Friday 6 November 2009

American Poplar wood

The widest plank,we tend to hold onto these for special orders,that wrapped bundle is poplar ready machined for a Dixi Dinghy kit to be collected tommorrow.

Thats a nice variation of widths available,we can machine to size.

A chest made from Poplar wood,its really nice to work with,we have long planks to 4.9mtrs long and 370mm wide x 25mm thick,its very stable and does not cup or twist.

American Poplar,also known as Cotton and Tulip wood.

Early spring leaf on the American Poplar, or Cottonwood - so called because of the lovely white tufts of seed that fall, giving the appearance of fallen snow it can sometimes be so thck. This shot also shows the bark of the tree. Planted as a popular shade tree on farms, growing to some 40m in height. exotic to NZ, arriving in the late 1800's. Waikato NZ.

Poplar / Tulipwood, American
Liriodendron tulipifera
AKA: American yellow poplar (UK), American whitewood, tulip tree (UK and USA), canary wood (UK), canary whitewood (UK)



Wood Type - Hardwood
Environmental - Not listed in CITES. Believed available from well-managed sources. Check certification status with suppliers.
Introduction - Note: the recommended name for this timber in the UK is American yellow poplar. There are other, unrelated species which are also called tulipwood.
Distribution - Eastern USA and Canada.
The Tree - A large tree attaining a height of 37m or more, and a diameter of 2m or more.
The Timber - The sapwood is white, and in second-growth trees, very wide; the heartwood is variable in colour, ranging from olive green to yellow or brown, and may be streaked with steel-blue. The annual growth terminates in a white band of parenchyma giving a subdued figure to longitudinal surfaces. The wood is' straight-grained. fine-textured, fairly soft and light in weight about 510 kg/m3 when dried.
Drying - Dries easily and well, with little degrade.
Strength - Similar to idigbo (Terminalia ivorensis) in general strength properties.
Working Qualities - Good.
Durability - Slightly Durable
Moisture Movement - Medium.
Density(mean,Kg/m3) - 510.
Texture - Fine.
Availability - Limited.
Price - Medium.
Use(s) - Interior joinery, Furniture
Colour(s) - Yellow Brown


We took in stocks of some of the best quality Poplar today,tests have shown that weight and strength wise it is a very similar wood to the clear oregon pine we use on our boats as an option,I say option,it will cost you three times more to have clear oregon.Another spin off is it looks nicer than a similar priced timber called meranti and is less lible to give splinters over clear oregon as well.For those who like the technical stuff,its a similar weight to Clear oregon and while it is less durable,as is ockume used in our marine plys,it is fine once coated with the saturation epoxies we supply with all our kits.

Bottom Line? its better to work with,looks nice and is known to be a very fast growing species that is not under any world threat of running out,no contest I think.

Roy

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