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Thread: Poplar

  1. #16
    I use it all the time for unpainted projects. I like the way it works and looks.
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

  2. #17
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    I’m using poplar along with Alder and white pine for a chest or drawers. The popular i sourced is very nice wide boards with a small amount of sap wood. Easy to saw easy to plane glues up as good anything. The boards I have all seemed to be kiln dried perfectly super stable.I been planning everything down to 1/2 inch from 3/4.
    The drawers are all Dovetailed and will have a coat of shellac inside and out for fresh clean smell.
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    Aj

  3. #18
    Nice work Andrew, are you related to Derek.

  4. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by Warren Lake View Post
    Nice work Andrew, are you related to Derek.
    Thanks warren not related but think you already know that. The only woodworker in the family I know of was my Grandfather in Germany. He raised rabbits one year I got built new hutches with him. Wow was he fast. We both agreed my work was nicer but that hardly mattered to rabbits.
    Good day sir.
    Aj

  5. #20
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    I too like poplar from the store, usually genus liriodendron I think. That stuff, both according to the books and my experience machines easily and takes finish well. The book also says rot resistant. I have built two exterior window frames poplar, but they are only about five years old. Give them another 15 years before I can say rot resistant in my experience.

    I am getting paintable finish in Liriodendron sharpening to 600 grit. I would sharpen higher for a clear finish like shellac and pretty much have all my edges up to 8k grit now anyway. I think of it as an entry level hardwood. Mastering poplar on your way to oak and hickory from construction lumber is a good idea.

  6. #21
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    Always use it for drawer boxes that I apply a face to.

  7. #22
    old guys could make poplar look like mahogany. Not exact of course but very good. Series of stains different types in layers

  8. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by Warren Lake View Post
    old guys could make poplar look like mahogany. Not exact of course but very good. Series of stains different types in layers
    It's not unusual to find furniture pieces made back in US colonial times (most often in museums, of course) to incorporate tulip poplar along with other locally available species.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  9. #24
    if I make an old piece ill use poplar over soft maple as it will have an older and less clinical look to it.

  10. #25
    Quote Originally Posted by Scott Winners View Post
    The book also says rot resistant. I have built two exterior window frames poplar, but they are only about five years old. Give them another 15 years before I can say rot resistant in my experience.
    Throw that book away. Old growth, slow grown yellow poplar (Liriodendron Tulipifera) was rot resistant but not likely to be found on the market now. Similar to Eastern white pine in that respect, but worse. I worked on a large home where the exterior trim was made of poplar and saw extensive repairs done within 20 years due to rot. Heartwood is likely better suited to exterior conditions than sapwood, but most commercial poplar I see is >80% sapwood.
    Last edited by Jim Becker; 08-07-2022 at 4:36 PM. Reason: FIxed quote tagging

  11. #26
    look up door and window expert Brent Hull, he will talk old growth and windows over 100 years old with some care along the way. Even when i did my porch I had three levels of cedar .The posts were old growth you could never get anymore..

  12. #27
    Quote Originally Posted by Warren Lake View Post
    old guys could make poplar look like mahogany. Not exact of course but very good. Series of stains different types in layers
    Never saw them do mahogany - bet that was neat. But I have see them make poplar look like cherry several times. Like you said, it was "old guys", craftsmen who had been finishing for many years. I have an Aunt who's house they did it in, and it's a pretty close match. Wish I knew their secret.......

    [Edit: Going off topic a little bit here, but maybe it will be helpful. Just found the finishing regimen in an article from Steve Mickley's website. It's the last article under "Coloring Wood".LINK]
    Last edited by Frederick Skelly; 08-07-2022 at 4:29 PM. Reason: More info
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

  13. #28
    Quote Originally Posted by Warren Lake View Post
    look up door and window expert Brent Hull, he will talk old growth and windows over 100 years old with some care along the way. Even when i did my porch I had three levels of cedar .The posts were old growth you could never get anymore..
    yep, green poplar is a better outside wood than the more expensive sappy fir that some vendors try to sell.

  14. #29
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    Quote Originally Posted by Frederick Skelly View Post
    Never saw them do mahogany - bet that was neat. But I have see them make poplar look like cherry several times. Like you said, it was "old guys", craftsmen who had been finishing for many years. I have an Aunt who's house they did it in, and it's a pretty close match. Wish I knew their secret.......

    [Edit: Going off topic a little bit here, but maybe it will be helpful. Just found the finishing regimen in an article from Steve Mickley's website. It's the last article under "Coloring Wood".LINK]
    I've dyed poplar to resemble both cherry and "pumpkin pine" in past projects. For the latter, I had some "knotty" poplar from one of the trees I had milled and that even enhanced the mimicry.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  15. #30
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    Poplar has almost no decay resistance. I sure hope those wagons are going into museums and not used outside in the rain! Also all the green and some purple streaks all turn some shade of brown or tan when exposed to UV light.

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