Is this Poplar?

[Vangellis]

Hi Gang.
I cut one of these up last year and used it for heat. Wasn't too bad. A neighbor said it was poplar, but I'm not sure.

A rather scraggly looking tree and not real hardy. Theres a bunch of dead standing ones nearby to cut.

It was easy to cut, but hard to split. Stringy. When fresh cut it is yellowish on the inside and actually had a waxy feel to the inside wood.

Oh yeah! Until it gets seasoned a bit, it literally smells like crap. I deemed it the poopy wood.

Thanks in advance.





Kevin

 

[Metals406]

Oh yeah! Until it gets seasoned a bit, it literally smells like crap. I deemed it the poopy wood.

Yup... Looks like Eastern Poopy Wood to me. Close cousin to the Western Stank Bark.

 

[Circle B MN]

Lots of that stuff around here. Grows rather quick, then dies. Watch out for brittle tops when felling. Once cured, it burns pretty good, but rather quick. Doesn't last too long on the pile either IMO. Good stuff if you get it for free.

 

[Nailsbeats]

Yellow and White Popple, just logged my woods of it last winter. I take the occasional dead and down for firewood, works for heat in the spring and fall. We get saw bolts and pulp from it.

 

[Austin1]

Yep poplar. I burn poplar not much choice were I live the only hard wood is birch and I find it no better than fir or pine. But poplar leaves a lot of ash when burt & is very very heavy when wet and hard to split when wet you can even get a face full of water just like willow when the maul hits it.
But I will cut up anything not fussy when semi dry or very dry poplar splits easy. Everyone has a wood they don't like me it is Black Spruce just takes to long to season compared to Pine or Fir.
Poplar reminds me of camp fires smell is the most powerful link to memory some say.
Go ahead it burns use it! It just burns fast and leaves allot of ash.

 

[Austin1]

Lots of that stuff around here. Grows rather quick, then dies. Watch out for brittle tops when felling. Once cured, it burns pretty good, but rather quick. Doesn't last too long on the pile either IMO. Good stuff if you get it for free.

Funny you should mention watch the tops! I cut ton's of dead standing pine snags and yes you gotta watch the tops on them too. Poplar if it is healthy no problem like a rubber tree but frozen watch out story.
2006 we had a big wind storm in Nov not a (Chinook warm west wind) just 60-70 mph winds it had been around -15c a few day's before we got slammed by the wind so the trees were frozen so many tops just snapped off the poplar trees. I was Grouse hunting and always looking up these thing were coming down all around me most were hung up in pine trees but when the wind would blow they came down.Very scary but I had a saw in my truck and took advantage of the situation lol.
Oh when you say don't last long what do you mean? I find it rots or them big ass wood ant's get in it or the wasps are attracted to it don't have that problem with ever greens

 

[Vangellis]

Thanks for the replies.
I know it's not the greatest wood but theres lots of it and it helps supplement the maple and black cherry I have. Whats with the smell though!




Kevin

 

[Austin1]

Thanks for the replies.
I know it's not the greatest wood but theres lots of it and it helps supplement the maple and black cherry I have. Whats with the smell though!




Kevin

I really don't mind the smell of seasoned poplar reminds me of camp fires when I was a kid. But splitting and sawing wet poplar is not that good of a smelling wood it don't smell like a pine but to me smells like mushrooms a musky smell but not too bad.

 

[brisawyer]

Not sure what that is might be some sub species of poplar but its not tulip poplar. people here call it birch or water maple but I dont think thats right either.

 

[Circle B MN]

Funny you should mention watch the tops! I cut ton's of dead standing pine snags and yes you gotta watch the tops on them too. Poplar if it is healthy no problem like a rubber tree but frozen watch out story.
2006 we had a big wind storm in Nov not a (Chinook warm west wind) just 60-70 mph winds it had been around -15c a few day's before we got slammed by the wind so the trees were frozen so many tops just snapped off the poplar trees. I was Grouse hunting and always looking up these thing were coming down all around me most were hung up in pine trees but when the wind would blow they came down.Very scary but I had a saw in my truck and took advantage of the situation lol.
Oh when you say don't last long what do you mean? I find it rots or them big ass wood ant's get in it or the wasps are attracted to it don't have that problem with ever greens

It was a poplar that broke me of my no head gear ways when felling. Few years back I was sawing a face cut in one in the yard and the top came loose and split across my melon. Knocked me down, gave me a lump and a lesson both.

As for not lasting long, it seeems to me that it gets "punky" a bit quicker than other woods, like in two yearrs rather than four to five with oak. Perhaps it's just me, but this is what I know....

 

[Vangellis]

It was a poplar that broke me of my no head gear ways when felling. Few years back I was sawing a face cut in one in the yard and the top came loose and split across my melon. Knocked me down, gave me a lump and a lesson both.

As for not lasting long, it seeems to me that it gets "punky" a bit quicker than other woods, like in two yearrs rather than four to five with oak. Perhaps it's just me, but this is what I know....

Thats what I was wondering too. I'm good for this winter, but would like to start working on next years batch soon.
If I cut it this fall it should be ok for next year. These are dead standing ones.

Glad you didn't get hurt to bad MNGuns. Guess you literally got some sense knocked into you.




Kevin

 

[PA Plumber]

From the leaf, I would have guessed Aspen, but not from the bark.

I don't recall seeing that stuff on our place. We have lots of Tulip Poplar, but none, or, not much of that stuff.

 

[timberwolf]

Either quaking aspen or balsam poplar (hard to tell without looking at the leaves) by the Trees of North America book, but a lot of places including mills call it all yellow poplar. Think I would guess quaking aspen though just by the bark and the leves as much as I can tell in the photo.

The quaking aspen has slightly smaller leaves with smoother edges (very fine saw tooth), the balsam poplar leaf is a little larger with a slight saw tooth edge.

 

[timberwolf]

http://www.fs.fed.us/ipnf/eco/yourforest/trees/aspenphotos.html

http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://canadianbiodiversity.mcgill.ca/data/sppphotos/plants/populusbalsamifera.jpg&imgrefurl=http://canadianbiodiversity.mcgill.ca/english/species/plants/plantpages/pop_bal.htm&h=327&w=350&sz=14&hl=en&start=4&um=1&usg=__Et6q7u3ANgn4fmHxVSRduUwqZS0=&tbnid=8gp6tX4NkChnmM:&tbnh=112&tbnw=120&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbalsam%2Bpoplar%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX

Also I think it's a little too far south for balsam poplar

 

[Husky137]

I concur with the quaking Aspen. Couldn't find my book last night.

 

[Austin1]

I concur with the quaking Aspen. Couldn't find my book last night.

Aspen here has a much Whiter bark on it and mainly grows at 4000ft or above. Never the less Aspen burns the same as Poplar. When you see Aspen here they look like Birch in the winter with no leaves on until you get close and see the bark.

 

[Coldfront]

There is tons of it here, pulp wood, we just call it popple. Kind of junk wood, stinks, burns fast, rots quick. But it will burn, some people with owb will use it, usually no problem getting it free.

 

[abohac]

Hi Gang.
I cut one of these up last year and used it for heat. Wasn't too bad. A neighbor said it was poplar, but I'm not sure.

A rather scraggly looking tree and not real hardy. Theres a bunch of dead standing ones nearby to cut.

It was easy to cut, but hard to split. Stringy. When fresh cut it is yellowish on the inside and actually had a waxy feel to the inside wood.

Oh yeah! Until it gets seasoned a bit, it literally smells like crap. I deemed it the poopy wood.

Thanks in advance.





Kevin

Yep

 

[timberwolf]

Watch cutting standing dead with these, they often rot on the inside and can fall apart in nasty ways. I have had them snap half way up while falling and have the tops come back towards me. If in doubt put a long rope on then and try to yank them down first.

 

[LEES WOODC]

Aspen