Hi Richard,

You elude to poplar not being a very good firewood and this made me recall that the English company Bryant and May used poplar wood to make matches for fire and cigarette lighting. One of the reasons for choosing this wood apparently was that it did not flare up and burn quickly instead it burned in a more slow and controlled fashion hence maybe poplar might be a good choice of wood where rapid onset of a fire is to be avoided e.g. in a flour or gunpowder (charcoal) mill.

Regards

Ken Hume

Hello everyone tonight:

You know the old saying "A place for everything and everything has its place:

Ken: a question please---


I am puzzled where poplar came into the picture in flour mills, I am quite familiar with early flour mills and I really cannot remember any poplar being used in their construction and or bearings which were the main source of fire

NH

Hi Richard,

I said "maybe" and from your own observations then this suggestion does not seem to stack up with known facts in your region.

I have stablished that The old water powered flour mill at East Hagbourne in Oxfordshire, UK does contain black poplar beams.

Regards

Ken Hume

Hi Ken and others:

For sure I overlooked "maybe" that does make quite a difference sorry about that, and really I am sure that poplar timbers of some varieties probably were quite strong in their supporting characteristics. The wood does get quite hard as it cures this no doubt makes it strong in the process

regards

NH

Locally I haven't noticed poplar used in old frames, hardly any hard woods, if at all.

I have used it, my mill building has two post of poplar. As I recall the wood worked fine, nice actually, not many knots to contend with. I have seen no problems after 10ish years with twist etc. I would for sure use it again if the opertunity arises.

I do not know the exact populas group in which it belongs. I do know we have at least three different types and maybe more if one looked closer. Some bud at different times of the spring season, another is found around abandond farm steads along with the apple trees, lilacs and old stone cellar holes.

I burn it for firewood after I have cleared the weed from my blueberry field edges. I am not selective when it comes to firewood.

Tim

I've used some poplar, in particular I sawmilled approx 20 poplar timbers for a building that did not get built. These timbers were 10x12x25. The timbers got some joinery cut, then sat indoors for a year and now they are back at my yard for sale. I would say that where the grain is good, the timber is good, and checking, twist and bowing all seem to be within reasonable limits. That being said I would definitely put poplar in the category with spruce, red pine, and other less stable timbers and suggest to anyone who uses it that they saw 20% extra so that the worst timbers can be culled and resawn into smaller pieces.