Saturday, January 23, 2010

Poplar, Aspen. Cottonwood etc.

The trees of the Poplar family are fast growing and very common in the North eastern US and Canada. In terms of hardness it is about twice as hard as pine and half as hard as oak.

Many of my shop projects are made from poplar. I have a very good source of rough lumber in Brant Custom Woods and I find the wood very consistant and easy to work with either hand tools or machines.

Another bonus to poplar is that it is not a commonly used wood in many applications and so very reasonable to buy. It is also available in wide boards. I have commonly seen 16 inch wide boards 2 inches think and 10 feet long.

If you look through my blog the crib and dry vase are popular. The wood has a slight greenish tint but that is easily hidden by stain. The greenish tint and varied grain pattern probably tell against it when people choose the wood for their projects. The interest and variety is an advantage to me, I like grain.



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