the manufacturers grade is no longer warrantied, as you have changed it.  So in the end what does it really matter.  Use good sense and judgement, don't use rotten poplar with big knots , pithy hearts the length of the piece with barky edges.  Appearance plays a big factor in inspections.

sawmillwill
WILL

Squirrell_Boy

I met a member of Timber Framers Guild who built a frame entirely of Tulip Poplar (Liriodendron Tulipfera), except for the sills which were White Oak. He also did research on Tulip Poplar and other species for braces and other strength properties during his engineering education at the University of Wyoming. He was quite pleased with it. He said it has to be sized like a softwood species and is quite stable once it dries out some. I was taught that it is always a good idea to seal end grain of logs ASAP. It is especially important in the frame where there is any risk of moisture contact. This is definately not a decay resistance species. I have worked a little bit it is soft and easy to work. He also said that it was easy to find tall, straight trees with few defects in this species.
"Of course we don't know what we're doing. That's why they call it research." Albert Einstein

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