"Brad" wrote in message
...
I'm new to woodturning ( my lathe should arrive in a week ) and just had a
large Poplar tree fall in my backyard from the last hurricane.
Is it worth my time to cut the tree up and keep pieces ? There are several
large limbs which would create some nice grain patterns at the trunk. If
this was a nice oak or maple, I would already be out there cutting.

How does Poplar compare to other woods in regard to the beauty of the
finished product ?
If it isn't a preferred wood, I could use it for practice.


Depends on if it's a "poplar" as in tulip-poplar with lobed leaves -
actually a magnolia. I would expect, given your location, that this is the
case.

Makes it a practice wood of little character; soft without the disadvantage
of harder latewood to get in the way, as would be the case with a conifer.
Also means you won't have the interlocked grain that characterizes true
poplars. It's that which makes it possible to make hats and lampshades,
though why anyone would do so is beyond me. Of course, you don't have to
contend with the fuzz that interlocked grain gives you, either.