burning/splitting poplar

[LumberjkChamp]

me too

This thread inspired me to open up my tree identification book. There are multiple unrelated trees that are commonly called Poplar. So it is quite possible that everybody has correctly identified their wood.

The only gripe I have about my book, I forget the title but it is published by Audubon, is that it does not describe the wood. It has the bark, leaves, flowers fruit and sketch of the tree, but no cut wood.

Hey, I did the same thing as also....kinda had me thinking a little (a rare occurance) everyone is talking about interlocking grain, comparing poplar to elm...maybe its yellow poplar. How about some pics, woodlumn...to help us all out... if its possible

 

[user 19670]

This thread inspired me to open up my tree identification book. There are multiple unrelated trees that are commonly called Poplar. So it is quite possible that everybody has correctly identified their wood.

The only gripe I have about my book, I forget the title but it is published by Audubon, is that it does not describe the wood. It has the bark, leaves, flowers fruit and sketch of the tree, but no cut wood.

We have that book too. I like it but for that reason but am not sure there is a book that describes the wood.

 

[abohac]

Hi there,

I've found a lot of great info on this site, but this is my first post.

I recently became the recipient of a lot of tulip poplar. about a dumptruck's worth of it! I've read that this isn't the best burning wood, but I've also read that it's not bad, especially if it's free.

So I've got two questions:

1. What are your opinions on burning tulip poplar? (I heat my home with an outdoor wood furnace.)


2. The wood is cut up as 6" thick discs (about 24" diameter). What is the best way to split and stack this stuff?

Thanks for your advice!

I have never heard of "Tulip Poplar" but Poplar or Cotton wood up here (Michigan) doesn't burn too bad. If you can, don't split them at all and roll them into your stove whole, them but some good dry stuff around it. If you are going to keep it very long I would suggest splitting it (however, up here it can get a little stringy, kinda like Elm) because it seems to start to rot just under the bark if not split. Anyway, if you have an outdoor furnace, just burn it.

 

[woodlumn]

How about some pics, woodlumn...to help us all out... if its possible

Will do - I'll post 'em up tomorrow.

By the way, I was using one of these poplar discs as a base to split other logs on and before too long, 1/4 of it sheered off, like a pie piece. I'll bet I'll be able to karate chop these things when they're dry...

 

[LumberjkChamp]

Will do - I'll post 'em up tomorrow.

I'll look in tomorrow to check 'em out. One of my books has some pretty good descriptions of the actual wood itself. I'm eager to see what it looks like.

 

[woodlumn]

ah man, I forgot the memory card in my camera at home today. I'm sorry! tomorrow, pics...

 

[LumberjkChamp]

ah man, I forgot the memory card in my camera at home today. I'm sorry! tomorrow, pics...

No problem. I'll be around.

 

[woodlumn]

okay, here are a couple of pics

 

[buckwheat]

That's definitely what we call poplar here in central PA. It's a very fast growing hardwood that ends up being used for both veneer and milled into wood trim, especially the fancy scrolled stuff. It takes stain very well, and doesn't expand/contract as much as softwood trim.

What I've noticed is that the trees have a "tap root" which goes deep, but if it snaps, the whole tree comes down.

If you leave it on the ground like that, its going to start sprouting fungus after a few rains. After it dries for a bit, you'll get more of those cracks and the bark will practically fall off.

As for firewood, it works well as "day wood" for use in early fall and late spring. If its dry it will light rather easily and build a good hot fire, but it won't last as long as oak or locust. On warmer days you can build a fire with, turn the stove back all the way, and it should do just fine to keep the house comfortable. It does create a lot of ashes, though.

Because it's fast growing, it has a very long grain, and splits easily. With those cookies, I'll bet you can eventually just drop them on a rock and they'll break apart.

 

[woodlumn]

sounds about right, buckwheat.

the plan is to move that pile this weekend (it's sort of an eyesore in the front of our house) and stack it elsewhere. it's pretty wet still, but I'm going to try to split it anyway.

 

[habanero]

...the plan is to move that pile this weekend (it's sort of an eyesore in the front of our house) and stack it elsewhere...

I can't see your pics because my work network blocks them, but that's blasphemy to call a wood pile an eyesore!!

 

[woodlumn]

hahaha, believe me, I appreciate it.

but I'll appreciate it even more once it's split and stacked

 

[LumberjkChamp]

Yellow-Poplar?

Hey woodlumn, looks like what you may have is yellow-poplar, which is commonly refered to as tulip-poplar as you had initially said. However, the fault in the "looks like" method of identification is that I dont know if I'm looking at a tree I've never seen before. But it does appear to be the same as the one in my book- but its still tough to be sure. Yellow-poplar is described in the book Understanding Wood by R. Bruce Hoadley as being moderately soft and moderately light with an average specific gravity of 0.42. Its heartwood is green or greenish brown, sometimes with shades of purple, blue, black, yellow, or streaks of different colors. Sapwood is creamy or grayish white and its growth rings are distinctly visible.

Does all this info help? Is this what you have? It seems like buckwheat is right on with its ID, burning characteristics, and ease of splitting.

 

[bowtechmadman]

Don't think I'd split them but then again the door to my OWB is big enough to let me put them in whole.
Free is free...definately good for spring and fall when you don't require as much heat!
Good luck w/ the splitting.