Popping wood

Wood Doctor · Jan 22, 2019

Ryan'smilling said:
Tulip poplar and poplar are different things. Do they have tulip poplar in NY, or are you talking about cottonwood/Aspen trees? I've never burned tulip poplar, but I would say from my experience burning the poplar we have in WI, that it's not particularly poppy.

Neither is the poplar growing in Nebraska. I burn it all the time, especially for starting the fire in the stove, and it never pops or crackles. It lights like a charm and dries in six months. Folks also love it for campfire wood.

PA. Woodsman · Jan 22, 2019

I have heard that wood pops because of air pockets, whether that is the reason or not I don't know, but as said Mulberry and Sassy will put on quite the fireworks show!

Erik B · Jan 23, 2019

Natster said:
I believe this led to gunpowder. One of the ingredients in homemade gunpowder is charcoal. Saltpeter, and something else. It took a lot of powder to fire a musket ball.

IIRC the third ingredient is sulfur. When I was a lot younger we found the recipe for gun powder in an encyclopedia and mixed up a batch. We did not get it to go bang but it burned nice. We packed it in a empty rifle cartridge and lit it. Nice long flame like a rocket. Good thing mom and dad didn't know what we were doing.

grizz55chev · Jan 23, 2019

Erik B said:
IIRC the third ingredient is sulfur. When I was a lot younger we found the recipe for gun powder in an encyclopedia and mixed up a batch. We did not get it to go bang but it burned nice. We packed it in a empty rifle cartridge and lit it. Nice long flame like a rocket. Good thing mom and dad didn't know what we were doing.

We tookmatch heads and stuffed em in co-2 cartridges, put em in a length of pipe and lit it, shot that cartridge out like a rocket!