Know Your Wood: Poplar

Poplar

The picture at left shows just some of the wide ranges of color found in Poplar lumber, via The Wood Explorer database.


Common trade names: Poplar, Yellow poplar.

Genus: Liriodendron tulipifera

Janka Hardness (pounds-force): 540

Description: Poplar is a deciduous with lumber that is pale, with grey and green coloring streaked in. It’s very soft for a so-called hardwood, and its grain is generally straight and consistent, with a medium texture. Pores are sealed, making this a great selection for paint, and to a degree, stain. Personal preferences here, I suppose, but the greys and greens have always made me lean toward using Poplar as a paint-grade performance species only. But it will certainly take stain.

Location: Eastern United States. Range in picture of Liriodendron tulipifera via Wikipedia via USGS.

Common Aliases: Yellow poplar, American tulipwood, Blue poplar, Canadian whitewood, Saddletree, Tulip poplar, Virginian poplar, White poplar, Yellow-wood.

Performance: Poplar is very easy to work, and it takes paint exceptionally well. It also stains nicely, if that’s the look you’re going for. For whatever reason, I have memories of Poplar being much more widely available in local marketplaces better than a decade ago. Everytime I worked the wood, I was highly satisfied, because it was a piece of cake. The wood held together nicely, and I was able to crank out volume in a big hurry with this species. If I were to use paint grade trim anywhere in my place, it would be out of poplar. If I can get it in Ottawa or Pomona.

Common Uses: Millwork, paint-grade trim, stain-grade trim, shelving, cabinetry, just about anything for interior use that is to be painted, I would highly recommend poplar. I could name thousands of common uses for this species. A great wood, in my opinion, and very underrated.

From: The Wood Database

Common Name(s): Poplar, Tulip Poplar, Yellow Poplar
Scientific Name: Liriodendron tulipifera
Distribution: Eastern United States
Tree Size: 130-160 ft (40-50 m) tall, 6-8 ft (1.8-2.5 m) trunk diameter
Average Dried Weight: 32 lbs/ft3 (515 kg/m3)
Basic Specific Gravity: .40
Hardness: 540 lbf (2,400 N)
Rupture Strength: 10,100 lbf/in2 (69,660 kPa)
Elastic Strength: 1,580,000 lbf/in2 (10,900 MPa)
Crushing Strength: 5,540 lbf/in2 (38.2 MPa)
Shrinkage: Radial: 4.6%, Tangential: 8.2%, Volumetric: 12.7%, T/R Ratio: 1.8

Know Your Wood: Red Maple

Red Maple

A highly figured and deeply dimensioned burl. Soft maples aren’t what I would call “soft.” The name is simply an identification of a somewhat different acer, image via The Wood Explorer.

Common trade names: Red Maple, Soft maple, Carolina red maple, Scarlet maple, Swamp maple, Water maple, White maple.

Genus: Acer rubrum

Janka Hardness (pounds-force): 950

Description: Red maple is one of the many acers referred to as soft maples. Like the Hard maples, the sapwood is preferred stock from these species. Color is typically pale with very light browns, with a heartwood a dark scarlet brown. Grain can be quite irregular and interesting among the soft maples.

Location: A deep forest wood. More a southern species in North America, though the northern bound on a reference shows the eastern end of Newfoundland as a locale. This amazes me, as the species’ range approaches the Everglades in Florida. Found everywhere but very deep swamp across the southern United States into east Texas and Ozark River lower basin in Missouri. Curiously, this wood is also found in pockets of northern! Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin. This must be a deep forest species, because it is barely found in Iowa, northeast Missouri, Kansas, and northern Illinois. Grows around most of Lake Superior and across the forestlands of southern Ontario and Quebec.

Common Aliases: Soft maple, (A great link descriptive of with reference to various species located here.) Carolina red maple, Drummond red maple, Scarlet maple, Swamp maple, Water maple, White maple.

Performance: Can decay. Interior use only! Many better woods are available for outdoor applications, and Red maple is otherwise a rather pleasant experience to work. As with the hard maple, Red maple can burn with high speed cutters that are just a little dull. Relatively affordable, except with figured pieces and such as seen in the photo at the head.

UNC may have lost the game to Duke tonight, but their Herbarium might be winning the Botanical war.

Common Uses: Crates, boxes, casks, fine furnishing, small specialty objects, turnings, plywood, hatracks, cabinetry, paneling, veneers.

From: The Wood Database

Common Name(s): Red Maple
Scientific Name: Acer rubrum
Distribution: Eastern North America
Tree Size: 65-100 ft (20-30 m) tall, 2-3 ft (.6-1.0 m) trunk diameter
Average Dried Weight: 38lbs/ft3 (610 kg/m3)
Basic Specific Gravity: .49
Hardness: 950 lbf (4,230 N)
Rupture Strength: 13,400 lbf/in2 (92,410 kPa)
Elastic Strength: 1,640,000 lbf/in2 (11,310 MPa)
Crushing Strength: 6,540 lbf/in2 (45.1 MPa)
Shrinkage: Radial: 4.0%, Tangential: 8.2%, Volumetric: 12.6%, T/R Ratio: 2.1

Know Your Wood: Hard Maple

Hard Maple

Birds-eye maple, one of the several varieties of hard maple featured in The Wood Explorer.

Common trade names: Hard Maple. Other varieties marketed as hard maple include Sugar maple and Black maple, but are slightly different species. The specifications listed here apply to the Acer saccharum, but the species above yield similar, but certainly not identical results.

Genus: Acer saccharum

Janka Hardness (pounds-force): 1450

Description: Hard maple, as noted above, may be marketed under this name with a wide variety of species in the Acer genus. The Acer saccharum is a large North American deciduous whose sapwood is preferred to the heartwood. This is relatively unique among hardwoods. This prized sapwood is quite pale, and almost white when sanded. Hard maple has very small pores that require no filler.

Arguably the best reason for fall to arrive, maple foliage covers nearly the entire spectrum.

Location: Southeast Canada and northeastern United States, bounded roughly by the Mississippi River on the West and Ohio River basin on the south. (Acer saccharum is also found all throughout Missouri and eastern Kansas) One would be somewhat less likely to run into this species south of Washington D.C. It’s much more suited to seasonal change than some of the other great American hardwoods.

Common Aliases: Bird’s eye maple, black maple, Canadian maple, Curly maple, Fiddleback maple, Rock maple, Sugar maple, White maple.

Performance: Glues and finishes well, and is relatively easy to work with hand and machine tools, given its density. This wood will burn if tools are not adequately sharpened, and the wood will blacken. Try again with sharper tools! That being said, Hard maple turns and finishes nicely. Some would recommend the preconditioning products prior to staining Hard Maple. Best to set aside a sample, and test some things out a little bit so that an accurate assessment can be made regarding your particular stand of maple. If using the sapwood, remember that insects will be an issue. Hard Maple is best suited to interior applications.

In biblical times (1974), Earl Anthony made as much money off maple as nearly everyone in the lumber business.

Common Uses: Bowling pins, bowling alley lanes, fine furnishings, flooring, millwork, moldings, musical instruments, audio equipment, turnings, veneers, tool handles, chairs, and many other uses requiring a strong and versatile wood.


From: The Wood Database

Common Name(s): Hard Maple, Sugar Maple, Rock Maple
Scientific Name: Acer saccharum
Distribution: Northeastern United States
Tree Size: 80-115 ft (25-35 m) tall, 2-3 ft (.6-1.0 m) trunk diameter
Average Dried Weight: 44 lbs/ft3 (705 kg/m3)
Basic Specific Gravity: .56
Hardness: 1,450 lbf (6,450 N)
Rupture Strength: 15,800 lbf/in2 (108,970 kPa)
Elastic Strength: 1,830,000 lbf/in2 (12,620 MPa)
Crushing Strength: 7,830 lbf/in2 (54.0 MPa)
Shrinkage: Radial: 4.8%, Tangential: 9.9%, Volumetric: 14.7%, T/R Ratio: 2.1