Using the mill

[TBark]

Started up the Norwood MN26 mill yesterday.
Tried it out on a 10’ x 14” pc of black poplar.
I got lucky, very nice grains in this pc.

No luck uploading pics, freezing up, I’ll try to post pics again in a bit.

TBark

[TBark]

See

[Twisted Canuck]

Very nice grain. I always found the problem with poplar was shrinkage. Will be curious how it dries. Beautiful piece of lumber though.

[Grizzly Adams]

Originally Posted by Twisted Canuck

Very nice grain. I always found the problem with poplar was shrinkage. Will be curious how it dries. Beautiful piece of lumber though.

High water content, but if you can dry it properly, nice lumber.

Grizz

[pikergolf]

Originally Posted by Grizzly Adams

High water content, but if you can dry it properly, nice lumber.

Grizz

Machines very nice.

[TBark]

A few more,

TBark

[TBark]

Planed a few pcs of white poplar thru my DeWalt 735 planer the other day.
These were milled last summer, dried fairly well.
Came out like glass, pretty happy with these.

TBark

[aardvaark]

Originally Posted by TBark

Planed a few pcs of white poplar thru my DeWalt 735 planer the other day.
These were milled last summer, dried fairly well.
Came out like glass, pretty happy with these.

TBark

That would make some nice shelving, stain it or oil it, something to hilite the natural colours!

[Grizzly Adams]

Originally Posted by aardvaark

That would make some nice shelving, stain it or oil it, something to hilite the natural colours!

I was thinking, some nice rustic, western style furniture.

Grizz

[TBark]

Having a bit of fun with the wood grains.
Figure I have a wolf’s eyes and a Canada goose on the same pc.
No? That’s ok, in the eye of the beholder.

TBark

[buckbrush]

Nice! Thanks for sharing.

I've always been a fan of poplar. Like stated, shrinkage is bad but if you can get past that it's great.

I never thought much about it until a neighbor "stole" a piece of firewood from my wood pile. He turned it into a goblet, sprayed it with lacquer then "felt bad for stealing" so he brought it back. The grain blew me away. That piece has been on my mantle for 10 years now.

[Phil McCracken]

When you first cut the wet bams, how did the blade handle it?

I know they will dull a chainsaw rather quickly. Just curious.

Finished wood looks fantastic!

PS: If you want to try your saw on a 38" plus pine burl, I have one for sale...hehe

[TBark]

First time trying this mill so still learning.
When to tighten, when to change the blade.

Yes, most wood is wet, got lucky with some dead standing or fallen / leaning off the ground.
Cuts per blade, still figuring that out, 70-80?, not counting skimming.
The first blade even when tightened wandered some and, or was a tough run.

Did some 15-16” widths, this mill can do 19-20” max.

TBark

[badbrass]

Originally Posted by TBark

Planed a few pcs of white poplar thru my DeWalt 735 planer the other day.
These were milled last summer, dried fairly well.
Came out like glass, pretty happy with these.

TBark

Nice!

[RandyBoBandy]

That goose one is AMAZING !!!

[Map Maker]

Yeah. That’s nice. I’m jealous.

Keep us posted on what you learn.
I assume drier wood would make the blades last longer?

[TBark]

Brought back this 3 yr old post.

Spent the weekend in the mill and happy with this black poplar.
Scored it in a ravine on our property, and was a bugger getting it out, ugh.

So far we got 3 logs at 11 ft, from 11 to 14 inch width.
Getting about five good boards from each piece, 1.5” to 2.25” thickness.

The picture of them stacked is the two smaller logs.
We are saving the bigger piece or maybe some thinner cuts like furniture grade cabinet faces or veneers.

Will run these first dozen boards thru the DeWalt DW735 planer that can manage up to 13.5” widths.

Pretty confident any type of finish like oil or varnish will bring the bright browns and orange back to the surface again after drying, when the brightness fades somewhat.

TBark

[Bigwoodsman]

Beautiful grain. Be nice to see it used in furniture and stained clear.

BW

[eagleflyfisher]

I really like the look of larger older poplar, some of the bigger timbers at my place have some purples in them.
I once did a baseboard job at a customers that we used some 5” tall base milled from poplar, nicest I’ve ever seen.

[esher]

I would of got a bandsaw mill but the cost of running blades is a mystery and I am not paying a grand for sharpening tools I don't know to use. Any advice welcome.

[TBark]

Didn’t want to start a new thread for this, but I think I scored something rather unique yesterday.

A large spruce fell on our fence line from the neighbours and he was a good enough fellow to let me salvage the tree so I’ve got a few pieces over at the mill for lumber and I got a couple nice slabs from the remaining stump down to the roots.

First or upper part of the stump is pretty cool, a teardrop / pear shape 8 inch thick and 22x30 inches across.
As it’s 8” thick I’ll probably put it on the mill and cut a couple of 4 inch slabs out of it.

Below that and I am now nearly chainsawing at soil level, I found something pretty cool and not even knowing what it would look like until I finished the cut and flipped it over or stood it up.

Maybe it’s just me but I see a cow elk.
And it is a pretty good size slab itself at 45 inches tall 32 across at the base and even the elk head is 20 inches back to nose.

I know it’s all in the eye of the beholder, ha.
If I can fit this slab onto the mill I will get a true flat cut made in consider making a table out of it.

TBark

[urban rednek]

Nice find! Had to look a few times before the cow elk appeared. It's obvious once the image clicks into place.
It could be a shadow, or the texture of the cut, but can you see the image of the wolf face in the second and the last photos? (IMG_0417 & IMG_0423) It's centred on the elk's chest, with the nose pointing straight down.

[Rancid Crabtree]

Originally Posted by Twisted Canuck

Very nice grain. I always found the problem with poplar was shrinkage. Will be curious how it dries. Beautiful piece of lumber though.

It’s a issue for sure.

I take the green logs to the mill and square them off. So 10x10 or whatever the log allows. Then stack them to dry for a year in a building away from sun to slow the drying.
After a year when I saw and plane there is much less warping and shrinking.

Poplar is beautiful wood.

[TBark]

I see it now, ha.

TBark

[Reeves1]

I have a bunch of wierd trees I got years ago. Never going to use them. Plus I have a tree line of Poplar you are welcome to.
The wierd trees have all kinds of bends etc & are Spruce. Already peeled. Most done with a power washer.
In Westlock.

[treeroot]

What's poplar used for? It seems too soft to make furniture, hold nails/screws etc..

Is there advantages or uses for poplar over spruce ?

I have always skipped poplar for milling, but that grain looks very good..

[Grizzly Adams1]

Originally Posted by treeroot

What's poplar used for? It seems too soft to make furniture, hold nails/screws etc..

Is there advantages or uses for poplar over spruce ?

I have always skipped poplar for milling, but that grain looks very good..

Properly seasoned poplar is top notch lumber, I've got a round pen done with poplar, 30 years old and still up. Years ago I saw a high grade wooden entrance door, 4000. at the time, a vastly under rated lumber .

[treeroot]

Originally Posted by Grizzly Adams1

Properly seasoned poplar is top notch lumber, I've got a round pen done with poplar, 30 years old and still up. Years ago I saw a high grade wooden entrance door, 4000. at the time, a vastly under rated lumber .

I'll have to give it a try..

Any poplar? Or specific species like black?