What sort of wood is aspen?

[Rob Blaustein]

Just noticed that the new Lowes that opened near me had lots of aspen. Mostly 1" x 3" all the way up to 1" x 12" in 6 or 8 ft lengths--situated right near the poplar and maple. I can't recall how the price compared to poplar. But I was wondering what people use aspen for. Is it like poplar, just whiter? As often happens with these things, that same night I was watching my new Rob Cosman video on dovetails, and he was making a drawer out of walnut (front) and aspen (sides). The contrast looked nice. I was hoping some of you might shed light on its properties, appropriate uses, advantages/disadvantages compared with poplar or other comparable woods. Thanks.

[Bill Lewis]

About the only thing that I know about Aspen is that it is a fast grower, consequently it gets used alot in the making of engineered lumber products, OSB etc...
I don't look in the hardwood section too often at HD, I wonder if they are carrying it here too.

[Lloyd McKinlay]

Try this link...
http://www.woodmagazine.com/wood/story.jhtml;jsessionid=IH15T5KCO0DPLQFIBQNSCZQ?sto ryid=/templatedata/wood/story/data/wood_profiles_aspen.xml&catref=wd12

[Dan Gill]

It's a soft hardwood (oxymoron, anyone?) that's kin to willow and cottonwood. I believe it's not quite as strong as poplar, but it's quite workable and is used quite a bit for interior pieces on furniture.

I saw a guy selling folding outdoor chairs and tables at a flea market in Farmington a couple of years ago, and he made them out of aspen, mainly because the wood was inexpensive for him.

It's a very pretty tree in the fall, especially.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

quaking aspen is called poplar in the east

[Doug Shepard]

Most of it is sort of on the bland side - not usually much grain or figure to look at. It takes finish well. You do have to keep blades, bits, etc. sharp though as it has a tendency to get the fuzzies.

[Homer Faucett]

quaking aspen is called poplar in the east

Quaking Aspen, Populus tremuloides (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Populus_tremuloides), is sometimes called the "trembling poplar" in the vernacular. However, it is not the same tree from which the woodworker's yellow poplar is taken. Yellow poplar comes from Liriodendron tulipifera, sometimes called the "tulip tree" or "tulip poplar", which is neither a poplar or a tulip, but is a tree more closely related to magnolias.

Just didn't want anyone to get confused based on common names.

[Lee Schierer]

I used some aspen once for interior frames on a dresser I made. It is pretty soft, softer than yellow poplar and does not appear to be as strong. It is closer to white pine in hardness. It worked okay and was lighter in weight than poplar and the grain is sort of stringy. I got a good deal on some and couldn't get the poplar I needed at the time so I used it.

[Dan Forman]

I got some after seeing the Cosman video, but find it's too soft and stringy for my taste, at least for handcut dovetails, though Cosman likes it. It was very cheap, about $1 bd ft in the rough.

Dan

[Lou Morrissette]

Bob,
Which Lowes are you talking about? I'll have to check it out.

Lou

[Lee DeRaud]

Wonder where it was harvested. When I lived in Colorado, one of the "rites of fall" was to drive into the mountains to see the aspen leaves turn color. But I never saw a tree anywhere near big enough to cut a 1x12 from.

[Lee Schierer]

Wonder where it was harvested. When I lived in Colorado, one of the "rites of fall" was to drive into the mountains to see the aspen leaves turn color. But I never saw a tree anywhere near big enough to cut a 1x12 from.
I have an aspen in my backyard that is nearly 12" across. I've seen larger ones around.

[Dewayne Reding]

quaking aspen is called poplar in the east

That is my understanding as well. Lowes sells wood marked as poplar and also aspen, and they look nothing alike. The aspen is lighter than white pine. The poplar varies, but most looks like red cedar. Not even close in appearance. I had about 30 young aspen in my yard. Deer killed 29. They all looked like white pine.

[Jeff Heil]

I made a paint grade hall table out of aspen when I was running low on poplar and felt it was too soft to work well. I routed an ogee profile on the edge of the top and the aspen didn't hold up as crisply as I would have liked. I echo the "fuzzies" complaints other posters mentioned. I'll stick to poplar for paint grade work/ dust frames and secondary wood. It is really white for intarsia pieces though!

[Pete Brown]

They have Aspen at my local lowes (the one in Bowie, MD has it). It's a pretty white wood, especially the curly pieces I've seen (they have them once in a while there)

I shied away from it, though, as it seemed really soft.

I use poplar for paint-grade stuff, but it's an ugly wood for anything but an opaque finish.

BTW, my back yard is full of very tall, straight tulip poplars. For a mid-atlantic tree, they are taller than most. My only gripe is that the tulips fall down each spring and draw *lots* of ants because they are so sweet. :)

Pete

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Quaking Aspen, Populus tremuloides (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Populus_tremuloides), is sometimes called the "trembling poplar" in the vernacular. However, it is not the same tree from which the woodworker's yellow poplar is taken. Yellow poplar comes from Liriodendron tulipifera, sometimes called the "tulip tree" or "tulip poplar", which is neither a poplar or a tulip, but is a tree more closely related to magnolias.

Just didn't want anyone to get confused based on common names.

Oh cool, that's interesting.

[Corey Hallagan]

I buy Aspen, a very white soft wood to use in my box work. I make all test cuts in pieces of 1/2 and 3/8 aspen. Never tried to finish it or anything. It fuzzes up real easy on the router table. Aspen is sometimes used in cheap acoustic guitars as a replacement for spruce tops. As Lee says, the Aspens in the Colorado mountains are beautiful in the fall!

Corey

[Adam Bauer]

Wonder where it was harvested. When I lived in Colorado, one of the "rites of fall" was to drive into the mountains to see the aspen leaves turn color. But I never saw a tree anywhere near big enough to cut a 1x12 from.

Lee,

How they get them so big is usually through a method called "sudden sawlog" by some of the lumber companies. They space the trees out pretty good and then fertilize them, by hand, regularly and also trim off all lower branches. By doing so they can get a good lumber sized tree in less than 15 years. I know it sounds like a long time but for timber thats quite short.

[Rob Blaustein]

Thanks for the feedback. Maybe I'll pick some up and try it out.

Lou,
I saw this at the new Lowe's in Framingham, near the Natick/Framingham line. That's now the closest one to me. But it's a bit of a hike from where you are--it might be easier to try the one in Pembroke or Weymouth.
--Rob

[Lee DeRaud]

Lee,

How they get them so big is usually through a method called "sudden sawlog" by some of the lumber companies. They space the trees out pretty good and then fertilize them, by hand, regularly and also trim off all lower branches. By doing so they can get a good lumber sized tree in less than 15 years. I know it sounds like a long time but for timber thats quite short.Ah. When someone says "aspen", all I know is "free-range". :cool:

[Jim Becker]

The aspen hobby boards at the local 'borg seem "fuzzy" to me...