Poplar logs

A co-worker has a sawmill ( big old tractor driven circular saw ) at his house so he can saw them for me for a resonable cost.

I know I am going to have him cut the pines and oak into lumber for framing and/or siding for sheds and such.

There are some tulip poplar logs in the mix.One is a good 2' dia. at the butt end.

Is the poplar any good for framing or siding or am I better off to saw it into firewood ?

Ford Man

John

Ray

Strip stack it in the spring and it keep it covered
and let air circulate thru the stack and it will be
ready to use in the fall.

It does fine for siding where it sheds water quickly
and where it is protected by the roof overhang.
But ground contact causes it to rot quickly.

And as another poster pointed out, put it in a woodstove
and it makes a lot of popping noises.
And it burns up to a real fine ash. Like flour.

Pooh Bear

I have no interest in making furniture from the poplar. Most of the furniture I have made has been from red oak , walnut or yellow pine.

Sounds like it should be ok for siding if not in contact with the ground .

I really didn"t want to burn it if I could use it.

Thanks Again !

Ford Man

The only problems I've experience were large posts and beams, which tended to check badly. For smaller lumber it works fine, nails well if not quite as easy as pine. I used it for purlins under the copper roof of my lumber drying shed. Also used it for lap siding which works fine as long as it's well-drained. Not very rot resistant.

Tulip poplar is the primary core for hardwood plywood. Has good market value. Even the big box stores here offer it as 1x. Machines well and makes great paintgrade trim.

Air-drying works well but you will get some dogleg. Much better to use it for building than firewood.

For Framing and Siding it works great!