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I luvs sawing Poplar

Started by POSTON WIDEHEAD, November 20, 2013, 05:37:53 PM

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POSTON WIDEHEAD

My favorite wood to saw....Poplar. I could saw it everyday.
Poplar in my area is EVERYWHERE! The farm is full of it.....Loggers give it to me by the truck load.
I have been on a personal campaign to get customers into using Poplar for siding rather than Pine......I mean I gotta do something with these Poplar Logs.  ::)
My efforts are paying off. I've had customers buying the Poplar barn boards and when their projects were complete, I would go take a picture of it to show to others. I sell my Poplar at the same price as my Pine, 60 cents. That's a lot cheaper than other mills but then again, I don't buy the logs.
Here is the first load of 260 plus boards 7/8" x 8 x 10. I have about 600 more boards to saw for him.
Thank goodness Poplar is becoming more Popular.  :D


  

  

  

  

  

 
The older I get I wish my body could Re-Gen.

red oaks lumber

why do you leave your lumber stacked on the cant? the extra time going up then down, you would saw an extra hour per day without wearing you masts and drive system out. just sayin :)
the experts think i do things wrong
over 18 million b.f. processed and 7341 happy customers i disagree

brendonv

Can we see some of those pics of your customers finished products?

I was just thinking about giving away some poplar i have out back.  Just in my way.  Might rethink that.  Ive got a mud room thats unfinished.  Could be something....
"Trees live a secret life only revealed to those that climb them"

www.VorioTree.com

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Vorio-Tree-Experts-LLC/598083593556636

POSTON WIDEHEAD

Quote from: red oaks lumber on November 20, 2013, 05:43:41 PM
why do you leave your lumber stacked on the cant? the extra time going up then down, you would saw an extra hour per day without wearing you masts and drive system out. just sayin :)

I don't saw 1 board.....take it off and load it on the trailer. To much walking. To much time. I saw the whole cant, turn the mill off, then I brush and carry 4-5 boards at a time.. Its a Southern Thang Steve.  :D Trust me....I save time this way. I push the mill to it's limit no matter how I use it......if it breaks, I call WM get the parts and fix it. :D
In the 3rd pic.....this was a 16 inch cant split down the middle. I saw 2- 8 inch boards at a time.

This is why I have the service tech come every year and do a "magnifying inspection" on the whole shooting match. If I'm wearing something out.....replace it.
When sawing Oak....I will saw the whole cant and take the fork lift and remove the whole sawn cant from the bed of the mill.
You had a good question though. But this is just how I do it......I'm a 1 man show.  :)
The older I get I wish my body could Re-Gen.

POSTON WIDEHEAD

Quote from: brendonv on November 20, 2013, 05:56:17 PM
Can we see some of those pics of your customers finished products?



Here is a pic of a child's play house. Lapped.
It makes very good siding....I wouldn't use it for post or structural building but for siding, its good.


  

 
The older I get I wish my body could Re-Gen.

Delawhere Jack

Poplar is a joy!



 

Milled this whack in April (?), and the guy called me back in Sept to mill some cherry. The poplar was dry and he had it planed. Gorgeous stuff.


Peter Drouin

You brush all the wood off for your customers ?
A&P saw Mill LLC.
45' of Wood Mizer, cutting since 1987.
License NH softwood grader.

POSTON WIDEHEAD

Quote from: Peter Drouin on November 20, 2013, 06:30:41 PM
You brush all the wood off for your customers ?
Yep....I say brush but it's actually a sheet rock knife with a handle. I don't have a pic but I just run the knife down each face. It really works good and is a fast way to clean a board.
The older I get I wish my body could Re-Gen.

red oaks lumber

you eat grits therefore your thinkins a little skwed :D
the experts think i do things wrong
over 18 million b.f. processed and 7341 happy customers i disagree

reswire

My grandfather was an " old school carpenter" back in the day they still sawed with a 'saw pit".  He told me that poplar was the best barn siding anyone could ask for, as long as it was put up vertically, not horizontally (there are hundreds of old barns in Southern Maryland that have unpainted poplar that has lasted 40+ years and much more).  Always turn the grain down, and protect the ends from open rain or moisture.  If put on horizontally, make sure the "lap" is at least 3/4 of an inch under the first board.  He would never use it for rail posts or fence boards, he always said white oak was the way to go.  He always cut the white oak in the spring, when the "sap was up", saying that the sap was a natural preservative. I remember him telling me of an old "slaves quarter" he rebuilt that had "light wood", cedar that was over one hundred years old that was still intact and in good shape.  The trick was to allow locust, cedar or white oak to harden for a couple of years in the barn before using.  I know, I've been back on some the old barns he built in the 30's, that are still impossible to drive nails into after all these years.  They also "pegged" the joints instead of nailing, using dried oak pegs driven into green oak sills.  When the green oak shrunk, it was impossible to get the peg back out, making a tight and difficult joint to break. 

Just a few things I remember, from a tough old dude.   
Norwood LM 30, JD 5205, some Stihl saws, 15 goats, 10 chickens, 1 Chessie and a 2 Weiner dogs...

POSTON WIDEHEAD

Quote from: red oaks lumber on November 20, 2013, 06:49:01 PM
you eat grits therefore your thinkins a little skwed :D

You are probably right Steve.  :D
The older I get I wish my body could Re-Gen.

Chuck White

I like sawing Poplar too!

Had 2 customers this Summer and the only stuff in their log stack was Poplar!

Cuts as easy as Pine and less mess!
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

SAnVA

Around here ( S.W. VA) all the weatherboarding or siding on the old farmhouses is poplar, keep it painted and it lasts forever! I understand your sawing through and and leaving boards on the cant works good for me also when sawing by myself, if I have an offbearer then it's a different story!Take care now!

Knute

I built a garage 12 years ago and used poplar for B&B siding. It's holding up real well. Sawed the boards 5/8" x 10" and dried. Soaked end of boards in mixture of linseed oil and paint thinner before installing. Don't know if it would have been necessary, but thought bottom ends would hold up better.

WDH

Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

POSTON WIDEHEAD

Quote from: WDH on November 20, 2013, 08:18:26 PM
60 cents  ???

What are you getting......$300.00?  :D
Seriously, other sawmill have it listed 80 to a dollar. They have to buy their logs.
Mine are free and Poplar saws better and faster than Pine....IMO.

Now....how many BF would you like?  ;D
The older I get I wish my body could Re-Gen.

elk42

    One board a time sawing this will run to death.

    
Machinist Retired, Lt15 WM 25 HP, Stihl 044, Stihl 311, Kubota M2900w/FEL, KUBOTA L4800 w/FEL,
Lincoln Ranger 10,000, stihl 034,

POSTON WIDEHEAD

You got it going on ELK! Good pic.
The older I get I wish my body could Re-Gen.

scleigh

Poston, I've had good luck with the poplar perlins in my pole building. The bee's like to bore into oak and pine but leave poplar alone.

POSTON WIDEHEAD

Quote from: scleigh on November 20, 2013, 09:09:53 PM
Poston, I've had good luck with the poplar perlins in my pole building. The bee's like to bore into oak and pine but leave poplar alone.

I did not know that about the Bees. Good reply!
The older I get I wish my body could Re-Gen.

yukon cornelius

please don't laugh at me.....isn't poplar the same as ash?
It seems I am a coarse thread bolt in a world of fine threaded nuts!

Making a living with a manual mill can be done!

POSTON WIDEHEAD

Quote from: yukon cornelius on November 20, 2013, 09:15:08 PM
please don't laugh at me.....isn't poplar the same as ash?

I know if you burn Poplar in an open fireplace, it will POP out and burn your rug up.
Ash is a very good firewood.


                               "DANNY" ?
The older I get I wish my body could Re-Gen.

Peter Drouin

Poplar smells bad too I cut some 8"x8"x16' beams and they twisted up I was cutting one and as I cut it I could see it twist. Look all most like a barber pole.  :D
A&P saw Mill LLC.
45' of Wood Mizer, cutting since 1987.
License NH softwood grader.

thecfarm

Last time I saw a heart that color was when we was cutting some big,old white birch. It was solid like that too. The poplar I have is not red like that.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

Dave Shepard

I cut a bunch of it last summer. I like it, but was glad to have a forklift. It was mostly 3" up to 20" wide and 17' to 19' long. There's some of it around here, but not like it is even a little bit further South of here.
Wood-Mizer LT40HDD51-WR Wireless, Kubota L48, Honda Rincon 650, TJ208 G-S, and a 60"LogRite!

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