Cottonwood instead of Aspen?

[dirk martin]

I've got a lot of folks asking me for some thin Aspen.
I buy 4/4 boards, and resaw/mill them down to 1/8" and 1/4" stock.
A lot of people are after something affordable, wood wise, to use in simple crafts, or as display wood at their shows.

In any event, I've got a line on some cottonwood. Never worked with it before.
Good substitute for Aspen?

Also, it's at 11% moisture, and I'd like it a bit dryer. I image it'll dry quickly...especially once resawn.
Thoughts on that?

[Ole Anderson]

I have often wondered the same thing, after all it is from the populous (poplar) family. Populus deltoids (eastern cottonwood) vs Populus tremuloides (quaking aspen).

[Jim Neeley]

Also, it's at 11% moisture, and I'd like it a bit dryer. I image it'll dry quickly...especially once resawn.
Thoughts on that?

I haven't tried cottonwood, but it's a good question, worthy of experimentation.

If you are going to resaw the wood before it reaches equilibrium I would recommend resawing it and then letting it dry for a while before finishing it off. That will give you some waste to work with in getting rid of cupping.

I'd also not do a huge batch run at first, as if it develops a serious twist on drying, you don't want to have a large pile of firewood.

Just my $0.02.. Jim

[Jim Matthews]

My experience is with Cottonwood as a firewood source.
It's nearly impossible to split and prone to fracturing.

I think you need something with tougher annular rings,
for craft projects. Any Butternut in your neck of the woods?

[dirk martin]

For "craft projects", my buyer of the thin cottonwood, simply wants small place holders, to wrap baby headbands around, to show them off. Nothing fancy, just some thin boards 1/4" x 6" x 6"....hundreds.

I think I'll purchase the boards, and see how it goes.

[dirk martin]

Any Butternut in your neck of the woods?

Huge difference in cost between Cottonwood, and Butternut....

[Jim Andrew]

I have cottonwood trees on my farm, but have not sawn any. The old timers say it moves a lot as it drys, and gets so hard you should nail it up green. There are barns in this part of the country built of it. Have a neighbor who has an old building built entirely of cottonwood. Nice light color, guess I should saw a few pieces and try it for some project.

[Doug Herzberg]

Cottonwood was used as a secondary wood by furniture makers in the early days in the Midwest because it was available locally. It is stringy and requires a lot of sanding.

I have milled and also turned some local cottonwood in Colorado. Here, it picks up minerals from the soil and has some wonderful color and medullary rays. In the Midwest, it is often colorless and plain. Sometimes it goes gray, because of spalting, I think. The straight grained parts are fairly stable, so the sanding is the biggest issue. A lot of people only use it for firewood and it isn't their favorite for that, either.