# Is poplar worth milling for siding boards?



## Stihl Wielder (Apr 27, 2012)

First off, I am a long time wood cutter, but new to the milling aspect. I had a buddy with a wood-mizer mill a huge walnut a month ago for me, that was my first official milled log. Now, that being said, I got a big job coming up (for me, anyway) where the homeowner borders the mountain, and he has two huge 100' poplars and a huge 80' white oak that I will be falling. My question is what to do with these nice logs from the poplar tree (almost 3' diameter, there should be around 6 logs about 11' long). I plan on building a big wood shed for my firewood and was wondering if the poplar would be a good wood to roof and stagger-side the shed with. I hate to throw that poplar out as firewood (we all know poplar isn't the best firewood in the world), would it make decent siding boards? My buddy will mill it for around 20 cents / bd. foot. What should I do with those poplar logs?


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## burningwood (Apr 27, 2012)

Stihl Weilder said:


> First off, I am a long time wood cutter, but new to the milling aspect. I had a buddy with a wood-mizer mill a huge walnut a month ago for me, that was my first official milled log. Now, that being said, I got a big job coming up (for me, anyway) where the homeowner borders the mountain, and he has two huge 100' poplars and a huge 80' white oak that I will be falling. My question is what to do with these nice logs from the poplar tree (almost 3' diameter, there should be around 6 logs about 11' long). I plan on building a big wood shed for my firewood and was wondering if the poplar would be a good wood to roof and stagger-side the shed with. I hate to throw that poplar out as firewood (we all know poplar isn't the best firewood in the world), would it make decent siding boards? My buddy will mill it for around 20 cents / bd. foot. What should I do with those poplar logs?



Here is one article I found.

https://advice.thisoldhouse.com/showthread.php?t=12366

bw

Calling the guy tomorrow morning on the truck and the Stihl 090, if it's good for him I'll have it tomorrow night.


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## gwiley (Apr 27, 2012)

I handle poplar every year and have noticed that it rots pretty quickly compared to pine and other woods. If I were going to spend the time milling and handling he boards I'd pick something else if it was available. If you have to go with it make sure it is sealed against the weather well.


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## buzz sawyer (Apr 28, 2012)

Assuming you are referring to Tulip Tree aka Yellow Poplar, we built an outhouse with rough cut lumber some years ago and it held up fine for I believe 15-20 years until we tore it down. We just left the wood raw - no finish.


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## mad murdock (Apr 28, 2012)

Poplar definately does not resist rot as well as most soft woods, when it is dry, nailing through it is tough. It makes beautiful t&g paneling. Much better use than siding for nice clear wood, IMO. I built a dog sled from poplar when I was young. Incredibly light and strong wood! My sled weighed 15 lbs and could carry 400.


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## DiscoInferno (Apr 28, 2012)

I recently milled some for lap siding and trim for a fort I built my kids. (See pic.) It worked really well, biggest problem was the tendency for fresh-cut poplar to mildew even though it was stickered outside. (I have the same issue with poplar firewood.) You certainly don't want it in ground contact, but for vertical applications where it won't stay wet I think it's a good economical choice. Perfect for woodshed siding, maybe not the roof though. Very easy to mill with a chainsaw, which was a plus for me. I was planning to seal it after it's fully dry, but now that it's up I'm not sure it needs it.


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## Stihl Wielder (Apr 28, 2012)

I have a lot of it, and access to a Wood-mizer mill that a friend of mine has, so i will probably go ahead and mill it for woodshed siding wood, heck maybe even for some home projects. I just hate to waste it for firewood (which I think it is a sucky firewood to begin with), and I hate killing trees and letting them sit so I'll look at milling them. Maybe even mill a couple thick slabs to make benches for the porch.....thanks for the input, fellas....


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## Stihl Wielder (Apr 28, 2012)

burningwood said:


> Here is one article I found.
> 
> https://advice.thisoldhouse.com/showthread.php?t=12366
> 
> ...



Thanks BW. BTW I am anxiously awaiting pics of that beast of a saw.......


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## Dune (Apr 28, 2012)

Poplar (sometimes refered to as boxwood) is the preffered choice for interior wood work such as trim and cabinet facing or as mentioned interior panels of all types. Poplar has excellent dimensional stabilty and is used extensively in high end construction, as well as boxes of all types. Even if you had it slabbed into cants and save it till you know what size to mill it to, it would be better than wasting it. I hope you have plans for the white oak to be milled as well.


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## burroak (Apr 29, 2012)

Tulip-poplar (yellow-poplar) is what they used in the old days around here to build log cabins and non-load bearing parts of covered bridges. Get it dry, paint it, and keep it away from ground contact and it will last a long time. Works very well for siding, and history has proven that fact. 

Enjoy working with the poplar!


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## rarefish383 (Apr 29, 2012)

One of these days I'm gonna have to take a little ride with my camera. There is a couple on one of my old delivery routes that live in a log cabin built in the 1930's, made of all Yellow Poplar logs. They were cut from the property, maybe 10 inch diameter at most. The thing that realy stands out is they still have the bark on them. The owner told me 2 old cabin builders from West Virginia built the cabin and used a secret recipe to treat the logs. This is no dinky hunting camp cabin either, it's a full sized home just outside Wash DC, in a high end neighborhood of Potomac. I've searced the web trying to find what could have been used to treat the wood, no answers. I think it was one of my first posts when I found this sight and no one had a clue. Now that I'm thinking about it, I might ride by on the way home from work tomorrow, then I'll post some pics of how Poplar holds up, Joe.


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## tomsteve (Apr 29, 2012)

Dune said:


> Poplar (sometimes refered to as boxwood) is the preffered choice for interior wood work such as trim and cabinet facing or as mentioned interior panels of all types. Poplar has excellent dimensional stabilty and is used extensively in high end construction, as well as boxes of all types. Even if you had it slabbed into cants and save it till you know what size to mill it to, it would be better than wasting it. I hope you have plans for the white oak to be milled as well.[/QUOT
> 
> yuppers!! great wood for trim that is going to be painted. it can also be stained to mimic mahogany or walnut. i use it for drawer construction in the higher quality furniture i build. very stable wood and easy to work.


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## Stihl Wielder (Apr 29, 2012)

rarefish383 said:


> One of these days I'm gonna have to take a little ride with my camera. There is a couple on one of my old delivery routes that live in a log cabin built in the 1930's, made of all Yellow Poplar logs. They were cut from the property, maybe 10 inch diameter at most. The thing that realy stands out is they still have the bark on them. The owner told me 2 old cabin builders from West Virginia built the cabin and used a secret recipe to treat the logs. This is no dinky hunting camp cabin either, it's a full sized home just outside Wash DC, in a high end neighborhood of Potomac. I've searced the web trying to find what could have been used to treat the wood, no answers. I think it was one of my first posts when I found this sight and no one had a clue. Now that I'm thinking about it, I might ride by on the way home from work tomorrow, then I'll post some pics of how Poplar holds up, Joe.



Joe, I'd love to see some pics of that! Wonder what they used to treat the logs? Maybe some kind of mix involving oil and salt? Both would help ward off bugs, mildew and rot.....That's interesting!


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## Sawyer Rob (Apr 29, 2012)

Stihl Weilder said:


> Joe, I'd love to see some pics of that! Wonder what they used to treat the logs? Maybe some kind of mix involving oil and salt? Both would help ward off bugs, mildew and rot.....That's interesting!



Best "treat" for poplar logs is BIG eves to keep the water off it. I've seen 100 year old cabins out of poplar that were in decent shape, all because they had big eves and kept the water off the logs.

One thing that folks keep forgetting is, OLD GROWTH tree's had MUCH better rot resistance that what we have today.

SR


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## rarefish383 (Apr 29, 2012)

SR, I agree with you on the big eves. I built my 12X16 tool shed out of framing 2x4's in 1987 and there is not a spot of rot on them. It's built on the side of a hill with the down side about 7 foot off the ground and the up side just a couple inches. It sits on top of 4X4 treated posts and 2X12 treated floor joists. Everything thats off the ground was cheap framing lumber and still looks fine.

When I said the old West Virginia guys treated the logs with a secret concoction, that was to keep the bark on and tight. The cabin was built in the 1930's out of logs that were only about 8 to 10 inches, so they weren't old growth. Just the opposite, probably less then 25 years old. My dad was born in 1923 and he used to talk about the hot, humid summers in the DC area, with giant thunder storms almost daily. We used to count the rings on big trees and no matter what type of tree it was, it had big growth rings from that period in time. I have no idea what would be better, close rings from drought years or wide rings from wet years. Anyway, I'm gonna try and stop by tomorrow on the way home. The last time I talked to her she seemed quite pleased I was so interested in the house, Joe.


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## rarefish383 (Apr 30, 2012)

Here's a pic of an 80 year old cabin made from Yellow Poplar logs. I'll start a new thread with more pics, Joe.


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