PVC (polyvinyl chloride) is the best material for exterior trim boards due to its durability, low maintenance requirements, and resistance to moisture, insects, and rot. It is easy to work with and has a long lifespan. Poplar wood, considered one of the softest hardwoods, is less durable for outdoor use compared to other hardwoods like teak or cedar. When selecting paint-grade trim, finger-jointed pine, poplar, or medium-density fiberboard (MDF) are common options.
Poplar wood is often used in high-end house trim and millwork due to its more durability than pine wood and ease of finding without knots. However, it is not suitable for exterior work due to its higher risk of wetting and decay. The various species of poplar are all rated as “non resistant”, regardless of whether they are old growth or new. Poplar species do not form a regular or durable heartwood, which puts it at an inherent disadvantage for exterior work.
I strongly recommend not using poplar for any exterior trim due to its almost no resistance to rot and the risk of replacement in 10 years or less. Pine will last longer than poplar. Poplar is not good at all as an exterior grade wood, as it has almost no resistance to rot and will need to be replaced in 10 years or less.
Poplar can be used for interior grade trim, cabinetry, painted or stained, but it is not suitable for exterior trim use. Yellow-poplar, once an excellent species for exterior sidings and trim, is now being used in some applications but should be avoided for outside projects due to its rapid decay and needing annual refinishing.
📹 All About Poplar: What’s it good for??
Interested in supporting our vets? https://LumberCapital.shop Make sure to tune in every day this week for a video! Follow us on …
Is poplar good for trim?
Poplar wood is versatile, easy to work with, and resilient, making it an ideal choice for home interior trim projects. It can be stained to look like more expensive woods like Cherry, Mahogany, Walnut, and Maple, and its consistent and tight grain pattern makes it easy to cut, carve, and mill with minimal grain tear or raise. Poplar also sands well, maintaining its edge without open pores or risk of bleed-through. As the softest hardwood, it is resistant to splitting, warping, decaying, and general wear and tear.
Why use poplar instead of pine?
Poplar and pine are popular woodworking choices due to their smooth texture and affordability, making them ideal for projects requiring a fine finish. Poplar is suitable for aluminum oxide and silicon carbide, while aluminum oxide is best for pine. Experimenting with both types of wood can help determine which option best suits your project needs. When planning a woodworking project, it is crucial to choose the right wood due to their unique characteristics.
Poplar is known for its smooth texture and affordability, making it ideal for projects requiring a fine finish. On the other hand, pine is appreciated for its versatility and lightweight properties, making it suitable for various applications, including furniture and cabinetry.
Does poplar dent easily?
Poplar wood is a soft hardwood with a low Janka hardness rating of 540 pound-force, making it easy to dents and scratches. This makes it less resilient to heavy use, which can result in visible signs of wear over time. Despite this, poplar is a common choice for kitchen cabinets due to its ease of cutting and shaping, which can lead to lower prices. However, it also has a high level of movement, which occurs during fluctuations in humidity and temperature.
This movement is due to the porous structure of poplar, which absorbs and releases moisture based on the surrounding environment. When the wood absorbs moisture, it swells, and when it loses moisture, it shrinks. Poplar tends to absorb and release moisture more readily than other hardwoods, leading to significant dimensional changes such as warping, twisting, cupping, swelling, and shrinking.
What is the most durable exterior trim?
Fiber cement trim is a stable and durable option for exterior trim, offering resistance to rot, insects, and impact. It comes primed and ready for painting or prefinishing and comes with a 15-year warranty depending on the manufacturer. While slightly more expensive than primed wood trim and less expensive than PVC trim, it is a solid choice for homes considering factors like budget, climate, and personal taste. Wood exterior house trim is no longer the “go-to” product.
What is the best wood for exterior trim?
Solid wood trim, a traditional material, is becoming increasingly popular due to rising costs and availability. Common woods like cedar and redwood are preferred due to their resistance to moisture and insect activity, making them longer-lasting. However, other woods may not have the same rot resistance, resulting in lower longevity. Preparing cedar and redwood for painting is crucial to prevent extractive bleeding and compromised surface appearance, which can be time-consuming and lead to higher labor and material costs.
Engineered wood, a blend of wood, glue, and resins, is a growing alternative to solid wood. It is typically less expensive and comes in various forms, some of which may already be stained or painted, making installation faster.
What are the disadvantages of poplar wood?
Poplar, a soft hardwood with a Janka hardness rating of only 540, is more vulnerable for table tops or high-usage areas due to its softness. It is also known for staining issues, but with proper planning and YouTube, it can be managed. Despite recent price increases, Poplar remains one of the most affordable hardwoods available, with countless items made with it achieving stunning results. The downside is that Poplar blotches, which can be difficult to manage, but with proper planning and YouTube, it can be managed.
Can poplar be used outside trim?
Poplar wood, including Populus spp. and Liriodendron, is not naturally durable due to its non-resistant nature. This disadvantage makes it suitable for exterior use, where the risk of wetting and decay is higher. However, poplar can be used successfully if kept dry. Woods with natural durability, such as western red cedar or white pine, can provide some protection against rotting when the wood gets wet. Preservative chemicals can also help prevent rotting.
Reports of longevity for poplar often reflect good design or fortunate circumstances, rather than inherent superiority. Old growth poplar that has been used for 100 years has long since rotted, so it cannot be judged on its performance. Painting wood can help reduce wetting, especially on the back side, but it does not seal in moisture and prevent rot. It is often tempting to blame the paint for the wood’s deterioration.
How durable is poplar?
Tulip poplar, also known as “yellow poplar”, is a popular American hardwood due to its workability and availability. It grows large and fast, making it easy to find large, straight, knot-free boards. Poplar is stable and can be used in various environments. It is softer than most American hardwoods, with a Janka rating of 540 pounds-force (lbf). Rainbow poplar, sometimes marked as mineral-stained, may result from high mineral levels in the tree’s soil, resulting in a beautiful array of greens, browns, purples, and reds. However, poplar is photo-reactive and tends to brown quickly, causing the rainbow colors to fade within a year. This is a challenge for woodworkers seeking beauty, as the color fades within a year.
Is poplar better than pine for exterior trim?
Poplar is suitable for indoor projects like furniture, cabinetry, and trim work, but not for outdoor use due to its low resistance to moisture and elements. Pine, on the other hand, is versatile enough for both indoor and outdoor projects, such as furniture, paneling, and construction. Both woods are affordable, but poplar is slightly more expensive due to its smoother finish and ease of workability.
Poplar is ideal for projects requiring a smooth, painted finish without extensive preparation, while pine offers a versatile, cost-effective option for various indoor and outdoor applications. The best abrasive materials for working with poplar and pine are essential for achieving their best qualities.
Can I use poplar for exterior trim?
Poplar wood is susceptible to decay when wet, making it a disadvantage for exterior work. However, it can be used successfully if kept dry. Natural woods like western red cedar and white pine can provide some protection against rotting when wet. Preservative chemicals can also help prevent moisture from getting into the wood. Proper design is crucial for durable performance. Poplar’s longevity is a result of good design or fortunate circumstances, not inherent superiority.
Old growth poplar that has been used for 100 years has long since rotted. Painting wood can help reduce wetting, especially on the back side, but it does not seal in moisture and prevent rot. It is often tempting to blame the paint for the wood’s deterioration.
What is poplar wood best suited for?
Poplar is a stable and durable material used in various applications such as ceiling molding, cabinetry, furniture, pallets, boxes, and crates. It is known for its ability to take paint and stain well and is often found in longer lengths. Cabinetry is growing due to design trends towards painted cabinetry, and poplar is a durable species that can be machined into various shapes and sizes. Furniture is also a popular use of poplar, with its color variation making it ideal for framing and support.
Pallets, boxes, and crates are also popular due to their modest price point. Picture frames are another popular use of poplar. The variation in the color of the heartwood, which can range from light brown to dark green or black, is a concern for some manufacturers. Poplar is often referred to as American tulipwood or simply tulipwood in international markets and is one of the top exported species.
📹 5 WOODS Better Than PINE
#woodworking #lumber #woodworkingforbeginners — Visit us for hardwood lumber https://www.woodworkerssource.com/ …
Our local Poplar here in NW Ontario is used for a lot of everything. Especially the old homesteads had lots of farm uses. Buildings, beams, rough animal decking (stalls), Fence lines. Many old farms used fresh cut Poplar for new fence lines and would take root and grow into a new live tree. I’ve pulled down many old poplar buildings nailed together long ago. When the house or barn was constructed it was green wood. The wood dried around the nails so tightly often times we had to cut off the nail or destroy the wood around it. If you could keep it dry it would last very well.
My house was built in 1886 – a rural area. Back then, at least in my area, they would move a mill to the property and use the native wood there to build the house. All the studs, rafters and joists are white oak (some cherry). Floors were done with southern yellow pine – still look great. But poplar is everywhere – used for sheeting in the old days – much like how we use plywood today. While doing some remodeling I came across some poplar sheeting when I added a doorway – I would say this poplar is definitely harder than pine, closer to black walnut actually. Love your website.
Poplar is a great wood and you can use it for a lot of things. I use it for custom door jambs, door stop, and crown mold. But it can also be used to make cabinet doors and drawer fronts, and also face frame for cabinets. Most of the time this Poplar gets painted, but it can actually be stained as well.
Poplar actually grows rapidly for a ‘hardwood’, achieves a very large size if allowed to mature; the lumber, as noted is smooth surfaced, takes stain and paint well, is fairly stable dimensionally, and holds screws very well. When I still built cabinets, I used poplar for the carcass interior, including the drawer rails, and it worked like a charm.
There are two types of poplar. There is a northern poplar which may be what you are dealing with and in the south we have Tulip poplar. It was used by the Indians as dugout canoes. They machined it with fire (coals and scraping with stone tools) All the conifers are quite resinous. Poplar not so much. It is a fast growing wood. You can get a 24 inch diameter log in less than 20 years. It also is used tor wooden utensils that won’t scratch the seasoning off of your nice cast iron skillets.
A friend built a large barn from rough sawn tulip polar. The saw mill cut his timber to his specs, which were larger than standard dimension lumber. Poplar when fresh cut is soft, but hardens quickly as it dries. Poplar is a great wood for painted trim as it takes paint uniformly and has few knots. I really enjoy these articles of a family business working together. I do wonder why the ladies don’t wear gloves.
Poplar is used for trims, generally painted trims. It rots fast if exposed to moisture. So exterior use is generally not successful. I know a skilled builder that used it for framing a work shop. He kept it dry on a raised concrete foundation wall and over sized all the wood components. It was about 25 years old when I got a tour, and in perfect shape. He made sure to make the building moisture and weather tight. I imagine it will last a long time. This would not be good wood to use if you are not experienced. It does not meet our codes for structural, but in unregulated townships here in the Canadian North, you still see it used for simple out buildings.
I was surprised to learn that Balsa wood is in fact a Hard wood . The designation is nothing to do with the actual physical hardness of the material . It is to do with the way the trees grow . A species that produces Cones like Firs, Spruce, are Softwoods . Soft woods grow really fast and so are less dense . Hard woods on the other hand grow really slowly this produces a very dense, hard, strong wood . Balsa is a Strange exception, whilst it is Dense and Close grained it is Soft .
In reference to””” the””” Debarker its Soul Purpose is to””” Keep”” the Dog from Barking!!!!! The Saw Blade makes a high Pitched noise, a “””Singing”” ( if you will) and when the Dog heres it, He begins to Bark/Howl !!!! When this Occurs the Operator cant Focus on the Particular Sound (Pitch) in Which He or She Will “”” need”””” to Determine Different Values on the Mill adjustments to keep the Blade From running to Hot,Vibrating, jumping, Slipping, Breaking Teeth, jumping track, and or Causing The Proverbial “”””Shack””” Which I had Thoroughly Depicted in one of my Previous Bio’s. So as you can Surmise it is Always Optimal to Incorporate a Highly Crafted Debarking Device if you want a High Volume of a good Quality Lumber in Which there is no Danger to the Operator, the Saw Blade, and or Skimping on Quality!!!!! Oh Yah did I forget to mention it Detects Different Metal Formations Which are not Native to Any Variety of Wood Spieces Here on Planet Earth !!!!!! IM JUST SAYING!!!!!😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😎😎😎😎😎😎😎🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗😇😇😇😇. (Just being me.)
Poplar also has many different names .poplar can be called Tulip poplar as well as Cucumber poplar . poplar also take paint very well with out the color bleeding through . like pine the nots bleed through . also there is another wood out there that is also considered a hard wood that is Basswood . the bark is very stringy when try to debark it
Two important uses for poplar to add to your arsenal of reasons are : 1.) a good” Secondary” (cost effective) wood for furniture parts that are not on full time display such as internal frames, panels and drawer runners, guides, sides, bottoms or backs and 2.) poplar paints up extremely well and since you are covering it up so to speak, it doesn’t need to be gorgeous nor should it! Hope that helps. 😊
We have a giant “Tulip Poplar” as our arborist friend called it beside our one barn and have considered cutting it down as it might be a hazard someday and is quite messy with leaves that fall late summer. He was appalled at the thought of cutting a perfectly healthy and gorgeous tree as he called it so that didn’t happen when he was cutting some nuisance trees. It drops giant tulip shaped flowers so I am guessing that is why it is called that? Does anyone know? It’s very tall and large in diameter.
Poplar is not a hardwood because of its grain structure. Poplar is a hardwood, because of how the tree reproduces. Hardwoods reproduce by flowers nuts and seeds, while softwoods reproduce by cones and spores. This in turn causes differences in grain structure. The softwoods have 2 separate grain directions, up the stem and outward from the heart (called medullary rays), whist hardwood only has grain direction up the stem, in rings laid down annually about the heart. So yes hardwoods can be soft in terms of Janka scale while some softwoods can be hard on the Janka scale.
When I had my cabinet shop poplar was my favorite for anything paint grade. It is always better than pine as the resins in pine can be an issue for a great paint job. Plus, poplar usually has no knots. Poplar is very stable and durable. It’s the best base board and molding as well as for cabinet face frames. Under paint it resists dents better than pine and takes filler puddy and glues better than pine as well. It stains very blotchy, but stain pre-conditioners can help. At the price it goes for it is a no brainer if you have a good supplier (I do. The best. Swaner Hardwood.)
Poplar was a controversial wood in the early 1990s as it was used for Fender guitars, mostly Stratocasters. Alder, the wood of choice for Fender Strats, was supposedly becoming endangered, so Fender substituted Polar to build their guitar bodies. It came off the CNC machines a little fibrous but made good guitar bodies. But the Alder purists just never accepted Polar and by 1996 Fender was back to using Alder and Ash.
It routes great w/o tear-out thus making it fantastic for paintable-grade interior trim. It’s not as cheap as you suggest out here in the mid-west where in the big box stores it sells for more than select oak. I was surprised to hear that it is a slow-growth tree because it is a short-lived species having a lifespan of about 45 years. In the Dakotas it’s used for shelterbelts. It was used extensively on boundary lines in our development where they have grown quite tall, but are all reaching end-of-life at the same time.
Poplar is used in backs in many instruments. Because it is quite light when It dries it is more often used in larger instruments like cellos. Well actually I use Cottonwood which is a Canadian poplar that might be a little harder than yours. All poplars are quite similar though, smells funny, twists as it dries, hardens with age, wood rebounds under impact. It was used as truck decking for a long time because it could take a hit.
The janka scale has nothing to do with hardwoods vs softwoods, it’s simply a scale that measures the hardness of any wood. There are softwoods that have higher janka scores than some hardwoods. What makes something a hardwood is hardwoods are derived from angiosperm trees, (which are MOSTLY deciduous) and softwoods are derived from gymnosperms. These are of course your conifers. Angiosperm quite literally translates to “enclosed seed” where gymnosperm translates from Greek to “revealed seed” like pine cones which are seeds not enclosed in an ovule. Many generalizations can be made such as hardwoods take longer to grow and are USUALLY stronger/higher janka scales as well as most angiosperms are flowering trees that lose their leaves each year, but definitively what makes something a hardwood or a softwood is how it bears seed and whether or not it’s an angiosperm or gymnosperm
With respect, a little more intro would help here. Based on a look at your logs and many comments, you are talking about tulip poplar, a common eastern forest species. People will benefit by what you say, but by just calling it poplar, some people may be confused. Tulip poplar has a few common names – including just poplar – but also yellow poplar, tuliptree, white poplar, and more. However, it is not a true poplar. True poplars include aspens, poplars, cottonwoods, and even willows are in this family. Tulip poplars are actually magnolias and have numerous distinctions from poplars including being generally even softer than tulip trees. I hope this helps.
love the power tools in the background. It sounded like a Red-Green show! Popular (if you’re an ILL Annoyed hayseed) wasn’t used much in the furniture shops or on contruction sites in the 1970s-80s but by the mid/late 80s it was second to basswood for electric guitar bodies either as single slabs or butcher-block laminates for a low weight instrument, or by the Japanese for their famous painted-black guitars (covers up the fact that they were using multi-laminated scrap woods for their low-end guitars). I have a fondness for the Cream of Spinach look of Popular (I know it’s real name I just can’t resist) and so I would never paint or stain it. Kinda like when the Bossman said that blue-stained pine is now in demand. Bass and Poplar (there – I did it) were also undersized for thickness because figured woods were often glued on the top for that soft-hardwood + hard hardwood combination. These were instruments you could hang around your neck all night without needing to see a choir prackter after the show. Instrument wood would need to be kiln dried to a crispy crunch because the precision tolerances can’t suffer any movement in the wood. I like the carvability (is that a word?) of basswood and popular and I’ve even made testbed guitars to try different configurations with made out of 2×4’s. So, if you are unable to snag a professional luthier market you might offer kiln dried wood for do-it-yourself kits. If it was thick enough you could even make a guitar out of a butcher’s block.
Different woods are called poplar. What you have is tulip wood, not related to poplar at all. I wish people would stop calling it poplar. Here in northern NY there are a few trees called “popple” which are very common which aren’t worth much to cut because they don’t bring in much money. None of the loggers up here ever use the word “poplar.” Popple includes quaking aspen, bigtooth aspen, white aspen, cottonwood, and several other aspens and poplars too numerous to mention and many that are hybrids, it’s all thrown together into a pot called “popple”. They have cotton on their seeds in the spring (females) which cotton goes everywhere, or long tassels which fall to the ground (male). It is soft and the paper mills take it because it’s cheap but loggers hate it because it’s light and paper mills pay by the ton. But they are easy to fell and have straight trunks and small tops so it’s all log, which is good. The problem is, down south of here, in downstate NY and south of there, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, are Tulip trees which have absolutely nothing to do with poplar. They aren’t even closely related to poplar, They are tulip trees related to magnolia. They are huge giant trees that grow very fast and the wood is yellow. So up here in northern NY, we don’t have to make a distinction between popple and tulip because we don’t have any tulip up here. You need to tell us what you are talking about. If you are talking about tulip wood I have no idea why the heck you would ever call it poplar.
A customer recently had me disassemble a sideboard cabinet that was built by her great grandfather in the early 1900’s. There were beautiful poplar boards nearly 27 inches wide in the cabinet. I used the boards to build her a new hallway cabinet. She was thrilled to have a new piece from this old, tired, family cabinet. I was amazed at the width and stability of the old poplar boards. Keep up the good work!
I love working with Poplar. It feels good and smells good, just like, well, lots of good things in life. You too can be one of those rich people in life if you’d make a short movie. I won’t stop until you’re on the silver screen where you belong. Trust me, you belong there, along with Jade and Sami. Amazing the way you ladies caress the various parts of your scenes with your camera! You don’t know how good you are.
There are also poplars in Europe. Does the boss also cut moon wood? We have lumberjacks who swear by it. When the wood is felled around the full moon, it is said to be particularly strong, durable, more fireproof and strong against fungi and parasites. Don’t know if that’s true – saw a YouTube about it.
We used Poplar on a lot of painted cabinet sets. It is easy to work with and doesn’t have the pitch like VGF, Hemlock, or Pine. I have also made several furniture pieces out of Poplar and Cherry clear coated. The combination makes some fine looking furniture, especially if you get the colored Poplar.
Great article full of good information. However at 3:50 it is said that Poplar doesn’t grow fast. Poplar trees are some of the fastest growing species of “hardwoods”, able to outpace many species of pine (36″+ annual new growth). This contributes to it’s low density/hardness versus slower-growing hardwoods such as Oak or Hickory. Again, great article and website – love to see the family work ethic. Best wishes from WV!
Just like someone mentioned, I think its good for Trim work, Shelving, picture frames, Cabinets, and maybe Noock/ Storage/ Seating??? Just Ask Tommy Silva and Norm Abram !!!! On this Old House!!! I loved the “””Thought”””” about the” Rich ” People!!!!, you turned your head and Tipped your Nose up in the Air !!!!! Like you were in “Deep”” thought!!!!??? 😁😁😁😁😁😎😎😎😎😎🤗🤗🤗🤗😉😉😉😇😇😇. It would be Cool if you guys Could get a Guest appearance on “”””This Old House””” “””Mom and the 3 Girls”””” I think the Viewers would love it. !!! Might make your Ratings even go Higher !!!!???? Stay with their Crew a Couple of weeks, helping working on Different Aspects of Constrution !!! Pick/ coordinate a project that’s Closer to Where you live!!!! I think your Audience would love it, and you might pick up a Bunch more Viewers!!!???😉😉😎😎😎🤗🤗🤗😇. I think they are only a couple of States away from where you are at. (Get – it)!!!
OH ! Now you are tawkin !!! Yellow Poplar or Tulip Poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) is not even a poplar, it is in the Magnolia Family but still one of my favorite. Confused locally with Cucumbertree (Magnolia acuminata) which looks almost the same but is harder and heavier. I really like to use Tulip Poplar for Painted furniture and cabinets since there is no pitch to deal with like White Pine. Some people do not like the fresh cut greenish color, I like to use it primarily when it is quarter-sawn. The contrast is stunning. I like to use a clear finish like shellac or traditional lacquer to keep it bright, Oils tend to muddy it. Poplar is great for food containers too since it does not impart odor or taste. The main advantage is the size of the trees can be much larger with wide clear boards from the main trunk. We had one log come into the sawmill 40 years ago which was 65′ long and 6ft in dia at the base. It took 2 of the largest fork lifts we had to lift the log so the truck could pull out from under it. We slices the first 16′ log up into 16/4 slabs right down to a 4×4 without a dingle knot. Big Green Heart… Love me some of that big green heart. Peace, Walter
Do the Sami people herd reindeer or is Adam Sandler right? Reindeer pooping has ruined my Hanukkah. But as Adam Sandler said, reindeer pooping makes Hanukkah so much Fanukkah. ✡ 8 Crazy nights beats 3 nights in the ground, right? Adam Sandler mocking a Scandinavian people was wrong. As a Jew, he was allowed that right.
As knowledgeable as you may be you gave some misinformation out here. Grain formation has nothing to do with whether a wood is a hardwood or a softwood. Hardwoods come from trees lose their leaves each year. Known as deciduous trees. Softwood comes from trees more known as evergreens which keep their needles over the winter. Being called a hardwood doesn’t make wood hard take balsa wood one of the softest Woods out there and that comes from a hardwood tree. I’m very surprised that you didn’t know this. Just a little side information if you ever seen what they call Rainbow popular which is thought to be caused by a lightning strike to the Poplar tree . it is the most beautiful wood you’ve ever seen. It has colors of yellow,pink, purple as well as darker colors mixed in. It is absolutely gorgeous. I just got done making a table out of Live Edge rainbow Poplar. It’s gorgeous
some corrections: …. 1. which poplar? In any discussion of “poplar”, it is important to differentiate between the “poplar” of the “Populus” genus (which includes aspens/cottonwoods), and the “yellow poplar” of the Liriodendron genus (“Magnolia” family), as in this post… 2 softwood/hardwoods are differentiated, not so much by “grain formation”, but simply by those trees that produce flowers/fruits (“hardwoods”), vs. those “softwoods”, which produce needles/cones; in general, the “hardwoods” are harder/heavier on average than the softwoods, but there ARE exceptions( eg. balsa (“hardwood”), and Doug. fir (“softwood’)) 3. re “growth”, there are FAST/SLOW-growing softwoods, and there are FAST/SLOW growing hardwoods…..hardwoods, as a group, do not, “grow slower” than softwoods….in fact, y. poplar is very fast-growing/renewable, being one of the largest hardwood trees in the U.S….as such, it has multiple uses, beyond “picture frames” (eg. veneer/plywood/doors/cabinetry/moldings/furniture/guitars) due to availability/price, dimensions, workability.paint/stainability….
It’s a long standing convention that wood from deciduous trees are hardwoods and wood from coniferous trees are softwoods. But there are hardwoods that are softer than some softwoods and softwoods that are harder than some hardwoods, so it is a confusing convention. Some of the finest furniture ever made contained poplar for its secondary wood (drawer boxes, internal parts, etc.) works well and is very stable. It is also my go-to for furniture I will finish with paint.
Great article. 🙏 Lots of comments that imply some of us just aren’t very smart. How’s this…Deciduous = “Hardwood”. Coniferous = “Softwood”…Deciduous trees are the ones with “leaves”, Conifers have cones & usually needles. As to “hardness”, conifers are USUALLY softer, which is why we like them for pounding nails. (But that’s not a rule. Balsa is deciduous, for example, while southern yellow pine is a conifer.) It’s pretty simple. ✌️🍷🎩🎩🎩
Hi, Keith in Hickory NC. I’ve been a subscriber for several months now, usually watch you on my TV so I can’t comment there. It’s midnight now, getting ready for bed and this article popped up, so thought I’d say hi. I am 67, retired w bad health so I watch a lot of tv…not commercial crap TV but YouTube maybe a movie on Hulu or Netflix but absolutely no crap. Real life. I want real life. Good content, clean, wholesome, family oriented, I am a huge fan of kids. Your family operation is very nice, interesting, informative, clean and best of all, real. I may not comment every article but I won’t miss any! Thanks for sharing!👍👌❤🇺🇸🇺🇸
What a challenge! To report on a “Manly Subject” Rrrr😎 While being an attractive Woman. Thank you for not over compensating into Dude Chick or Cheerleading this content into insulting. I did want to know about Poplar and was like, oh shiz, how long before I click off this pretty girl?! Happily I watched all the way through, and also wondered if you value your waste like sawdust and bark skin? Like do you make MDF from the dust? Is the bark good firewood? Keep up the good work 😇, J.
I never thought that poplar trees are so thick. Anyway, I had to see this because…I just bought a 6 piece ludwig evolution all made of poplar. Yes! I have a poplar drumkit. Doesn’t really sound cheap. Quite heavy in the boxes that it came in. I guess poplar is good for musical instruments too? Ludwig oak and maple lines are 4X more expensive than this kit, but the kit sounds really great! I don’t think anyone can tell the difference. I have a 5X14 snare and love the little thing! Good things do come in small packages!😊
ps: another great thing about Tulip sawing at the mill was, we would do red Oak in the morning then Tulip in the afternoon. Red oak caused everything to stain black including your hands due to the tannins in the wood. The Tulip cleaned it all of and left your hands clean and all the steel parts on the mill.
re “hardwood/softwood” and “cell structure/grain”: the hardwoods, as a group, contain wood which has many more x the cell types, than is found in the softwoods, which have (comparatively) few cell-types; mostly long, “tracheids” and tiny “ray cells”…….also, softwoods do not have vessels/”pores”, thus softwoods are “non-porous”, as opposed to the hardwoods, which are “porous”…..
I built two cordwood buildings and the building I built around the year 2000 has a lot of poplar logs..I used cedar,pine, tamarack and poplar.. I think the poplar logs turned out the best and it’s 2022.. almost 2023..I don’t care what people think but I own a sawmill and have used poplar indoors and outdoors..I love it..
I sure wih the poster would clear up whether this is Tulip Poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) or one of many members of the genus Populous. Scientific names aren’t about showing off one’s education but about overcoming regional differences that cause exactly the confusion reflected in the comments. BTW is the Ironwood you refer to Ostraya Virginia? If so we call it Level Wood.Thanks for posting these vids.
I haven’t seen any one else mention that it is one of the major hardwood species processed in France for the production of fruit boxes and was at one time used a boiler lagging for steam engines. Going back even further, the high end carriages pulled by horses were clad with black poplar generally over an ash frame. As we progressed into the age of motor vehicles the coach building guys moved to luxury car bodies with possibly the pinnacle being the Hispano Suiza. Aircraft engined speedster with a TULIPWOOD body. Pure opulence at its best. Needs sharp saws and preferably swaged or stellite. Suffers black Mold if not cut and dried promptly.
Hi Emerald, with my previous comment I didn’t mean to be facetious, I was just wanting to point out that as it’s not at the moment popular, antique furniture of ‘no longer available’ hardwoods (like some mahoganies) you don’t have to be rich to buy it. Good luck, and I wish I had equipment like yours!
almost every type of wood will release splinters in your skin- NOT POPLAR. it’s grain structure makes splinters impossible- making it perfect for rough finished wood use- like picnic tables, post & beam porches, porch swings & outdoor benches, sealed with Thomson water sealer or mineral oil. even if it’s straight off the sawmill? no splinters. at the surface of a piece of rough-sawn poplar- if you look at it under a magnifying glass- what you get is the appearance of soft hair-like flakes that actually feel soft to the touch. a kind of ‘velvet wood’. very nice to sit on if you’re in shorts even.
Thank you for a very informative article. I grew up with an old Lane rotary sawmill in the back yard, as well as a shingle mill, bolter mill, spool mill, a blacksmith shop, and a dairy barn, all with separate buildings, so your articles bring back lots of memories. For most of the past 30 years I’ve worked in various wood shops, and most of the cabinet grade plywoods we used had poplar core veneers. Some lower grades use softwood or unidentified “white wood”, but those don’t hold screws as well as poplar cores do. As I understand it, the hardwood/softwood designation is closely related to the deciduous (leaves)/non-deciduous (needles) characteristics, but there are probably exceptions. The dark rings in fir can be incredibly hard, while the light rings are very soft, which causes it to split easily.
In Southern Maryland poplar is used siding on barns. It’s put on vertical and left 12 to 18″ off the ground to prevent rot. It stands up very good in these uses. I had barns 50 to 70 years old with original siding. We also used 6-8″ boards 6′ long for hanging tobacco in the barns.i was told it was used in framing of modern furniture (couches, sofas, recliners). Thanks for making these great articles. Take Care and be Careful.
Can poplar be used for standard wall framing (2×4 or 2×6 walls etc) or structural beams ? We used it to make board and batt siding this summer, and so far it seems to have worked out great (but it is too soon to know for sure)… I’m just curious as to it’s use as a building material as we have a lot of big poplar trees on our land, and I am hoping that it is good for more then just firewood…. Keep the articles coming!
I was a cabinetmaker for 35 years and we tended to use Poplar when we built a painted project. With its tight grain, it paints up nicely and we frequently used it in conjunction with MDF, which while weak, has a highly desirable surface for painting. I stayed away from Poplar when a project was to be stained.
I live in France. There’s a lot of Poplar (Peuplier) grown here. One large volume use of it, green, is for 3×3cm roof-tile battens. It’s delivered tightly lashed in bundles of 25. Roofers only open the bundles as they’re ready to use them as they can twist off in a big way in an hour or two. Overnight, forget it! Another use, seasoned, is in those parts of furniture which aren’t seen, such as drawer liners and bottoms in preference to plywood. I have seen it in churches, too. Some people will say it’s resistant to wood borers. It certainly isn’t. There’s an old English saying about the longevity of Poplar “Though heart of Oak be ere so stout, keep me dry and I’ll see him out!”. While we’re talking about soft hardwoods (without messing about with Balsa or Bass), there are also Lime, Horse Chestnut and in USA especially, how about Catalpa? These are all nice, pleasant woods.
In old antique wood, say for example 200 years and more, the secondary wood (everything you can’t see) is frequently poplar. perusal Antiques Roadshow and seeing the Keno brothers go nuts over old furniture and they most times look for the green hues of poplar inside the drawers to tell them about authenticity. Just a little side note. Oh, one more thing, you’re mighty easy on they eyes. Have a great day and be safe.
Poplar is only good for “painted furniture” as the inconsistent coloration and the poor staining qualities abound. Without the added step of a wood conditioner, it becomes modeled and muddy when stained. Also, it can be a bit “fuzzy” when machined, but generally machines just ok. But for painted furniture it sure is a great option. We use it for pallet material only. It is interchanged for Cottonwood without consideration. Accept Cottonwood has a very unique characteristic in that (most) Livestock will not chew on Cottonwood. Making it desirable for use in different pens, feed bunks, etc. Most livestock will, in fact, shew on Poplar though
Poplar was given to apprentices as a practice wood like ash, (the poor man’s oak) used to be so they wouldn’t mess up something more expensive like walnut. It ages and oxidizes well and when properly prepped takes the stain beautifully, especially NGR stains. Softness aside, I think it’s an underrated timber. I forgot to add that it’s a gum wood and like the opossum one of the last vestiges of our connection to Australia. I brought back a lot of Rimu from New Zealand where I lived for a couple of years and the texture and malleability of Rimu is identical to Poplar.
I really had my pride hurt today,72 years old and never heard of the janka scale. Yet I had a lumber grading ticket for 4 years 1968 to 72. I was involved in renovating house and trailer.. layed, 100’s of bundle of flooring. My dad had a saw mill for years, and my older brothers had mill. You may say I was floored, I had to google it and study on it. Thanks for the education.
Using the label “Poplar” for two different tree varieties is gonna’ be confusing. The more common variety that is a Southern tree is often called Tulip Poplar. It usually has a slightly greenish color and is relatively soft when dry. Northern Poplar is white and when dry is hard as a rock. The northern tree, called Popple locally, is so hard when dry that you have to pre-drill to install screws and it makes terrific framing material with great spanning strength. (This a greatly shortened personal observation and I’d welcome any corrections.)
Here on the East coast of Canada, poplar is sold nearly year round, to the local OSB Mill. I believe they also mix other species in with the poplar to make Osb or partical board we sometimes call it. The bark is removerd, and left to decompose, and then used in soil and mulch mix. Approx 20 years ago, we also had a pulp and paper mill in the area, but due to low profit margins, and the heavy environmental toll, it closed. Was one of the best paying jobs in our area back in the day. Interesting to hear of some of the other uses. Thanks.
When I was using my woodmaster some 30 years ago I always considered poplar softwood. I guess because we have so much oak in hickory and locust and other hardwoods around here. There was millions of board feet of poplar used for fencing boards in the bluegrass area of Kentucky where I live and it’s surprisingly last long time as long as you keep the weeds and dirt off of it. the lower boards would deteriorate quicker because moisture stayed on them from grasses and weeds and being in dirt. but now most all the boards are made out of oak that I have seen lately. Popular grows a lot in this area on my farm it grows fast tall and straight and it’s a weak tree it’ll snap with high winds. One of my dear friends was a third generation nurseryman in the area in his father and grandfather helped log out the right of way for interstate 64 from Lexington to Louisville and said that hundreds and hundreds of virgin poplars come out of that right-of-way of 4 and 6 ft diameter 80 and 90 ft tall.
They use popular to make trims base trims crown molding Etc. I use popular on Old Pine Victorian home. Perfect for replacing wood on the exterior. Definitely around the same density as the old Pine that was naturally grown in forests. Also soft enough to take on a lot of oil primer and paint which is also very protective. This wood has nice flex. These old homes have settled and kind of found their place. Nothing is perfectly Square
There is a lot of Popular used in the cabinet industry. It is easy and a consistent wood to carve. But what I have always liked about it is how well it works outside without even painting it. It was first used in the US as the wood for your horse drawn wagon or buckboard. Unlike Redoak, it’s a closed grain wood much like Walnut or Hard Maple. That closed grain makes it a much more stable wood than Pine. Hence the use of it in cabinet making. Not for the front doors and the like but for the boxes, drawer hangers and other places where it will not be seen. Also it doesn’t look very good even when it’s stained. That is it’s biggest down fall. Keep putting out the articles. I really enjoy them. Later
Poplar is used for harpsichord cases and in guitars. It’s a hardwood because the tree is broad leaved deciduous, not because it is hard or soft. Balsa is a hardwood! Poplar is a bit stringy. I guess the terms hardwood and softwood have lost their original meaning. They are not scientific, more colloquial. Most woodworkers know which woods are which. For me softwoods are ok for structure, hardwoods are for quality furniture making. Yew is a hard softwood. Poplar and Elder are soft hardwoods. Daft really.
It’s a hard wood, but the softest, least usable of the category. Tulip Poplar is the tallest tree east of the Mississippi. After a major storm there is a good chance that the tree that fell on you’re house was a Tulip Poplar. As fire wood, don’t. It makes a biter noxious smoke,and does not burn well.I only ever used it in wood shop in school, and didn’t like the greenish color of the wood. I make canes and walking sticks and prefer Sycamore and Beech.
Hi Emerald, wealthy people get wealthy by Learning more so they can Earn more. If you put as much time and effort into schoolwork and studying you could be a wealthy doctor, dentist, lawyer, CPA or anything else you put in the time and effort to be and you will not have to work hard physically. All that hard physical work gets you is lots of physical pains when you grow older.
As an Aussie I always get a bit of a chuckle when North Americans (and just about anywhere else) talk about hardwoods. Our “soft” hardwoods start at about the same hardness as oak and go up to about 3 times as hard as it. A few of the softer Aussie hardwoods like redgum and blue gum have been grown in California. What the US lacks in wood hardness they make up for in beauty of the grains.
What you said about poplar are absolutely right. There is another superstition thing about poplar in China. When it is windy, poplar leaves swinging and hit each other and just sounds like people claping hands. However, in China we call it ghost claping hands. We usually never grow poplar in front of any building’s gates.