Working with Cottonwood question.

[Vincent Littlejohn]

Hello folks.
So I'm going to make a live edge vanity top for a bathroom remodel. I found what appears to be a very nice slab of cottonwood. I've never worked with know anyone who has worked with cottonwood...would it make a nice bathroom countertop?

[Andrew Seemann]

Cottonwood has less than zero rot resistance, and it is very soft, on the lines of soft pine. On the plus side, it is fairly stable after it dries. It probably would not be my choice of wood to use in a bathroom.

[John Goodin]

I don’t know much about cottonwood as lumber but in West Texas people will use small, straight limbs as fence posts. They will sprout roots and regenerate and grow into trees.

[daryl moses]

Cotton wood and Yellow Poplar are both members of the Populus genus.
That said, Poplar is pretty soft and not very rot resistant. It does take stain well, and is easy to mill. With a good sealer on it I think it would work ok for your project.
It wouldn't be my first choice for any kind of table top, but sometimes you use whats on hand.

[Jim Becker]

Cotton wood and Yellow Poplar are both members of the Populus genus.
That said, Poplar is pretty soft and not very rot resistant. It does take stain well, and is easy to mill. With a good sealer on it I think it would work ok for your project.
It wouldn't be my first choice for any kind of table top, but sometimes you use whats on hand.

"Yellow poplar" is a term for Tulip Poplar, which is a magnolia relative. Liriodendron tulipifera That's different than the Aspen relative you mention. Tulip Poplar is very popular (pardon the expression) in the furniture industry and a popular hardwood for many a woodworker, too, because of reasonable cost. Lots of folks consider it "paint grade", but in fact, it finishes up very nicely with dye to be able to mimic other close grain species such as cherry and maple. I've used "knotty" versions to mimic white pine, but with a little more durability.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Cottonwood has less than zero rot resistance, and it is very soft, on the lines of soft pine. On the plus side, it is fairly stable after it dries. It probably would not be my choice of wood to use in a bathroom.

I think it gets a little unwarranted bad rap about the rot resistance. Yes, if it's submerged in wet mud, it'll rot pretty quickly but so will pretty much anything else. 30 years ago my brother and I were hired to build a windbreak around a feed yard from a couple thousand board feet of it that had been stored in a pile outside for 20 years at that point. This was prior to my woodworking days, or I would have tried to buy some of the material. Windbreak was simply raw cottonwood boards about 80" long, random widths, nailed vertically to pressure treated rails. We have a rough climate here and that windbreak still looks good (well as good as it can). That same construction with the other native here, ponderosa pine, would have failed years ago.

One other thing, it was a bugger to get nails in because it was obviously harder than the usual pine. I'd like to find some to mess with now that I know a little more about woodworking. I suspect it's surprisingly good material for some builds. I wouldn't worry about the countertop at all. That's actually a pretty easy life for a board as long as its finish holds up.

[Ole Anderson]

I had a cottonwood cut down a few years ago, and had them cut a wheel from the base, it is about 6" thick and 42" in diameter. Still not sure what I am going to do with it. Heavy as all get-out.

[keith wootton]

good looking slab, i can see why you would want to use it.

i recently made a vanity for my dentist with aspen milled on his home site. it is a similar wood. careful sanding was needed because the wood wants to fuzz up on jointer/planer. finish was epifanes varnish on all surfaces including thru holes. good finish for boats on water, i figured it was good for bathroom. it will add more amber hue,
you might try finishing a sample first to make sure you are happy with color....

we were very careful sealing basin that sits on top of slab. he should be able see any potential problem early on, he is used to looking for decay.....

[Jim Becker]

The piece of wood is beautiful and I can also understand why it's desirable to use. The happy medium might be to fully finish it in resin on all sides to provide for keeping it in good condition long term in a damp environment. That's not assured and it doesn't take much of a penetration to cause a problem, but...

[Jim Andrew]

Cottonwood is kind of a strange kind of tree. They get huge in Kansas, then blow down in windstorms, and a tree laying on the ground rots fairly quickly. But then there are barns and other buildings built entirely from cottonwood that still have sound siding, and are 100 years old.

[Vincent Littlejohn]

Thanks everyone for the input, You've defiantly given me a lot to think about and a few questions to ask.

[Ken Platt]

I've got a nice pile of eastern cottonwood that I had milled from a tree on my property. Very pretty stuff, in a quiet sort of way. I've only made a few small things from it so far. The things I've noted about it in particular are the fuzzing with cuts, as others noted, and a real problem with blotching in finishing. I have promised myself that whenever I next use the stuff, clear finish only, or maybe multiple layers of clear shellac and then some tint in the top layer only.

That's a beautiful slab. However, my 2 cents, I'm firmly in the not-for-a-bathroom-counter camp. Not because it's cottonwood, but more that I just think that if you have to protect a material that much from it's daily exposure, maybe it's not really a good choice there. Just would not worth the unending battle, at least for me.

Ken

[Michael Costa]

My only experience with cottonwood is with turning. Great for that. I wish I could find some and I live about an hour south of Cottonwood, AZ. Tough for me to find.