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| Home Painting Skills and Basics Paperhanging Home Decorating Interior Decorating Wood Identification |
PoplarA large number of species and cultivated varieties occurring in many temperate countries, and often extensively  planted, produce poplar. Their woods are similar though sometimes known by a distinctive name, e.g., aspen. In North America the timber is known as cottonwood. Poplars are medium-sized to large trees, some reaching 30m in height; often of vigorous growth they are among the most productive temperate hardwoods.Poplar is white, sometimes with a pink or brown tint; it is generally straight-grained, with a fine, even texture. It is light in weight, comparable to spruce, but aspen may be firmer and heavier. Poplar dries readily and is moderately stable in use. Though not strong, it is tough for its weight and does not easily split or splinter. It saws and works easily, but with a tendency to a woolly surface, and tools must be kept sharp. It peels to give a good veneer. It is rapidly attacked in conditions favouring decay. Poplar is an important commercial timber. It is used as sawn wood for joinery and light structural work, for flooring, for boxes and crates and for many small domestic articles, such as wooden shoes and kitchen utensils. Poplar veneer is used for fruit baskets and to make a general purpose plywood; and for matches, which are cut from veneer, aspen is the timber most commonly used. Poplar is an important pulp wood, especially in America, and is used for wood wool and a board product made of fairly large, thin flakes. Extract from 'The International book of WOOD' curtesy Michael Beazley Publishers Limited 1979. |
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