All About Poplar: What’s it good for??

[@jodyfannin5496]

Thanks!

[@sfh294]

The world needs more women like you. 💪🤝

[@HaggisMuncher-69-420]

Why don't you be that kind of woman?

[@WOODWORKVEGAN]

@@HaggisMuncher-69-420 Why do u assume she isn’t that kind of a woman.

[@Onionbaron]

The world need more women, period! But not less of us males, but an equal mix. It's not about gender at all, it's about personality. And especially about our perception of others...

[@xploration1437]

Crazy?

[@zoolkhan]

... who have their hairs out on a lumberyard- where normal people would were pte and tuck the hairs in? , just so people click more ?

[@Lau-zon180]

I worked in a mill for 37 years and we ran 100 of thousands lin.feet of popular into moldings, casing, baseboards,crown moldings , paneling, d4s etc.

[@rickgilbrt]

I just bought poplar base cap, and had to order it from New York. I'm in WA. Needed to match existing base cap, and the big box stores and local yards only had a simpler profile than my existing moulding. Poplar is easy to work with, and it will be painted, so no stain match required.

[@carefulcarpenter]

​​@@rickgilbrt Poplar is tight grained so it paints well. I made China hutch doors in 2000 that were not used because the customer changed the cabinet dimensions. These were unfinished and now aged. I am using them now and have absolutely no interest in a finish on them. I also have plenty of white oak and walnut. 😊 People lack artistic vision, so they paint poplar. That is how interior designers see wood--- to be altered.

[@rickgilbrt]

@@carefulcarpenter @carefulcarpenter Yes, it does. And since I'm trying to match an existing installation, that's a good thing. I'm neither a cabinet maker nor finish carpenter, but long ago, I needed an 8ft stair-nose to edge the step-down from a sleep-nook in a dormer in our home. The flooring in the nook was just light maple laminate, but I wanted the edge to look good and be solid. I found a maple board and machined nosing with a hand-held router to fit over the edge of the step, have enough "flat" to secure to the subfloor, and then enough back relief to just float over the edge of the laminate. Stained and sealed to match the flooring. Nothing fancy about the grain, but it was a fun problem to solve. That was four homes ago. The poplar I just bought was ridiculously expensive, but I don't have a shaper or router table and wasn't ready to try to make 60 ft of base cap with hand-held power tools.

[@carefulcarpenter]

@@rickgilbrt I understand the situation eith the box stores and box mentality. I own about 10 routers, and no longer have a shaper. I was a high-end designer/craftsman, so detail is highly valuable and much appreciated. I understand base cap is not a BIG deal, but zi know it matters to you. This is the beauty of living in such a rich natural wealth country. Trees everywhere! So many projects! If you were in Central California I would lend you one of my routers with bits. ☺

[@hamrite]

Little safety issue comment. If you get close to heavy machinery .... tie your hair properly so it never gets caught in a mechanical device. My knowledge of some horrible stories make me just a little worried about anybody getting hurt. Very interesting work on wood and its ways to being used. Keep the good work going !!!!

[@joecliffordson]

Hate to say your right and see less of that beautiful hair… but your right.

[@robinknudson3663]

And from a tool and die perspective... Never wear loose clothing or gloves near rotational tools, ever. Human skin will tear away. A glove caught in a lathe will rip your hand or arm off instantly. Never stand directly behind a saw. I had long hair as a teen (male) and always wore a hairnet as well.

[@billnordby3142]

Get a life she’s not working

[@calvinsmart3471]

Emerald,love the look and the phrase,made it in life, love it ....Cal in Calgary

[@anthonyricard7458]

Great information Emerald and excellent camera work! Keep the great info coming we enjoy it! Have wonderful evening! TTFN

[@paulgatenby6354]

At horticulture school we were taught that softwoods have cones and hardwoods have flowers, nothing to do with how hard the wood is. Love your channel.

[@jeffloveless6536]

I was always taught that hard would lost their leaves in the winter and soft woods didn't.

[@diogenesegarden5152]

Yes soft woods are generally classed as conifers or cone baring and have needles rather than leaves, notable exceptions being larches and dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostraboides) which lose their needles in winter. Hardwoods are generally broadleaved trees and apart from alder don’t have cones. Many hardwood species can retain their leaves in the winter such as laurels and holly, holm oak and the tropical hardwoods. Balsa is a tropical hardwood but has one of the softest, lightweight woods. Yew is considered a sorfwood, although it is incredibly tough. I had some lovely colourful poplar from my local golf club and have milled it with a chainsaw mill. It is also light weight and easy to carve spoons etc. with a nice finish. Poplar is quite fast grown in comparison to most hardwoods and was grown in the UK for the match industry until everyone started using cheap plastic lighters or gave up smoking. It was grown at wide spacing, quite often in agroforestry or silvopastoral systems prior to canopy closure, with the branches trimmed up the trunk to yield a clean and straight main stem. The wider spacing yields a broader girth in a shorter time period. Lime (Tilia spp.) is very popular with the carving fraternity for its even grain and ease of carving. It is classed as a hardwood as it is broadleaved and loses its leaves in winter. It is often referred to as bass wood.

[@billybragg6543]

FFA taught me that in 1975

[@Johnrider1234]

Its a hardwood.

[@sobeit1927]

Balsa is a hardwood

[@kevingthompson14]

Poplar makes spectacular cabinets. Especially with clear finish. Sweet gum also.

[@somenotherdude333]

My PawPaw would take me squirrel hunting and sometimes squirrels would be over 120' in the top of poplar trees and the 20guage shotgun wouldn't reach them so I would have to run to the house and get his 12guage lol.... We would always look for sweet gum because a lot of old folk would make toothbrushes or use them to dip snuff 😮

[@CecilTreadwell]

Needs to be cut dimensionally and dried to less than 9% moisture content. The face frame and drawer fronts are nicely done in Ash.

[@johndeggendorf7826]

Great video. 🙏 Lots of comments that imply some of us just aren’t very smart. How’s this…Deciduous = “Hardwood”. Coniferous = “Softwood”…Deciduous trees are the ones with “leaves”, Conifers have cones & usually needles. As to “hardness”, conifers are USUALLY softer, which is why we like them for pounding nails. (But that’s not a rule. Balsa is deciduous, for example, while southern yellow pine is a conifer.) It’s pretty simple. ✌️🍷🎩🎩🎩

[@JosephMullin]

Thank you for the education

[@maidstoneplantfarm8079]

73 years ago a group of horse owners started a club and needed a clubhouse. I was five years old at the time and loved watching my parents use mules to twitch poplar logs for a large log cabin. There were two skilled carpenters in the club and a lot of volunteer help so the cabin went up fast. The cabin was three feet off the ground and treated with creosote. To make a long story short, the cabin and riding club are still going strong in Cambridge, New York. I failed to mention that the poplar trees had blown down in a rare hurricane.

[@johnwhitehead3685]

I'm a huge fan of poplar! It's also called "tulip wood" and is a member of the magnolia family. My local lumber mill turned me on to poplar about three years ago. I was making a dozen 24"x30" frame and panel doors for a project that was designed to be painted, rather than stain/varnish. I was going to use soft maple but when I got to the lumber yard and told the sawyer what I was doing, he suggested poplar. Besides being about 2/3 the price of the maple it is perfect paint grade lumber, not much more expensive than white pine. The grain is so straight and it machines beautifully. Very few knots as well. The doors and subsequent projects I've use it for turned out amazing. I imagine you could stain/varnish as well, but I haven't tried it. Usually I use cherry, walnut, maple, or oak for projects like that.

[@chash7335]

Tulip poplar is the local name for the tree. Whether or not it's a true "poplar" isn't relevant. Tulip poplar is common in the area Lumber Capitol logs, so that's likely what they are cutting in the video.

[@David-fv7zg]

@@chash7335 Not true. M9 M4 was correct, I am local to this mill so I know the local lingo. If it is a "poplar" or not is relevant in this case because she is actually discussing the specifics of it. The uses of true poplar and tulip poplar are generally the same, but if you want to correct someone, you should at least know your facts.

[@chash7335]

@@David-fv7zg Nope. true poplar doesn't grow in the area. I did research before I posted. Try taking your own advice.

[@tspis]

This is definitely tulip poplar, and not true poplar - you can tell by the bark. True poplar has pretty smooth bark, superficially similar to that of a birch.

[@michaellovetere8033]

yes i made a few doors with this wood...it takes paint very well

[@normbarrows2]

Poplar is sometimes used for electric guitar bodies. Watching those slabs roll off I was thinking "look at all those guitar body blanks!" I have a couple of poplars growing on my property that are four feet in diameter at eye level above the ground - not sure if they're white or yellow poplar - yellow, I suspect.

[@tony-ps4qw]

Poplar is used quite a bit to make moldings like crown molding because it mills well and also has a good surface to paint with not a lot of knots, checks or voids. It is usually not a wood to stain due to the many color variations it has. It also sands easy and has a smooth surface

[@ascienceguy-5109]

Ditto. As a woodworker I love poplar because it is easy to work and it is stable. Plus the price. Usually I use it for "paint grade" projects, but some boards are fine for clear-coated furniture

[@sawmilldan]

It takes walnut stain well.

[@johnsonpaul1914]

I disagree about the staining. As a stainer and painter in a 20 year period I probably did 50 homes with stained poplar. As long as the color is dark and the stain is a heavy bodied wiping stain such as Zar it stains quite well. I did about 600 homes over a 20 year career and most of those 600 was both supplying and finishing the millwork package. I did not install.

[@marklambert4793]

I used it to build an entire new fireplace mantle. Painted it afterwards, and you couldn’t tell it from solid oak.

[@bobgardin2347]

We often used poplar in custom cabinet shops because it was light, strong, and fairly stable. It painted well, could be used for moldings, and for edging that would be laminated.

[@nickcasarez3531]

I totally love the educational side of your videos 👍👍👍🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

[@2010COpall]

The subject of poplar aside, the editing, soundtrack, the b-roll, the drone footage used in the intro; the production values of Lumber Capital Log Yard videos just keep getting better.

[@tedduke1699]

Emerald, the granary on my farm is sided with 175 to 150 yr old poplar siding. The barn is sided with 150 to 175 yr old poplar siding. Much of that has been replaced a couple of years ago. None of that was ever painted to our knowledge. Our house is sided with poplar siding and has held up reasonably well for over 30 years (it is stained). All of that poplar was cut here on the property. IF I WERE TO build a barn --- not happening-- I would use poplar.😀

[@2010COpall]

Let me start by admitting i know little to nothing about turning hardwood trees into lumber..... Would a poplar, or any other hardwood, that was harvested 150-200 years ago be of sterner stuff than trees harvested now? Trees back then grew undisturbed for decades/centuries while today's trees haven't been around that long given how much logging has been done in Pennsylvania. Does that make sense?

[@lawnmowerman4040]

Same here I have a barn from 1894 made from oak, cypress and poplar I used some of it to build my cabin. Old poplar looks brown and is beautiful I have a couple videos if you look for them, I also used gum inside and out, along with sassafras. Old growth is different from what we see today way stronger

[@ronin2963]

Would be nice to see some pictures of that

[@lawnmowerman4040]

@@ronin2963 Here’s a short video my phone has a crappy camera kzbin.info/www/bejne/hWHSgXWlbqZ3qNU

[@pulppeeler]

My garage was built from all aspen (poplar) from walls to homemade trusses to siding. Great wood but must be kept dry. Ppl said I couldn't use it, it wouldn't last. One of he main uses for it is PLYWOOD, so why not building lumber???

[@rexwoodall2179]

Emerald, an absolutely superb video! Great information and presence on your part. Your personality came racing through with your comment about “those who have made it.” Funny, informative, enjoyable and well prepared! You receive an A+!

[@burlseeker4680]

That look on Emerald's face at 4:42 was absolute GOLD!!! LOL!!!!!!! 😂😂😃

[@trucknut01]

good job'

[@johnvallandigham5467]

I'm pretty sure any tree that loses its leaves during the winter is a hard wood tree, typically known as deciduous trees. Soft wood trees keep their needles or leaves throughout the winter. Douglas fir is a softwood but is one of the stronger woods and is often used for construction purposes especially carrier beams and load bearing columns. Deciduous is the key word here.

[@mgbill793]

John Vallandigham you are correct

[@cdouglas1942]

thats my understanding too

[@jimmylowrey908]

Not really. Pine is a conifer and keeps its needles our bald cypress is a conifer and loses its needles. Both are soft wood. Our live oak tree is a very hard wood and does not lose its leaves. Here in Ms. poplar is very useful in moldings and siding. It's fast growing and more expensive than pine.

[@kensebring3683]

On hardwoods losing their leaves basswood is very soft and loses its leaves.

[@mgbill793]

@@kensebring3683 basswood is a hardwood

[@johndodson8464]

Beautiful.

[@gaiustacitus4242]

Emerald, you have a solid career ahead in social media promoting products and services beyond the family business. You've really grown over the past year as a presenter and the video editing is professional quality. Best wishes to you, Jade, and all of your family.

[@billybragg6543]

FFA taught me that in 1975.

[@thegreatone11]

Simpy mcsimperson

[@dunndee111]

You have a great sense of humor.

[@dennisdevore1648]

Emerald, you may not be "rich" in money, but you are certainly blessed with a wealth of knowledge, and other aspects that matter so much more. Money does not make you.

[@forkintherode8236]

I’ve always liked working with poplar. I would never thought of the picture frame application. Gotta love the responsible harvesting and replenishing of wood. A talented friend of mine was brought in as an expert witness in a lawsuit against a chair manufacturer claiming that the wood wasn’t harvested at it’s full strength. I never would have thought that.

[@carvingeden]

Love seeing more women taking the front and center in this field. More of this!

[@oleberg4196]

Congrats on breaking 80,000 subs!!! I think I started watching your channel at about 1500 or so. You have grown your channel faster than any other channel I can think of. Keep up the good work. I learn so much from you and your family.

[@ccole9080]

my father in law and his son made some nice small tables out of poplar years ago . They worked at a high end comercial furniture plant and could buy surplus wood at a steep discount , They still use the tables, 40+ years and still on good shape . The poplar has been very durable .

[@Snarkapotamus]

I re-trimmed all the woodwork in my house in Poplar. Got rid of all that nasty pine and plastic. Looks great! 4:35 to 4:45 is pretty funny!

[@michaelcrawford3997]

We use it for making trusses, which makes it very useful, indeed. Also in framing structures anywhere above the ground where it will stay dry.

[@erictownsend4236]

I live in NH, I am a retired 3rd Gen. Dairy farmer. We used Popular to make some trusses for a machinery shed. At all the joints, we used plywood to join the the truss piece's. We found that we had to construct the trusses when the popular was green, NOT dry! Green, a Pneumatic nail gun or nailing by hand was possible, dry, nails would bend over. Popular will also rot very easily if exposed to moisture, like a post contacting the ground. 40 yrs. later the popular trusses are as good as new!

[@WilliamFlint]

The "rainbow" poplar that she was describing and hoping for in the video is actually the southern Tulip or yellow poplar which is actually in the magnolia family (genus Liriodendron) and just called "poplar" because it looks similar and also has light/soft wood like the true northern poplars like aspen, cottonwood, etc, in the genus Populus. The tree she cut in the video was a true/northern poplar. Tulip poplars have bark that forms deeper and more interconnected ridges, the wood is much whiter, and then of course has the characteristic purple and green hues that she was referring to. Growing up in VA, I've cut LOTS of tulip poplar.

[@rosewoodsteel6656]

Yep! I have a lot of it on my property. When the trees come down, I split it into "early and late" season firewood. It burns hot and relatively fast, so I use it in the warmer winter days.

[@cweefy]

So refreshing to see young, intelligent and articulate people sharing valuable knowledge 👌

[@Xander-dx6mw]

Southern Yellow Pine is a softwood because of it's growth rate (a wide growth ring) and loose woodgrain fiber, yet it has a Janka rating of 860. Hardness (Janka rating) and the growth rate neither independently define a hardwood or a softwood. The Red maple grows at 2' per year (fast), yet has a tight woodgrain, heavy wood fiber, and subsequently has a hardness of 920-950, and it is the woodgrain/fiber that defines it as a hardwood. Douglas fir is a medium growth tree (1.5' per year), has a loose woodgrain fiber, and has a Janka hardness of 650, but is still a softwood. The thickness of the grain, and the durability of the grain fiber between the growth rings determine whether it is a hardwood or a softwood. Softwood typically is less used for furniture because of the tearout of the wood fiber.

[@Thundermuffin93]

These are some great facts and figures, but hardwood vs softwood is based on whether its deciduous or coniferous.

[@tchevrier]

trees are classified as hardwood or softwood based on the type of seeds they produce.

[@EuroYardService]

@@Thundermuffin93 👍

[@spekenbonen72]

@@Thundermuffin93 ...and nothing else. It's biological and not a grade...

[@jrb_sland5066]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_fir Wood from this species is preferred for its structural strength as lumber, preferred for constructing wooden-framed buildings. My 1944-vintage small house in the B.C. portion of the Okanagan Valley has milled [planed] 2"x10" floor joists cross-braced on 16" centres that simply don't bounce, supported on rough-sawn 6"x6" beams & posts of the same wood. Great timber ! The British Navy used entire Douglas fir trees as replacement masts for warships when refitting at their naval base Esquimalt {southern tip of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada} even before Canada became a nation.

[@peterasmussen2933]

Poplar is incredibly stable so good for doors, kitchen doors and the colour tends not to darken or yellow over time. I've made several kitchens with poplar years ago and they are still stable and light coloured.

[@robhertle4110]

Congratulations Em on your channel becoming more poplar. Well someone had to start off with the poplar jokes. Anyway, thanks for the education.

[@wayneweis653]

Better keep your day job for a while. Thank you!

[@flynnstone3580]

Great! Now we can have a Poplarity contest.

[@flynnstone3580]

@@wayneweis653 she gave us some Poplar Mechanics of the wood

[@lubub9088]

I'd like to add some idea on this topic. Many years back I have been working as a stairs builder. I remember ones I built stairs with wonderful green color tongues on steps - original customers idea was paint it as cheaper solution than using some another kind of wood - in that time price of material represented almost 50% of price the stair. After stair installation that customer changed his mind and he loved that unique appearance and decided keep that with clear finish paint protection.

[@GregFurtman]

I'm a woodworker and poplar is a very lightweight and dimensionally stable wood. It is great for making rails & stiles for large doors that are going to have an outer veneer. Great stuff.

[@brucephillips3871]

A customer recently had me disassemble a sideboard cabinet that was built by her great grandfather in the early 1900’s. There were beautiful poplar boards nearly 27 inches wide in the cabinet. I used the boards to build her a new hallway cabinet. She was thrilled to have a new piece from this old, tired, family cabinet. I was amazed at the width and stability of the old poplar boards. Keep up the good work!

[@tomruth9487]

I started using poplar maybe over 30 years ago mostly as a wood to be painted. It's was always very straight and kept it shape well. I still use popular today but I'm finding it's maybe not the quality that it used to be.

[@stevewhite8161]

Oh mercy, I love your facial expressions when explaining popular and building furniture. Love your video's and you ladies seem to be authentic.

[@gerrypowell2748]

Never thought at my age and worked as a joiner/carpenter would appreciate being educated by a beautiful intelligent young lady👌👌👌

[@chokkan7]

Poplar actually grows rapidly for a 'hardwood', achieves a very large size if allowed to mature; the lumber, as noted is smooth surfaced, takes stain and paint well, is fairly stable dimensionally, and holds screws very well. When I still built cabinets, I used poplar for the carcass interior, including the drawer rails, and it worked like a charm.

[@2ndborn186]

It is classified as a hardwood because it is deciduous. It looses its leaves in the fall. Has nothing to do with density or grain. She is wrong.

[@tylersmith9868]

@@2ndborn186 yessir

[@NoyAtkinson]

Really nice to hear someone talking about what they really know about. Remember the old chestnut (English comment about an old story) " I'm going to show you something that no one has every seen before, the inside of this log". Laughter.

[@dozer1642]

This could be your most poplar episode. 🥸

[@genem2768]

No You Didn't!

[@ruidadgmailcanada8508]

Yes they fid! 😂😂😂

[@gnome466]

Duuuuuuuuuuuude!!! That is sooo bad. I love it

[@michaellammert8084]

Are you a Dad? That was definitely a Dad joke!!!

[@WOODWORKVEGAN]

😂

[@TrapDoorWoodworks]

It's considered a hardwood because it come from a deciduous tree. A lot of older furniture was made from veneered poplar. All of those colors disappear pretty quickly to a dull, but it can look pretty amazing when first exposed! I used it a lot for painted cabinetry in my furniture company, and would mix and match it with soft maple.

[@jimbarron8688]

That's the criteria.

[@billybobwombat2231]

Hardwood classification is broad leaf, not deciduous, all those that aren't conifers

[@TrapDoorWoodworks]

@@billybobwombat2231 That's incorrect. The classification is deciduous, of which most are broad leaved.

[@billybobwombat2231]

@@TrapDoorWoodworks well none of our 660 species of eucalypts are deciduous and they're all hardwood, two possibly three of of 1000s of other non eucalypts species that are hardwood are deciduous, your definition is wrong, you may need to get a passport and broaden your dendology a bit. Hardwood is any tree isn't a conifer, those that aren't cone bearing.

[@TrapDoorWoodworks]

@@billybobwombat2231 Hardwood and softwood designations came about in America to describe deciduous and coniferous trees. Although most people think of it as evergreen or non evergreen, it is actually based on cones or seeds. If it has cones it is coniferous, and if it has seeds it is deciduous. Eucalypts have seeds so that would make them deciduous. They would fall into the "deciduous evergreen" category.

[@davehahn8767]

Great video....poplar is nice to work, and very pretty when finished.

[@johnmcdonald323]

Poplar is a great wood and you can use it for a lot of things. I use it for custom door jambs, door stop, and crown mold. But it can also be used to make cabinet doors and drawer fronts, and also face frame for cabinets. Most of the time this Poplar gets painted, but it can actually be stained as well.

[@wessteinbrecker1508]

Where I am from in Canada, it is used on trailer decks where Caterpillars are transported. When run over by the tracks it does not break up like other woods and the divots springs back. Making the decks last longer by not having to replaced as often

[@IAM...1111...]

Emerald I was thinking of retiring the employee of the week nomination cause I'm not sure if the winner's have been compensated, however you eye roll with the comment about those ridh people that somehow made it in life had me pn my panties. For this reason you're earned my nomination for Monday (as well as a very informative message). Thank You 💚

[@lenwiener2961]

Hardwood reference is to deciduous trees that shed their leaves in the fall season. Yes, slower growth and tighter growth rings.

[@cliffclark6441]

At least some one knows the difference in soft wood and hard wood. But poplar grows faster than any pine tree.

[@FlipandTheBlueMule]

They use Poplar to cleanse contaminanta from the soil as well. It draws a LOT of toxins out of the soil. That is why it is not a good wood to burn... as burning it would put the toxins back out into the atmosphere. I like poplar as flooring in my old farm house... looks great , a little softer, and quieter. Great channel Emerald

[@Godwinpounds4333]

Hello how are you doing?

[@jimparker7778]

It is a soft straight grained wood that can be used almost interchangeably with pine. I like it because it's very forgiving.

[@gil9417]

It was great to hear the hydraulics at work moving the log around on the LT40. Maybe include some more sounds like the Grapple or the Splitter...loving the content!

[@andrewdelaney2410]

Do you think you have a lot in common with Laura Farms? Caz gear is a great decision. You are doing great as is. Just a thought to reach out since your channels are similar. If not, disregard my comment as I am just trying to help.

[@robertcornelius3514]

Seasoned woodturner here, and I enjoy using poplar for coffee scoops. It is durable enough to last for years.

[@daveclemmer4536]

Love your videos! I like poplar a lot as a hand tool woodworker for its general utility and ease of working with. I use it often for furniture internals such as sides and backs of drawers, internal framing and shelving. It's my go to wood for utility odds and ends such as storage boxes, bench hooks, and other paint grade projects.

[@btrent9244]

Thanks for explaining the scale for determining where the wood falls in terms of hardness. Educational 👍.

[@jacquesmertens3369]

Nearly 100K subscribers. This channel is becoming very poplar. Keep up the good work!

[@tuberzish]

Yeah, I see what you did there ... ha ha!😀

[@POPNDOUGH]

That's a good pun. How hard wood it be to come up with another?

[@manleyhall5368]

The things you said were very interesting about poplar. I have discovered that it works well for making wall hung key chain holders. I made one for my surgeon which had a base of poplar, a sail boat of mahogany , two hearts of redwood had her name on one and her husband's on the other. The sail was also poplar because it was so light in color that it appeared as white. Poplar is easy to saw, easy to sand. And holds together well as it did when I cut the small pieces on the key chain holder for my urologist. The base is poplar, the baseball is also from poplar, however, the miniature baseball bat is oak. The borders of the plaques have routed edges because poplar cuts so smoothly and resists splintering when cut y a router. My doctors really like their key chain holder plaques. This is probably more info than you would ever want. I immensely appreciate your videos. You have an interesting and entertaining family. Thank you for allowing us to peer into your lives.

[@JohnSmith-ki2eq]

It is indeed good for carving and one of my electric guitars has a poplar body, and it plays real nice.

[@andrewhanson5942]

I sold a bunch of Poplar a couple of years ago and the buyer said it was going to be used to build caskets. Nice fine grain and doesn't have to last too long!

[@tennesseetexan1957]

Emerald, you forgot to mention the wonderful by product of poplar, the bark. During certain times of the year when a green poplar tree is felled, the thick bark will easily peel off in one big piece. This bark is used to make bark siding and is extremely beautiful and durable. Also, many settlers like to use poplar trees for building cabins because they grow so big & straight and the wood is easy to work. While you mentioned that the poplar tree grows slower than pine, that may be true, but it actually grows pretty darn fast compared to other hardwoods like oak, maple, and walnut. I’ve seen a poplar grow 5-10 ft a year. Walnut, maple & oak, while they can grow very fast too, they tend to branch out more and not as straight.

[@ACF6180T]

You are quite right ! They grow like weeds where I live northern VA. I can't stand them ! But I do like the flowers on them , & so do the bees it makes for great honey , & the deer love them to ! & the seeds they drop during late fall are quite annoying , & stick to the souls of your shoes ! But when you cut the wood they do have some nice colors, & they make for some nice kindling.

[@hueco5002]

I’m a beginner woodworker and love poplar. I made my first bar table from strips of 1x2 poplar and love to use it to practice turning something before committing to a final piece in maple or oak.

[@paulrambone6705]

Poplar makes good molding wood.

[@jeffkokosinski1784]

Great molding my friend

[@thomasschafer7268]

Good for nothing. Only for matches.

[@daddylee4216]

IDK if it's a hard wood or not but it's pretty poplar

[@stevedufresne772]

So true. 1×3×16 is straight and clean. Easy to work with a router, holds stain well and never warps.

[@Threefoldawareness]

Yes sir primed and painted

[@GeorgeKiefer-n9l]

Great show After working with wood for about 5o years all hard woods com from deciduous trees so you will know the difference. Even tho you may not believe me that balsa wood is considered a hard wood Love to see two young women working at the family business Keep up the hard work

[@adrianalanbennett]

Poplar is one of the woods we used in our civil engineering mechanics of materials lab.

[@Slabforkhomestead]

We moved to our homestead in 2018 and have been cutting poplar on our mill ever since. It was used long ago in construction because it was what they had and when kept dry it is surprisingly durable. I took a gamble and used it for shelter and barn rafters and siding. It is holding up extremely well even without any preservative. It definitely deserves a chance in far more than trim and picture frames.

[@MissouriOldTimer]

4:40 lol. that somehow made it in life.. cool expression,,,lol they probably got it the old fashioned way,,,,, inherited it.. lol

[@beanoldboy]

We used poplar in our shop for all paint-grade kitchen cabinet frames. Generally our frames were 5/4” thick with 5/4” inlay doors. They were quite expensive as we also used Cherry, maple and mahogany. The poplar was quite easy to sand and spray. It performed very well.

[@jamesoncross7494]

Great video. We used to use it for trim inside the houses we built. It was a littler harder to work with, but was more durable than pine for sure. We made built-ins with it as well.

[@jsimon2110]

Great video, yes if it loses its leaves it is a hardwood but not necessarily hard or dense, I see a few youtubers misuse 'hardwood'

[@johncrowley1203]

The definition of hardwoods and softwoods is not about the hardness or softness of their lumber: hardwoods come from deciduous trees, and softwoods come from coniferous trees. So, balsa wood is classified as a hardwood. But what then is a redwood tree? Redwoods (sequoias) are so old phylogenetically, that they predate the evolutionary differentiation between coniferous and deciduous! (They're usually referred to as softwoods when sold as lumber).

[@michaellammert8084]

Bald cypress is a softwood and is deciduous

[@Tipi_Dan]

Yes, but redwood wood is very soft.

[@Tipi_Dan]

@@michaellammert8084 Yes. And so too is larch. There are hard softwoods and soft hardwoods. Crazy, huh? Chalk it up to the English language.

[@bluglass7819]

I love that a couple of the very hardest woods are soft woods.

[@richardbarber4444]

Late commenter here. Because of availability, I have used Bambagilia Poplar for barn floor and beam replacement with great success. It was easy to work when 'green' but very hard as it dried. Love the video.

[@burlseeker4680]

Poplar can also be stained using an antique oil finish, to replicate Cherry Lumber. It is great for making the interior of drawers and the inside framework of furniture.

[@Ematched]

Yeah, a lot of the store-bought furniture I have is poplar framed. Upholatered couches and chairs often use poplar.

[@Fantasticjay420]

ive been trying to build plaques as a begginer and i have poplar that ive made up into plaques didjnt know really how to stain the poplar it was scaring me since its exspensive for me anyways so thanks alot

[@brianfoley4328]

Nice video, great information, easy to follow and it's straight forward. Well done. Thanks for making it available.

[@jacobwilliams5271]

I wish the deep south had a fall season. It's all heat and humidity, 2 weeks of the trees dying, then it is winter.

[@drac229]

We used to run oak most of the week. Hands would be stained by the red oak. Last couple of hours of the day on Friday the sawyer would run poplar. It would take the stain off.

[@viper-oy8dl]

Wow, very informative. I thought Poplar was considered a harder wood. Can't wait for a vid on the Janka scale. Another great vid Emerald and always good to see the other half of the dynamic duo, Jade.

[@2ndborn186]

It is classified as a hardwood because it is deciduous. It looses its leaves in the fall. Has nothing to do with density or grain. She is wrong.

[@addrock7695]

It’s considered junk here in NZ. On par with willow..

[@olddammike]

@@addrock7695 willow makes the best gunpowder....

[@lazaruslazuli6130]

Balsa is also a hardwood, which are defined as deciduous angiosperms (oak, cherry, hickory, walnut, mulberry, apple, chestnut, elm, ash), whereas conifers (pine, fir, hemlock, spruce, cedar, cypress) are considered softwoods. (Edit) Poplar is also used as a base wood for furniture, and veneered with walnut, cherry, or oak to make a more valuable piece of furniture. Basswood and beech are also used as secondary woods, generally where they won't be seen, such as drawer bottoms or sides.

[@gregreeser8823]

So funny starting at 4:40

[@burlseeker4680]

That was funny !!! LOL !!😀

[@rdperrin5854]

Worked in the lumber industry for years. It is a hardwood because it is a deciduous tree not a conifer tree. It is very good for Mouldings that get painted.

[@dunndee111]

Hello ladies

[@Treeslinger81]

Poplar is a hardwood and when it's fresh n green it's soft. Most of the trim you buy at big box stores are made of Poplar now. Also Poplar is a very good choice for bending applications. I'm currently rebuilding a staircase that has bent wood at the landings. The only wood to withstand the process has been Poplar.

[@timothybaker8234]

Believe it or not, Balsa is technically a hardwood.

[@flynnstone3580]

Bamboo is a hardwood.

[@ruidadgmailcanada8508]

@@flynnstone3580it’s a grass.

[@OOTurok]

Wrong. Botanically... Balsa is classified as a Softwood Angiosperm. Hardwood vs Softwood is determined by the Janka Scale... NOT unrelated characteristics such as evergreen vs deciduous or cone vs flower.

[@stanmustard7292]

I think bamboo is actually a type of grass.​@@flynnstone3580

[@fredaewalker2665]

I planted 10 acres(3500) popplar 30yrs ago and yes it grows FAST I have a real wood in no time. I slabbed some and built some small observing cabins with it. It also burns well as logs.

[@inkydoug]

Ok! I have 3 huge poplars that blew down on my vacation property and have been thinking about chainsaw milling them. I just subscribed this morning and up pops this!

[@panagea2007]

I love poplar. It's stable and cuts cleanly. I use it mainly for kitchen drawers and bookcases.

[@stevemcentyre1570]

There are two types of poplar. There is a northern poplar which may be what you are dealing with and in the south we have Tulip poplar. It was used by the Indians as dugout canoes. They machined it with fire (coals and scraping with stone tools) All the conifers are quite resinous. Poplar not so much. It is a fast growing wood. You can get a 24 inch diameter log in less than 20 years. It also is used tor wooden utensils that won't scratch the seasoning off of your nice cast iron skillets.

[@trevorlambert4226]

There are three types of true poplar: white poplar (populus alba), black poplar (populus nigra), and balsam poplar (populus balsamifera). Of these, only the latter grows natively in North America, in the Nothern US and Canada. It's unlikely she's talking about this type, since it is much softer, around 300lbf Janka. Even where it's native, I can't see any evidence that it's used commercially as lumber. All the poplar lumber I've seen in Canada is tulip wood.

[@olddammike]

There is a bit of confusion in the nomenclature, as the common 'Poplar' lumber is from Tulip Poplar, which is not actually a Poplar. It is missnamed.

[@BeckyEwing]

Very interesting ❤thanks

[@AR15231]

I never knew, how good you looked in those jeans till now.

[@deannonya6596]

Stop simping. It's getting embarrassing.

[@ProTobagganist]

I worked at a custom wood-turning shop in the early oughts. We used to get orders for popular spindles from a home building company, they'd drop off the blanks, we thought it was crazy but never had a problem 'cranking' out any of them for stair cases. I remember I always thought it strange they never ordered knell posts for stair cases.

[@rickchambers2132]

You may want to explain what determines what makes a tree hardwood or softwood. A wood will be classified as a hardwood if the seeds that the tree produces have a coating. These coatings can either take the shape of a fruit or a shell. A wood will be classified as a softwood if the seeds don't have any type of coating and are instead dropped to the ground and left to the elements.

[@dozer1642]

Rick, I believe the actual difference between the two is in the cellular makeup of the wood. Generally speaking a Hardwood is an angiosperm, or a flowering plant that loses its leaves and softwood is a gymnosperm that usually retain their needles. I think the seeds are a part of the differences, but not the defining factor.

[@guermeisterdoodlebug7980]

You are each partially correct and partially wrong. However, I think the bigger point is that Emerald should refrain from using what she knows from working on a log yard or doing a little quickie Internet research and teaching technical aspects of trees and wood technology. I greatly admire Em and her efforts in these videos, but to use a popular term of the day she is spreading “disinformation” in a few instances.

[@chrisgullett4332]

The terms hardwood and softwood has zero to do with how hard or soft the wood is. It actually refers to how they reproduce.

[@i1bike]

Hardwood - sober, softwood - drunk

[@hyzercreek]

Hardwoods are generally much harder than softwoods. You will never find a softwood as hard as oak or maple, and never find a hardwood as soft as white pine, but they overlap, willow is softer than hemlock, which can be very hard. It's just a general term. Hardwoods make sap, softwoods make tar, or they are dry, but they NEVER make sap. Hardwoods have leaves, softwoods have needles. Huge difference.

[@marcusmacdonald9847]

Here on the East coast of Canada, poplar is sold nearly year round, to the local OSB Mill. I believe they also mix other species in with the poplar to make Osb or partical board we sometimes call it. The bark is removerd, and left to decompose, and then used in soil and mulch mix. Approx 20 years ago, we also had a pulp and paper mill in the area, but due to low profit margins, and the heavy environmental toll, it closed. Was one of the best paying jobs in our area back in the day. Interesting to hear of some of the other uses. Thanks.

[@Wesmancan]

She is drop dead gorgeous isn’t she. Wow lady.

[@anthonyhawk7484]

Calm down I bet your money she got a man. Not a boyfriend real women don't play with boys.

[@BillCarpenter-yz4td]

Interesting. I work with poplar frequently and appreciate you informing/enlightening me about this available and cost-efficient wood. Thanks!

[@birdman3323]

It’s classed as a hardwood because it’s deciduous…

[@bobleclair5665]

Poplar is a fast growing swamp wood. Very clean and cuts like butter. No doubt, the termites here in south would just love it

[@SidRichdale]

The esteemed and recently deceased Gerald Weber, a guitar amp designer and builder once went on a Cabinet building spree, building the same Fender style cabinet out of various hard and exotic woods to see which species sounded the best. Fender cabinets were always built of 3/4" clear pine and these open back cabinets were as much a part of the amp's character as the speaker or even the amp itself, and the phenomena that was created by the box only got better as the wood aged, dried out, stabilized and hardened. The winner of his cabinet contest was Poplar which sounded the best by far. He didn't offer an explanation that I can remember, but I imagined Poplar performed the best because it does a remarkable impersonation of old, dry Pine. Todaythere are boutique Amp builders that build their cabinets out of Poplar for it's superior sonics.

[@robertt6292]

Popular also makes awesome strapping for steel roofing or siding. Get it nailed on right after milling and the nails holding the steel on will never come out.

[@ianwalker4803]

yea interesting

[@bdm1000]

Thank you!