I'm pricing out oak and getting depressed about the high cost, so I'm
looking at some of the other woods available and notice poplar in the mix.
What the heck is poplar good for, and when finished/stained will it retain
that slightly greenish yellow hue?

In article , "Eigenvector" wrote:
I'm pricing out oak and getting depressed about the high cost, so I'm
looking at some of the other woods available and notice poplar in the mix.

What the heck is poplar 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.

and when finished/stained will it retain
that slightly greenish yellow hue?

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...

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

"Doug Miller" wrote in message
t...
In article , "Eigenvector"
wrote:
I'm pricing out oak and getting depressed about the high cost, so I'm
looking at some of the other woods available and notice poplar in the mix.

What the heck is poplar 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.

and when finished/stained will it retain
that slightly greenish yellow hue?

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...

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

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.

What the heck is poplar good for, and when finished/stained will it
retain that slightly greenish yellow hue?

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
http://www.purr.demon.co.uk/jack/ for CD-ROMs and free | fax 0870 0554 975
stuff: Scottish music, food intolerance, & Mac logic fonts | mob 07800 739 557

Eigenvector wrote:
"Doug Miller" wrote in message
t...
In article , "Eigenvector"
wrote:
I'm pricing out oak and getting depressed about the high cost, so I'm
looking at some of the other woods available and notice poplar in the mix.
What the heck is poplar 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.

and when finished/stained will it retain
that slightly greenish yellow hue?
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...

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

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.

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:
....
...poplar ...when finished/stained will it retain
that slightly greenish yellow hue?

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.

--

Subject

Poplar AKA: "Paint wood"


Lew

In article , dpb wrote:
Eigenvector wrote:
....
...poplar ...when finished/stained will it retain
that slightly greenish yellow hue?

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.

Not always! Look he
http://www.milmac.com/Turnings/ChristmasOrnaments.html




--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

On Wed, 25 Jul 2007 16:54:32 -0700, "Eigenvector"
wrote:


"Doug Miller" wrote in message
et...
In article , "Eigenvector"
wrote:
I'm pricing out oak and getting depressed about the high cost, so I'm
looking at some of the other woods available and notice poplar in the mix.

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.

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.

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

Doug Miller wrote:
In article , dpb wrote:
Eigenvector wrote:
....
...poplar ...when finished/stained will it retain
that slightly greenish yellow hue?
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.

Not always! Look he
http://www.milmac.com/Turnings/ChristmasOrnaments.html

How old are they?

--

I'm looking at ... poplar ...
What the heck is poplar good for ...?

I use poplar for three situations:

1) I use wide poplar slabs for the seats of Windsor chairs. This was
[and is] common in the Middle Atlantic states. [New England uses white
pine]. Windsor chairs, which are made from several species, are
painted.

2) On work that will be painted.

3) As a secondary wood. (i.e. a less expensive wood that is not
usually seen on the piece)

Joel

"Eigenvector" wrote in message
. ..
I'm pricing out oak and getting depressed about the high cost, so I'm
looking at some of the other woods available and notice poplar in the mix.
What the heck is poplar good for, and when finished/stained will it retain
that slightly greenish yellow hue?


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

http://www.e-woodshop.net/images/CrftsManCh18.JPG

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 6/1/07
KarlC@ (the obvious)

"Jim Behning" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 25 Jul 2007 16:31:57 -0700, "Eigenvector"
wrote:

I'm pricing out oak and getting depressed about the high cost, so I'm
looking at some of the other woods available and notice poplar in the mix.
What the heck is poplar good for, and when finished/stained will it retain
that slightly greenish yellow hue?

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 -

"Jack Campin - bogus address" wrote in message
...
What the heck is poplar good for, and when finished/stained will it
retain that slightly greenish yellow hue?

Isn't it what they make matches out of?

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.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Robin

"Dave" wrote in message
...
Why not use Aspen instead? It's a little bit cheaper than Popular and
clearer.



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.

On Jul 25, 7:31 pm, "Eigenvector" wrote:
I'm pricing out oak and getting depressed about the high cost, so I'm
looking at some of the other woods available and notice poplar in the mix.
What the heck is poplar good for, and when finished/stained will it retain
that slightly greenish yellow hue?


I have never worked with poplar. I got my hands on nice rough poplar
board at a yard sale. My wife had two large maps that needed custom
frames. I milled the poplar into the parts needed. The wood was great
to work with. I researched what finish might look good on them,
experimented with a few things, and finally used a couple of coats
ofTung Oil.

I'm not sure how they'll look after they age...but right now they look
terrific.
If I can figure out how to post a pic, I will.

Frank

Eigenvector wrote:
I'm pricing out oak and getting depressed about the high cost,

Then steer well clear from such goodies as koa, teak...even walnut.

BTW, one doesn't *have* to buy F&S (or "Select")...#1 common works
well for many, many things.

--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

In article , dpb wrote:
Doug Miller wrote:
In article , dpb wrote:
Eigenvector wrote:
....
...poplar ...when finished/stained will it retain
that slightly greenish yellow hue?
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.

Not always! Look he
http://www.milmac.com/Turnings/ChristmasOrnaments.html

How old are they?

About five years -- but so's the photo. The poplar one isn't quite as bright
green any more as it was when the photo was taken, but it's by *no* means
brown.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

In article , "Eigenvector" wrote:
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.

Bingo.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

On Jul 25, 7:54 pm, "Eigenvector" wrote:
"Doug Miller" wrote in message

t...



In article , "Eigenvector"
wrote:
I'm pricing out oak and getting depressed about the high cost, so I'm
looking at some of the other woods available and notice poplar in the mix.

What the heck is poplar 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.

and when finished/stained will it retain
that slightly greenish yellow hue?

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...

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

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.

Look for ash. It is cheaper than oak, even more heavily figured. Hard,
durable--used for shovel handles, among other things.

Poplar is a great secondary wood, as Doug Miller explained, and around
here you see literally hundreds of new and antique dough bowls carved
from it, along with a lot of other things. I used it for siding on my
shop--rough cut, put up as board and batten, no finish, about '95, and
still doing fine as it ages. It is not a weather or ground durable
wood, though, so such use must be vertical and off the ground.

Some poplar that is grown in heavily mineralized ground will show deep
purple to dark green to black figures when freshly cut. Unfortunately,
that fades fairly quickly...much to my disgust when I first found that
out a couple decades or so ago.

If you're not in a rush, consider buying your wood green and rough and
jointing and planing it after a year or so. Once you amortize the
jointer and planer, you save about 40% of the wood cost, and have an
incredible amount of garden mulch...or compost if you prefer. Rough
green wood costs around here have risen dramatically in the past
couple years, with oak now running out close to a buck a board foot. I
think poplar is still about half that.

On Jul 25, 11:18 pm, "Dave" wrote:
Why not use Aspen instead? It's a little bit cheaper than Popular and
clearer.
Aspen may be nearly impossible to find in the East.

Leuf wrote:

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

Around here (Pacific Northwest) birch is usually the same or lower cost than
poplar. It's a harder wood and I use it for drawers and sometimes for
visible parts. I like the combination of brown heartwood and white sapwood.

--
It's turtles, all the way down

Charlie Self wrote:

Aspen may be nearly impossible to find in the East.


At my favorite Connecticut dealer, aspen is $2.75 bd/ft, poplar is $2.30.

George wrote:

"Jack Campin - bogus address" wrote in message
...
What the heck is poplar good for, and when finished/stained will it
retain that slightly greenish yellow hue?

Isn't it what they make matches out of?

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.


I was doing some research on some burl pen blanks I have last night and
ran across a page that claimed that Gmelina is used for matchsticks.

WAY fast growing tree.

Bill

--
I'm not not at the above address.
http://nmwoodworks.com


---
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Virus Database (VPS): 000761-0, 07/27/2007
Tested on: 7/26/2007 10:33:50 PM
avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2007 ALWIL Software.
http://www.avast.com

"BillinDetroit" wrote in message
...
George wrote:

"Jack Campin - bogus address" wrote in message
...
What the heck is poplar good for, and when finished/stained will it
retain that slightly greenish yellow hue?

Isn't it what they make matches out of?

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.


I was doing some research on some burl pen blanks I have last night and
ran across a page that claimed that Gmelina is used for matchsticks.

WAY fast growing tree.

Suppose they might use anything now, wooden matches being a rarity. Don't
even use cedar for pencils either. Reason for aspen and such lies in the
fact that the burned chunk doesn't break off as easily as other hardwoods.
Look at the breaks you see in hardwood coals in you stove. Poplar sort of
flashes into stringy black, with the shape of the log often pretty evident
in the fluff.

Neat stuff, used in the east as bottoms for stoneboats and buckboards,
because it'd dent rather than crack when you pitch stuff on it. Used in the
UP for the bottoms of Finns, because it won't get splinters in their butts
in the sauna, and feels cool.

"Eigenvector" wrote
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.

What about Hickory?
Kate

On Jul 26, 10:25 am, "Dave" wrote:
"Charlie Self" wrote in message

oups.com... On Jul 25, 11:18 pm, "Dave" wrote:
Why not use Aspen instead? It's a little bit cheaper than Popular and
clearer.
Aspen may be nearly impossible to find in the East.

I get my Aspen from Menard's. Each board is individually sealed in plastic
wrap. All the boards I have bought have be straight as an arrow. I use it
for face frames and have never had a problem with it. Check it out when you
go to Menard's.

What's Menard's? You won't find it in this area of Virginia. I'm
reasonably sure Woodcraft can order it in for you at one of its
stores, but...heh, boy, the price. Tulip poplar sells for about $1.75-
$2.50 a bf here (not in Lowe's or HD), so plastic wrapped boards from
elsewhere aren't going to go over big, particularly since tulip poplar
is available in straight, wide knot free boards that almost never cup
or warp.

In article . com, Charlie Self wrote:

What's Menard's? You won't find it in this area of Virginia.

Big-box home improvement retailer, similar to Lowe's and Home Depot. They're
in the upper Midwest only. Most of the stores are in Illinois, Wisconsin,
Minnesota, and Indiana.

Closest one to you looks like central Ohio:
http://menards.com/storeLocator.do

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.

Charlie Self wrote:
On Jul 26, 10:25 am, "Dave" wrote:

"Charlie Self" wrote in message

groups.com... On Jul 25, 11:18 pm, "Dave" wrote:

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

Aspen may be nearly impossible to find in the East.

I get my Aspen from Menard's. Each board is individually sealed in plastic
wrap. All the boards I have bought have be straight as an arrow. I use it
for face frames and have never had a problem with it. Check it out when you
go to Menard's.


What's Menard's? You won't find it in this area of Virginia. I'm
reasonably sure Woodcraft can order it in for you at one of its
stores, but...heh, boy, the price. Tulip poplar sells for about $1.75-
$2.50 a bf here (not in Lowe's or HD), so plastic wrapped boards from
elsewhere aren't going to go over big, particularly since tulip poplar
is available in straight, wide knot free boards that almost never cup
or warp.

Good to hear from you, my friend. What have you been doing with yourself?
mahalo,
jo4hn

With a spray gun and some work, poplar can be anything you
want it to be, including cherry...

Start reading up on tinting,toning,etc,etc in the finishing
books. A spray outfit is a requirement to make poplar a
much prettier wood than you ever thought.

Ask "Nailshooter" , I think that's his logo....

Eigenvector wrote:

I'm pricing out oak and getting depressed about the high cost, so I'm
looking at some of the other woods available and notice poplar in the mix.
What the heck is poplar good for, and when finished/stained will it retain
that slightly greenish yellow hue?

On Jul 25, 7:31 pm, "Eigenvector" wrote:
I'm pricing out oak and getting depressed about the high cost, so I'm
looking at some of the other woods available and notice poplar in the mix.
What the heck is poplar good for, and when finished/stained will it retain
that slightly greenish yellow hue?

I love poplar. Seriously. We were just talking about it at work
today. It mills like a dream, is inexpensive and with a little
experimentation can be made to look like any number of different
woods. And for paint, well, don't look any further than poplar. Did
I mention that it mills like a dream? I've had it up to my eyeballs
with Doug Fir splintering out and into my flesh. It gives new meaning
to "breaking the edge".

JP

"Jay Pique" wrote in message
ups.com...
On Jul 25, 7:31 pm, "Eigenvector" wrote:
I'm pricing out oak and getting depressed about the high cost, so I'm
looking at some of the other woods available and notice poplar in the
mix.
What the heck is poplar good for, and when finished/stained will it
retain
that slightly greenish yellow hue?

I love poplar. Seriously. We were just talking about it at work
today. It mills like a dream, is inexpensive and with a little
experimentation can be made to look like any number of different
woods. And for paint, well, don't look any further than poplar. Did
I mention that it mills like a dream? I've had it up to my eyeballs
with Doug Fir splintering out and into my flesh. It gives new meaning
to "breaking the edge".

JP


Two years ago, I made a book stand for a daughter to use in here classroom.
I made it out of poplar and finished it with wipe on poly. I saw it the
other day and it has lost all of the green and is a nice honey brown color.

I made a bed for another daughter with poplar and stained it brown with a
water stain. It has a nice furniture appearance.

I like it better than red oak, but then I like most any wood better than red
oak. :-)