Any uses for milling popular

[monte]

Hi
I was wondering if there are any uses for milling popular trees.
Any ideas? I've got lots on my property but the wood is so hard that I can't see any use for them in construction!
What do you guys think!

[Modat22]

We've used poplar in barns, hidden wood in furniture etc. its a nice wood for woodworking, takes stain well.

[monte]

Well thats interesting ???

If you were personally to cut this wood on your sawmill, which dimension lumber would you prefer?

[Modat22]

2x6, 2x8 , 4/4 x whatever for resaw or whatnot for furniture. I never really though of poplar as too hard though.

Good luck!!

[beenthere]

........ I never really though of poplar as too hard though.......

Yellow poplar is a hardwood, but is a 'soft' hardwood.  It does have pretty good stiffness and strength properties (not high, just better than might be expected).

[leweee]

Here's a thread about popular ;D

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=10794.20


What part of Kanadr you from there monte...eh?



Another popular thread. ;D

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=11646.0

[GlennG]

I`ve always used poplar as an equivelent to pine. Its not that hard.

[monte]

Here's a thread about popular ;D

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=10794.20


What part of Kanadr you from there monte...eh?

I'm from Sudbury, Ontario 8)

[monte]

Yellow poplar is a hardwood, but is a 'soft' hardwood.  It does have pretty good stiffness and strength properties (not high, just better than might be expected).

I was wondering then, would you use poplar as a ceiling joist insted of pine? I'm trying to get a 24"oc without using 2x10 pine. Maybee this is the answer?what do you think :

[Fla._Deadheader]

Might be some calculations of wood stress loads over in the toolbox  ???

  Know where the tool box is located, Monte  ???

[leweee]

I'm from Sudbury, Ontario 8)

Home of the big nickel....how's the building inspectors in your part of the country view you using your own lumber. Ain't had much luck down here using it in homes without a grade stamp.

[beenthere]

I was wondering then, would you use poplar as a ceiling joist insted of pine? I'm trying to get a 24"oc without using 2x10 pine. Maybee this is the answer?what do you think

leweee has a valid point of concern.

As far as wood properties, in bending and stiffness, the yellow poplar is a bit higher than any of the pines, except for the southern yellow pines. But those are clear wood properties, not beams and stringers and joists.

Chapter 4 of the Wood Handbook (used to be in the toolbox).

[monte]

Home of the big nickel....how's the building inspectors in your part of the country view you using your own lumber. Ain't had much luck down here using it in homes without a grade stamp.

I guess I should of exlained ;D

This is a log cabin that I want to build in the bush as a hunt camp, I own 80 Acres in la la land! No inspections needed over there! 8)

[monte]

Might be some calculations of wood stress loads over in the toolbox  ???

  Know where the tool box is located, Monte  ???

No I don't know were the toolbox is!

[leweee]

No I don't know were the toolbox is!

In the left column....at the bottom of the sponsors

[toxedo_2000]

Home of the big nickel....how's the building inspectors in your part of the country view you using your own lumber. Ain't had much luck down here using it in homes without a grade stamp.

In Ontario, you can not use your own wood ? Never heard that for Quebec where I live.
Tox

[leweee]

In Ontario, you can not use your own wood ? Never heard that for Quebec where I live.
Tox

Down south here in the banana belt of Kanadr we can't use ungraded lumber for the stucture(dimentional lumber). : if it is used as a residents. Outbuilding are OK'ed with inspector's approval if you use your own lumber.

[Warren]

Down this way (kaintuck), the older farmers like it for fence boards. They say it will last longer than other woods without rotting so fast.  Also some folks like it for barn siding for same reason. 

I build wagon flats for the local equipment dealer out of the oak I saw.  This summer, he had build some flip up / flip down wagon backstops out of poplar instead of oak.  His rationale was the poplar was lighter when dried (easier to lift) and had more flex/give to it than oak when running the wagon on pavement with a load.

Personally, I like the smell and appearance of fresh cut poplar. And it's much easier to saw compared to the oak I normally saw.

Warren

[jkj]

Monte,

It is important to know what KIND of poplar you have.  Around here (Tennessee), Poplar generally means Yellow (Tulip) Poplar, liriodendron tulipifera:  a very stable wood, reasonably strong but soft and lightweight, most widely used for furniture and sometimes used for barn siding, fence boards, and construction.  I'm not familiar with your area but one reference tells me the range of Yellow Poplar extends north to the extreme southern part of Ontario.

On the other hand, some people who say Poplar mean one of the various populus species, for example one of the apsens or cottonwoods.  I understand these trees can be very weak and are not commonly used for construction.  Woodweb had a recent thread on this:  http://www.woodweb.com/cgi-bin/forums/sawdry.pl?read=416087

I have many large yellow poplar trees on my property but I've never seen one of the poplus species around here.  I'm new to sawing (got a Woodmizer a few months ago), but I've cut some yellow poplar into 2x4s for a shed, and 4/4 boards for barn flooring, siding, and general use.  I like to use it for barn doors.  I'm thinking of using it as flooring in my woodworking shop.

Without knowing which poplar you have, some of the uses listed here might not apply.  Which poplar do you have?

JKJ

[thecfarm]

The poplar that I have wouldn't last no time for fence posts,but I have heard of a dump truck diver who wanted some poplar to put into the bed of his dump because it would dent but not break as quick as other kinds of wood.

[populus]

JKJ has it right hear. In the North (including Canada), poplar is Populus, while here in the southern US, poplar always means yellow-poplar, Liriodendron tulipifera. The wood properties are a bit similar, but yellow-poplar decays more slowly. 

Another name for yellow-poplar is tulip tree. As a commercial species, I don't think there is very much logged north of Pennsylvania. Down here in Kentucky, it is a tremendously important species. Conversely, the only commercial true poplar here is cottonwood, Poplulus deltoides.  There is bigtooth aspen, Populus grandidentata but not in commercial volumes.

So be careful in seeking advice about the commercial value or milling properties of poplar on an international forum like this one.

Those pesky Latin names are useful sometimes.

[monte]

Hey guys! just got my lumbermate last night, 8) just putting it together now!! ;D ;D ;D

[Murf]

Congrats there Monte!!!  8)

I'm just down the road a piece from you, on the south end of Lake Simcoe.

Ain't da world wide web a small place after all.  ;D

[Tom]

Pictures, Monte!

[SwampDonkey]

There's no Yellow Poplar up in Sudbury, it grows in the very most southern tip of Ontario along lake shores and a little inland around Lake Ontario and Michegan. We call it Tulip tree in Canada. I've been up in Sudbury and populus (quaking aspen) is about all you see on them rocks. ;D ;)

[SwampDonkey]

Some people around here use populus on pole barns for strapping to raftors over which they nail steel roofing. I've seen how quick it breaks down in thinnings and it wouldn't go far for fence posts or trailor decking. ;)

[johncinquo]

I am going to get some tulip poplar and use it for benches and foot stools in a sauna.  I was in one that was cedar sided with the poplar benches and it looked great and help up really well.

[monte]

Congrats there Monte!!!  8)

I'm just down the road a piece from you, on the south end of Lake Simcoe.

Ain't da world wide web a small place after all.  ;D

Yes it is a small world, were just a frizbee away ;D ;D

I will post pictures of my new mill once I'm done! Boy those lumbermates are a joy to put together! :-\ but I'm taking my time making sure everything is linned up! ;)

[Murf]

I'd be interested ta see how it works when it's all together, I get up that way every now & then, mabye on the next trip through I need to stop at 'Timmies' and pick you up a cup & chew the fat (and sawdust) for a minute or three.

;D  ;D  ;D

[Furby]

I am going to get some tulip poplar and use it for benches and foot stools in a sauna. I was in one that was cedar sided with the poplar benches and it looked great and help up really well.

That gonna be a wood fired sauna John?
I've got plans in my head for one with a wood fired hot tub right next to it! ;) ;D

[monte]

I'd be interested ta see how it works when it's all together, I get up that way every now & then, mabye on the next trip through I need to stop at 'Timmies' and pick you up a cup & chew the fat (and sawdust) for a minute or three.

;D  ;D  ;D

Sure Murf 8)