How long will poplar/aspen keep?

WoodenHead · September 22, 2012, 08:14:14 PM

I have some Poplar logs in my yard and I may purchase more. How long will they keep before stain or rot sets in?

beenthere · September 22, 2012, 08:19:42 PM

They start decomposing right away. Cooler weather will slow the bacteria down, but it is downhill regardless.
Think of them as being a fresh tomato just out of the garden. They keep a bit longer if in the frig.

Are you trying to figure out when you just have to saw them?

These are aspen, right? Bigtooth or Quaking?

customdave · September 23, 2012, 12:14:49 AM

I saw a fair amount of poplar, I let my logs stay in a stack a year before I saw them, learned this the hard way >:(

Dave

WoodenHead · September 23, 2012, 07:34:22 AM

I believe I actually have quaking aspen. Most around here simply call it poplar. A couple loggers are offering a truckload at a reasonable price. If it keeps okay then I would consider a load. Right now I have other priorities so I would have to wait sawing it.

Dave, are you saying you won't saw it before a year? I'm interested in hearing the reason.

I quarter sawed one log to try out (one week after being cut). It saws a lot like ash in terms of tension.

EZland · September 23, 2012, 08:49:22 AM

Gents, I am not expert in storing logs or lumber, but I have just sawn about 400 BF that had been laying for 16 months directly on the ground. The logs came down in a tornado and just had to be dragged into field to get them off my fences. There was some with rot, but there was some that were awesome.

After thought I wish I had stored them at least a log off the ground and stripped the bark. The ones that were the worst were in tall grass. a few of the ends were like cutting sponge.

remember mine were free.

beenthere · September 23, 2012, 12:32:37 PM

But I suspect those logs were not aspen, as the OP was asking. ;)

True North · September 23, 2012, 09:43:41 PM

I also like to let poplar logs relax for several months before sawing.

Okrafarmer · September 23, 2012, 09:49:09 PM

I think I'm finding that to be a good policy for sweetgum, too. Jury's still out about it, though.

Jeff · September 23, 2012, 10:04:56 PM

Quaking aspen is not going to relax. It should be sawn as soon as possible if you want it to saw decent. Since we sawed about 20-30,000 feet a day, we had to have a pretty huge reserve. Generally a thousand cord for a months supply. Sometimes logs didn't get rotated like they should and it was obvious when you got to the older stuff.

JustinW_NZ · September 23, 2012, 10:06:32 PM

If its anything like the poplar we have around here (Black poplar) then you can never saw it too soon!
It goes dozy and turns to sponge in the wet very quickly.

Cheers
Justin

Okrafarmer · September 23, 2012, 10:08:09 PM

I wish there was a way to soften logs up, like by dropping them on rocks, or something. I have a feeling that would just cause splits and shake. :-\

Jeff · September 23, 2012, 10:21:07 PM

Stretching results in softer logs.

Okrafarmer · September 23, 2012, 10:22:45 PM

Quote from: Jeff on September 23, 2012, 10:21:07 PM
Stretching results in softer logs.

Hmmm. . . . :P

customdave · September 24, 2012, 12:48:14 AM

I find if I let it sit a year, its drys a fair amount, then saw & dry pile to air dry it is way easier to get it to dry straighter. Green poplar is a bear to dry straight I have found! I find sittin a year it still saws very nice & lighter too...

Dave

petefrom bearswamp · September 24, 2012, 06:36:38 PM

Listen to Jeff,
He has a lot of experience with Quaking aspen, Populis tremuloides (sic). my spelling sucks.
I have only sawed a small amount about 2- 3 MBF and always green. Sawed OK
Rots quickly when in contact with the ground
Pete

GeneWengert-WoodDoc · September 27, 2012, 08:21:59 AM

As has been mentioned, there are several woods that are called poplar. One is tulip poplar or yellow poplar, and it is denser than aspen, quakIng aspen, trembling aspen, northern poplar (all are Populus temuloides), bigtooth aspen (populous gradidentata). These poplars are soft, easy to stain (blue stain) and prone to warping due to tension wood. Black poplar (Populus nigra) is highly prone to bacterial infection which means hard to dry and prone to collapse as well...black poplar is usually not successfully sawn into quality, dry lumber. Balsam poplar, Balm of Giliad, is also hard to saw and dry, so is avoided. Cottonwood is also in the Populus genus (several different species) and is somewhat hard to saw and dry straight and is prone to collapse when drying.

One great feature of aspen is that it is splinterless, which is really important when it is used for seats in saunas and for children's toys.

GeneWengert-WoodDoc · September 27, 2012, 08:24:38 AM

Yellow poplar is Liriodendron tulip infers, so is not in the Populus genus. It is about 50% harder then Populus genus woods.

Okrafarmer · September 27, 2012, 09:07:31 AM

As troublesome as the populus trees may be, there are some northern locations where it is the only, or almost the only available hardwood. Many parts of Alaska and northern Canada, for instance, the only thing harder than it is birch, which may or may not be abundant on your property. (of course there are softwoods such as spruce and tamarack in these northerly climes, as well).

So for those people, they may have to deal with it quite a bit.

I have contact with a large company that buys and dries a lot of lumber, both here in South Carolina, and also in Mississippi, and their Mississippi plant dries a fair amount of cottonwood to sell commercially.