Which poplar species is this?

[The avantgardener]

They certainly look like one of the Hybrid Black Poplars, possibly Populus X canadensis. Take a look next time you are there to see if the catkins are  all the same throughout the block, the one in the picture looks like it’s from a female clone and usually sterile.

I took some down recently, make sure to cut the sink out and inspect the hinge wood before removing the buttresses, 50% of the ones we felled had extensive basal decay but showed no external signs of this.

When I left college 20 odd years ago I started work for a guy who had a tractor shed clad in large Manchester Poplar boards, looked great, looks even better now, pretty durable as long as it isn’t in the ground.

 

 

[openspaceman]

12 hours ago, nepia said:

Gray Nicolls at Robertsbridge.

Last time I was there we were stuffing all their offcuts and waste through a Heizohack.

 

I definitely did not know one had to hammer a cricket bat before use.

[nepia]

It wasn't mandatory but it did help in keeping the face flat and not potholed.  'Knocking in' it was called.

[Stubby]

1 hour ago, nepia said:

It wasn't mandatory but it did help in keeping the face flat and not potholed.  'Knocking in' it was called.

I have a " mallet " that is a handle with a cricket ball fixed on the end for " knocking in "

[openspaceman]

53 minutes ago, Stubby said:

I have a " mallet " that is a handle with a cricket ball fixed on the end for " knocking in "

As they say "every day is a school day". I knew the face was compressed, I knew the bat was oiled with linseed but I was unaware of "knocking in".

 

I'd still like to see what affect it has on a poplar board.

[nepia]

55 minutes ago, Stubby said:

I have a " mallet " that is a handle with a cricket ball fixed on the end for " knocking in "

Oh yeah - that was the other way of doing it; sitting on a bench mindlessly hitting a cricket bat with a ball ?