QUARTERSAWN POPLAR Lumber | POPLAR WOOD | 4/4 8/4

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        4/4 poplar rift quartered hardwood lumber with medullary rays for model making
        Hardwood Lumber, Poplar with medullary rays.

        Quarter Sawn Poplar Lumber

        Quartersawn Poplar wood is rare, despite poplar being a common domestic lumber.  Rather, plain-sawn or flat sawn poplar wood is inexpensive and easy to find.
         
        Typically, poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) sawn in plain-sawn grain orientation.  Traditionally, quarter-sawing poplar adds significant processing costs without adding significant value to the wood.
         
        However, Quarter Sawn Poplar wood presents a pleasing uniform appearance where symmetry is desired. Additionally, poplar is increasingly used as a low-cost maple substitute in architectural millwork applications and cabinetry.
         
        Roasting Poplar wood also makes it significantly more stable.  Check out our thermally treated poplar page here.
         

        Quartersawn Poplar Wood Cost

        Plain-sawn maple costs approximately 100% more than plain-sawn poplar, as of Summer 2020. Additionally, Quarter-sawn Maple costs approximately 100% more than plain sawn maple. Accordingly, rift/quartered poplar wood yields exponential savings over rift/quartered maple.
         
          
         
        Quartersawn 4/4 Poplar Lumber
        Quarter Sawn 4/4 Poplar wood.

         

         

        Technical Information

        • Scientific name: Liriodendron tulipifera
        • Alternative Names:  Yellow Poplar, American Tulipwood, White Poplar  
        • Region of Origin: North  America (primarily East Coast) 
        • Average Dried Weight: 30 LB/cubic foot
        • Janka Hardness Rating: 545
        • Specific Gravity: .47
        • IUCN Red List: No
        • CITES wood: No

        What is Quartersawn Wood? 

        Quarter sawn lumber is wood sawn at the sawmill using a quarter-sawing process.  Consequently, each log is sawn at an angle into four quarters. Accordingly, the grain-lines on the lumber face appear mostly vertical & uniform. Additionally, medullary rays appear on certain areas of the lumber face.

        What is poplar wood good for? 

         

        Poplar uses include construction plywood, construction grade lumber and custom millwork. Additionally, Poplar paints, finishes and glues well. Thus, it’s frequently found in woodworking projects, cabinetry and drawer-side applications. Most woodworkers agree that poplar lumber machines significantly better than pine.

        A stable and inexpensive wood, poplar lumber is not often used in fine furniture. The reason is its typically bland appearance. Often, poplar wood colors run from pale white to greenish brown.  Two notable exceptions are paint grade furniture (or painted poplar drawer-sides) and rainbow poplar slabs.

        Rainbow Poplar

         

        Rainbow Poplar refers to the wood’s appearance rather than its specie  (similar to birdseye maple and quilt maple). Rainbow describes the bright and contrasting white, brown, green and black colors. These colors are featured, rather than hidden or painted over. 

        Poplar is ideal for timber framing. All of the 30 species of tulip Poplar are strong and stable enough to make structurally sound timber framing.  It is officially a hardwood. (angiosperm). However, it is a low density hardwood. Thus, it machines well and is easy on knives and tooling. 

        Why Use Quarter Sawn Poplar?

        We use rift/quarter sawn Poplar for stability purposes.  Using it creates strong stable poplar wood products. These rails and moldings are superior to plain-sawn or flat-grain poplar construction.
         
        In fact, our quartersawn poplar mouldings are so stable that the cost of quartersawing poplar is mostly offset by yield.
         
        Quarter Sawn lumber is produced when the log is cut into four quarters (hence the name), then each quarter is flat-sawn.  The growth rings are generally 60-90 degrees to the face of the board, resulting in a more linear grain pattern without the “cathedral” effect.  In Red Oak and White Oak, this cut also shows a flecking or ray in the grain.  Since this type of cut involves more labor and produces more waste, the cost is higher than plain sawn lumber.  Due to the position of the growth rings in the cut, Quarter Sawn lumber is more dimensionally stable than Plain Sawn.  It resists expansion and contraction on plank’s width.
         

        Poplar Handrail | Poplar Mouldings 

        Generally speaking, poplar reacts to changes in acclimation through movement. It rarely splits or crack but it does move when adjusting to atmospheric changes in heat or humidity. 
         
        Thus, poplar is more likely to warp under changing weather conditions than maple or birch. 
         
        Despite this, poplar wood is a hardwood alternative to pine. In 2020, many long length mouldings and handrail are made from poplar construction. Additionally, quartersawn poplar provides additional stability.
         

        Is Poplar More Stable than Pine?

        Poplar is more stable and durable than pine. Despite the low cost of pine, it is a softwood that lacks the durability and dent resistance of poplar. 
         
        Additionally, pine lumber is dried to a higher moisture content than poplar. Since it is primarily considered a construction wood, the moisture tolerance is higher than hardwood lumber.