Tulip Popular, Yellow Popular for rifle stock????

[shortbarrel]

Opinions appreciated

[Joe S.]

used it some for some carpentry projects and took a lot of them down when I was a tree climber back in the day.Pretty soft,think I'd pass on using it for a gun stock.

[Jerry V Lape]

Too soft and not all that strong.

[JBJ]

Leave it alone as it is entirely too soft. Tulip/yellow poplar averages around 29 lbs./cubic foot. Sugar maple averages around 44 lbs./cubic foot. Reasonable black walnut comes in around 40+/- lbs./cubic foot.
J.B.

[Belleville]

My thoughts: We have a lot of tulip poplar here on the farm and have used it for lumber. Is too soft for gunstocks and tends to split easily. Recommend that you avoid it for gunstocks.

Doc S.

[David R. Pennington]

This came up a while back and there was a thread on it. I wouldn't try it unless you were in the desert. It will move dimensionally with humidity changes. I know because I built my house out of it. I had to put a two piece floating crown molding at ceiling to compensate for the crack that opens every winter when humidity falls and closes every summer with rise in humidity.

[smart dog]

Hi,
Tulip poplar is sometimes used as a base wood in furniture that is used for structure or as a base for veneer.  It is somewhat soft and I don't think it is strong enough for a stock.  It is also a very bland, featureless, white wood that is boring to look at. Its saving grace is that the bole of tulip poplar trees is usually clear of low branches and thus the wood is pretty clear of knots. 

dave

[rich pierce]

Buy a good blank of plain maple. You'll be much better if and not out a lot of money. Whywould anyone want to invest 100 hours in a poor piece of stock wood?

[Stoner creek]

Build your shop out of poplar.

[kaintuck]

Opinions appreciated

 

Tomtom n marc

[WadePatton]

Yes, great for building-

buildings.  If you work it wet.  Gets really hard for a light, low density wood.  Hard to put a nail through.

Neighbor's house started as Poplar log structure.  We used it at timberframe school too...very good for that.

Poplar put to good use:  framing all Poplar, Walnut pegs, Cedar floor joists lower level only:

[flinter49]

 Have used it to make gunstock patterns. It's easy to work with, but doesn't last very long. Too soft, the stylist on the duplicating machine chewed it up.

[T*O*F]

Have used it to make gunstock patterns. It's easy to work with, but doesn't last very long. Too soft, the stylist on the duplicating machine chewed it up.

Paint your patterns with MinWax Wood Hardener.  I use pine for my patterns.
Isn't your stylus made from Delrin?  Mine were (Just sold my duplicator and gained 100 sq feet of shop space)

[kaintuck]

Yes, great for building-

buildings.  If you work it wet.  Gets really hard for a light, low density wood.  Hard to put a nail through.

Neighbor's house started as Poplar log structure.  We used it at timberframe school too...very good for that.

Poplar put to good use:  framing all Poplar, Walnut pegs, Cedar floor joists lower level only:

wade....no sill plate tar paper???
we had some poplar beams in our barn that were 15"x 3"x 20'....they came from a old jail locally that was being torn down......great wood for joists, we didn't put a lot of weight on them tho~
tomtom n marc

[shortbarrel]

I was hoping someone would post a rifle they had seen, or has made one from popular. I think this would be be the test.     

[WadePatton]

I was hoping someone would post a rifle they had seen, or has made one from popular. I think this would be be the test.      

I would never say that it hadn't been done, especially down in this area-BUT that I've never seen Poplar grow where Maple, Walnut and Cherry and Ash do not also thrive as well.  My place has a mix of those and also Red Oak, White Oak, Sassafras and Hickory and Persimmon and Beech and Hackberry and many more.  Point is, I just can't see someone having nothing BETTER, far better from which to whittle a gunstock.  

[Stophel]

Everybody wants to be "different", but the fact is, that most of the "different" woods simply are totally unsuitable as stock woods, for one reason or another.  Tulip poplar is simply too light, too soft.... although I have seen some cherry wood sold as stock blanks where I would rather actually use poplar!!!  Poplar can even sometimes be found where it is a nice dark brown, and it is often wildly colored green, purple, and black, but alas, still not good for stocks.  

[flinter49]

Have used it to make gunstock patterns. It's easy to work with, but doesn't last very long. Too soft, the stylist on the duplicating machine chewed it up.

Paint your patterns with MinWax Wood Hardener.  I use pine for my patterns.
Isn't your stylus made from Delrin?  Mine were (Just sold my duplicator and gained 100 sq feet of shop space)

Thanks for the tip. Stylus is made from steel instead of Delrin.

[Kermit]

Save the poplar for secondary wood in furniture, or for simple "country" or "boarded" furniture that gets milk paint under wax or oil. Fun stuff used that way.

[shortbarrel]

I think Wade about said it all. Not thinking about building a rifle in popular, just wanted to know if anyone had ever seen one stocked in popular and how it stood the test of time.