George: I work with poplar on a regular basis at my job and find it interesting because of the wide range of color. What we get ranges from pink to brown to yellow to green but is mostly creamy white. A co-worker tried to tell me you could get these colors by leaving the piece out in the weather. My experience and intuition make me doubt this. Have you any knowledge of this? I'm thinking that a very striking boat could result if a guy could come up with a lot of one of the rarer colors. Thanks, Tom

: Close John, the wood is poplar, or as the locals call it "pop'l."
: the genus has the "u" (populus). These are fast growing
: hardwoods of the willow family which includes aspens and cottonwoods. In
: my area they and the white birch are the pioneer trees. In forty years
: they can reach a height of sixty feet and a girth of 30-36 inches. As they
: reach this age they face increasing competition from the other species
: their shade has protected. In an effort to get enough sun they get top
: heavy and snap off at the crown or wind throw.

: In my woods I harvest them at this point. I often get 10-20' straight boles
: which produce a good percentage of clear wood. I've got about 3000 bdft.
: in downed trees to get out and mill before the ground thaws. The wood
: dries light weight and easy to work. As you indicate it can have a
: greenish tinge, but is mainly white with out much grain. Once seasoned
: it's considered pretty stable and was often used for the hidden parts of
: case goods and as core for veneer. It takes a stain or paint finish and
: glues well. Because the price is right I often use it any place I would
: use white pine. It has about the same rot resistance as the pine, which is
: to say low.

: I'm considering building a stripper with it because of its availability,
: weight and workability. I'm playing with ideas involving aniline stains
: and inlays.

: There are a lot of these independent mills off the beaten track. I went by
: one in Tannersville, NY, Wednesday. Gotta get back an check out their
: stock.