# Fresh poplar



## Stick (Aug 23, 2007)

My father owns 80 acres of woods in western PA and dropped three giant poplar trees a few weeks ago. Does anyone think it would make a good work bench? I've never used it. Always thought it too brittle...


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## CasinoDuck (Jun 15, 2011)

I've worked with poplar. It's somewhat soft. But, it is harder than pine. It cuts and dresses great.


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

I'm guessing it would take some time to be milled and then dried. How much are you in a hurry for this bench?


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## Stick (Aug 23, 2007)

Dominick said:


> I'm guessing it would take some time to be milled and then dried. How much are you in a hurry for this bench?


Not in any hurry. I've got a 2X6 pine catch all bench and the Harbor Freight woodworkers special in my garage already. I was thinking of building a more serious and substantial bench to replace the HF one day. Would the free wood be worth it for that purpose? I mean it is free, but the point would to replace junk with an upgrade, not more junk.


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## Dominick (May 2, 2011)

FREE is FREE. You could use whatever you want. If that's what your offered, then go for it.


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## Horatio (Apr 4, 2012)

Even if you don't end up building a bench, its good free wood for use in a million other projects.


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## Stick (Aug 23, 2007)

Horatio said:


> Even if you don't end up building a bench, its good free wood for use in a million other projects.


True! Might try my hand at free hand cutting it into slabs this weekend. Heck, if I fail miserably with the chainsaw, it'll still burn in his fireplace.


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## MidGAOutdoor (Apr 7, 2011)

round here i belive the guy that does my milling sells it for $1.50/bf


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## Stick (Aug 23, 2007)

My old man has 80 acres of mostly forest. He's got trees/logs literally rotting on the ground. He dropped these three huge poplar trees just to improve his HD satellite signal. I just hate to see them lay there and rot away too.


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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

Poplar would actually make for a pretty nice bench in my opinion. Try to mill it thick, 3-4" thick. You'll need it to be a bit thicker than harder hard woods to add the needed weight.


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## Stick (Aug 23, 2007)

firemedic said:


> Poplar would actually make for a pretty nice bench in my opinion. Try to mill it thick, 3-4" thick. You'll need it to be a bit thicker than harder hard woods to add the needed weight.


I was thinking that. In order to end up with 3 1/2 or 4 inch lumber, I'll try to mill it at 5 to 6 inch rough slabs.


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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

Stick said:


> I was thinking that. In order to end up with 3 1/2 or 4 inch lumber, I'll try to mill it at 5 to 6 inch rough slabs.


That's a bit overkill, I think. Poplar dries pretty flat however I've never dried 5", lol.

Are you having it kiln dried?


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## Stick (Aug 23, 2007)

firemedic said:


> That's a bit overkill, I think. Poplar dries pretty flat however I've never dried 5", lol.
> 
> Are you having it kiln dried?


No, just gonna stack it in my garage and come back to it in a few years.


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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

Stick said:


> No, just gonna stack it in my garage and come back to it in a few years.


If you are not familiar with Roy Underhill I suggest you go to the PBS site and check out the two episodes on the Roubo Bench. That might give you some good ideas on what size lumber you'll want 10 yrs from now :smile:


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## JBSmall (Jul 6, 2012)

Poplar would make an acceptable bench-top. You might consider having thick planks cut right across the centers and count on ripping the pith out and gluing the radial halves. This will give you the most stable top. If you use an off-center, plain-sawn plank, it will dry with a considerable cup, as you suggest, and, after you've planed it flat, will not stay that way, especially in this brutal humidity.


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## JBSmall (Jul 6, 2012)

Stick said:


> No, just gonna stack it in my garage and come back to it in a few years.


Air-drying most lumber goes best if it starts outside, well-stickered and stacked open to the air, covered only on top with sheet-metal roofing, for two years, then I season it in the well-vented, and hot-in-summer loft of my shop for a third year. Even your 5" planks would be ready for use after that. 
Probably stacking them in your garage would be ok, too, if they were stickered about an inch apart, and you give it enough time.


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