Poplar, what's it good for

It's good for all kinds of things where the finish will be paint, especially molding and trim. It's also used in a fair amount of mass-produced furniture, for parts that won't show. It's lightweight, straight-grained, usually free of knots and other defects, and often available *very* wide. It's also fairly soft, which greatly limits its usefulness in furnituremaking.

Not if the stain is dark enough. :-)

It can be stained to resemble walnut or cherry. Note I didn't say "mimic" or "imitate", because the resemblance is somewhat remote -- but it's close enough to fool most people. Won't fool too many woodworkers...

That sucks, I need a hardwood and one with some character to it. I was noticing that it was extraordinarily plain looking wood. To be honest I noticed the same thing about maple, no real character to the grain. As for oak, tons of character - probably why it costs oodles of money. I think I also saw hemlock in the mix, but I was under the impression that hemlock is a softwood more suited for framing than furniture.

Isn't it what they make matches out of?

============== j-c ====== @ ====== purr . demon . co . uk ============== Jack Campin: 11 Third St, Newtongrange EH22 4PU, Scotland | tel 0131 660 4760 for CD-ROMs and free | fax 0870 0554 975 stuff: Scottish music, food intolerance, & Mac logic fonts | mob 07800 739 557

Poplar is a hardwood, it just isn't a hard wood... :)

Hemlock is a softwood and is soft besides. It is mostly framing lumber, correct.

Poplar is what is known as a "secondary" wood for most cabinetry/furniture purposes. For such uses it is a very good choice being stable, easy to work and plentiful.

Maple comes in many forms, too. "Soft" maple is typically pretty plain w/ little grain. It is reasonably hard, but not as hard as "hard" maples. These maples are the ones that are subject to the various types of irregularities that produce "birds eye" and "fiddleback", etc., and can be absolutely striking.

Oak is more costly these days primarily owing to demand. Depending on the grade, species and how it was sawn, it could be expected to be only slightly more than poplar to double or more. But, as hardwood goes, actual market for oak is about as inexpensive as any of the furniture woods and much less than many.

--

Eigenvector wrote: ...

And, I was going to add on the question -- "no".

It will darken and turn browner. It may retain some hints for a while if protected from the light, but for the longer term, no.

--

RE: Subject

Poplar AKA: "Paint wood"

Lew

Not always! Look here:

Oak is usually one of the cheapest hardwoods you can get, so if you are getting depressed about the cost of it either you are looking at the borg or you need a new hobby. If it's the former, find yourself a real lumberyard.

Well maple usually cost more than oak, If you like the look of oak then stick with it.

As for poplar, I like to use it for drawers and internal parts.

-Leuf

I use poplar for three situations:

2) On work that will be painted.

Joel

Here's a prototype chair, made entirely of poplar, you be the judge:

poplar, huh, yeah What is it good for Absolutely nothing Uh-huh poplar, huh, yeah What is it good for Absolutely nothing Say it again, y'all

poplar, huh, good God What is it good for Absolutely nothing Listen to me

Ohhh, poplar, I despise Because it means destruction Of innocent lives

poplar means tears To thousands of mothers eyes When their sons go to fight And lose their lives

I said, poplar, huh Good God, y'all What is it good for Absolutely nothing Say it again

poplar, whoa, Lord What is it good for Absolutely nothing Listen to me

poplar, it ain't nothing But a heartbreaker poplar, friend only to the undertaker Ooooh, poplar It's an enemy to all mankind The point of poplar blows my mind poplar has caused unrest Within the younger generation Induction then destruction Who wants to die Aaaaah, poplar-huh Good God y'all What is it good for Absolutely nothing Say it, say it, say it poplar, huh What is it good for Absolutely nothing Listen to me

poplar, huh, yeah What is it good for Absolutely nothing Uh-huh poplar, huh, yeah What is it good for Absolutely nothing Say it again y'all poplar, huh, good God What is it good for Absolutely nothing Listen to me

poplar, it ain't nothing but a heartbreaker poplar, it's got one friend That's the undertaker Ooooh, poplar, has shattered Many a young mans dreams Made him disabled, bitter and mean Life is much to short and precious To spend fighting poplars these days poplar can't give life It can only take it away

Ooooh, poplar, huh Good God y'all What is it good for Absolutely nothing Say it again

poplar, whoa, Lord What is it good for Absolutely nothing Listen to me

poplar, it ain't nothing but a heartbreaker poplar, friend only to the undertaker Peace, love and understanding Tell me, is there no place for them today They say we must fight to keep our freedom But Lord knows there's got to be a better way

Ooooooh, poplar, huh Good God y'all What is it good for You tell me Say it, say it, say it, say it

poplar, huh Good God y'all What is it good for Stand up and shout it Nothing

I have NO idea what brought this on. I use poplar all the time. Not for pretty things, but stable, paintable things. Makes great mouldings.

So I get it now, poplar is that stuff you see in the back of drawers and normally hidden away parts of furniture so that the woodworker doesn't have to spend his life savings making a chest of drawers out of Cherry or Black Walnut or Endangered Rainforest Mahogany.

Why not use Aspen instead? It's a little bit cheaper than Popular and clearer.

I thought, but my thought have been questioned lately, that ash was interesting and less expensive. I can remember 15-20 years ago the cabinet maker delivered ash cabinets when oak was all the rage as it was less expensive. They looked nice.

I was going to suggest ash, but then you did so now I don't have to.

A friend used my shop to build a really nice coffee table. The top and apron was ash, and the legs were turned poplar, painted solid black. It looked better than the one his friend BOUGHT for $700! His total cost was well under $200.

- Owen -

That's usually true poplar. One of the aspens of the genus Populus, because the grain is fine, catching flame easily, and interlocked, holding together well.

We also have a magnolia, Liriodendron tulipifera, that we sell as "poplar" to confuse the issue. That's what they're talking about.

You really want to get confused, you ought to see what kind of bird they call a robin! Has to be one of my favorite bird genera.

The reason that aspen, a poplar, is not too popular, is that it has interlocked grain and a mind of its own. I've seen boards coming off the blade at the mill turn 45 degrees before the cut was finished. It's possible to get the furry stuff to behave a bit better by sawing in large dimension, drying, then resawing, but sometimes a tri-square dry 2x6 can turn into two barely half thick useable boards after a simple resaw.

Handsome stuff with a bit of care in finishing, but do _everything_ oversize and re-true. I swear it even moves in length.