opinions about aspen

[elliott]

What are some opinions on milling aspens? Does it cut easy? Does the lumber hold up well? The lumber will not be weight bearing, but it will be used to build corrals, so it will be subject to some pressure from livestock. I will mill it 2 or 2.5 inches thick by eight or ten inches wide and ten to twelve feet long. Some of my fellow ranchers don't recommend using aspen, but I gaurantee that every one of you on this website know more about the best uses of different wood for lumber than any of us stockmen and ranchers, so what do ya'll think?

 

[stumpjumper83]

I have some aspen that was cut about four years ago now so it sould be dry now, my plan is to use it for panneling. I havent tried using it outside, but all the old timers said, "don't". What I is that the coloring varies alot from a dark brown to a faint green so I was planning on having it for inside uses. The guy the cut it ran a band mill, He liked it, but I didn;t actually mill it.

 

[Adkpk]

Your fellow ranches might know best but I have milled it and it rips real nice. Your not talking about outside use, right? The corrals are covered, no? If they are I would say it's a great use. It tends to twist up a bit but for corrals it should be fine. It's great to work with.

 

[elliott]

Thanks for the input. The corrals will be outside. My cattle aren't fortunate enough to get sorted or processed under a roof. I also thought about using it for buck-n-rail fence. If you aren't familiar with that, the posts don't go into the ground. Two posts are bolted together to form an "X"; the toprail sits in the center while the side rails are nailed along one of the legs. Again, some guys say "don't use aspen", but they don't give a difinitive reason why not to use it. Maybe I'll find out.

 

[redprospector]

Aspen will rot quicker than other wood you would have available, but you're probably going to have to replace anything pretty regularly. My uncle built a log house out of aspen, everyone said don't do it. That was in 1975, and the house is still in good shape today.
If the truth were known, some of the so called "white wood" studs that are sold in the lumber yards are aspen.

Andy

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I've sawn quite a bit of aspen and it saws very easy on my band mill, in fact it's one of my favorite woods to saw.

Around here it rots too fast to use near the ground so i only use it where it won't be near the ground and will be covered.

It's not as strong as some woods, so when i use it for rafters ect... i over build with it a bit..

Rob