Milling Poplar

[charlieb]

Is it worth doing?    We've had a huge one come down on the Estate. Somewhere that it needs to be moved.  

 

It's  waste of time for firewood and it seems a pity to just move it somewhere to burn or rot.   Any thoughts?   People always talk about clogs, so if anyone knows any clog makers to pass them onto me!  (Or is that alder?)

[Bob_z_l]

i've milled some and the boards were ok. Very light in colour and took oil or stain easy.

 

I've also gut it and dried for firewood and it does ok. Not brilliant but not too bad to mix in amongst other stuff.

 

In the end it's how much time and space you have. The boards will take time to mill and dry. 

 

My preference I'd firewood it and save your chains for something nice. 

[Squaredy]

16 minutes ago, charlieb said:

Is it worth doing?    We've had a huge one come down on the Estate. Somewhere that it needs to be moved.  

 

It's  waste of time for firewood and it seems a pity to just move it somewhere to burn or rot.   Any thoughts?   People always talk about clogs, so if anyone knows any clog makers to pass them onto me!  (Or is that alder?)

Alder for clogs.

 

I would mill it up, but I have no idea what uses you might have for it.  It is an attractive timber for indoor use.  I think it is ideal as kitchen cupboards or coffee table/dining table.  It could also be used as panelling in a room - it would be excellent as insulation and sound deadening as it is a very light timber.

 

What it is not good for is outdoor use, unless it is only temporary.  I know someone who used to use it for housebuilding - pressure treated.

[openspaceman]

48 minutes ago, Squaredy said:

What it is not good for is outdoor use,

@Billhook has a log cabin made with it IIRC

[5thelement]

I worked for a guy over 20 years ago who clad his tractor shed entirely in oversized Poplar boards, they greyed up lovely, I recently went back and they looked exactly the same.

There is also a well known chainsaw instructor near me who has a Poplar clad woodland home. 
It seems to work okay externally as long as it isn’t in the ground/continually wet.

[Billhook]

4 hours ago, openspaceman said:

@Billhook has a log cabin made with it IIRC

The reason I did the cabin was because a friend from Oregon told me of a Church there built of poplar that was 120 years old and still in good order.

The log cabin here stairs on six large lumps of sandstone so is off the ground with plenty of air under it

It is true that a poplar log lying in the ground will rot quicker than nearly any other wood I can think of, but the cabin shows no signs after 21 years

[Stubby]

7 hours ago, charlieb said:

Is it worth doing?    We've had a huge one come down on the Estate. Somewhere that it needs to be moved.  

 

It's  waste of time for firewood and it seems a pity to just move it somewhere to burn or rot.   Any thoughts?   People always talk about clogs, so if anyone knows any clog makers to pass them onto me!  (Or is that alder?)

I found it to be the opposite re fire wood . Once split it must be kept dry because it is like blotting paper and will sponge up moisture but if kept dry it is good fire wood . Skyhuck boiled his central heating with poplar I recall .

[openspaceman]

1 hour ago, Billhook said:

The reason I did the cabin was because a friend from Oregon told me of a Church there built of poplar that was 120 years old and still in good order.

The log cabin here stairs on six large lumps of sandstone so is off the ground with plenty of air under it

It is true that a poplar log lying in the ground will rot quicker than nearly any other wood I can think of, but the cabin shows no signs after 21 years

I wonder how it would have faired if it were ash, I suspect it would have been riddled with woodworm.

[5thelement]

7 minutes ago, openspaceman said:

I wonder how it would have faired if it were ash, I suspect it would have been riddled with woodworm.

Termites are endemic in France. Because of this, Poplar is often used for stud work, even un treated it is less prone to infestation.

[Stere]