Framed with poplar

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Aug 20, 2010
1,399
Oday 27 Oak Orchard
OK now that I have replaced all my cabin woodwork, can anyone offer a technical reason why poplar might not have been the wisest choice for the framing and door to the head. It is well urethaned. Easier to correct a blunder on dry land.
 

Ross

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Jun 15, 2004
14,693
Islander/Wayfairer 30 sail number 25 Perryville,Md.
Poplar does not do well with being chronically wet. If it stays dry (mostly) it will last as long as you will. It is often used as weather boards on barns. Run vertically and not touching other boards it lasts like iron except at the bottom where the rain water and grass keep it wet. Once it has rotted off above the wet zone it keeps well.
 
Jun 16, 2010
98
Lancer 25 Newbergh
Poplar is not dimensionally stable in the best of circumstances and in damp environments forget about it. Also in exterior applications it is rot prone. In my line of work I make lots of doors and the few times I’ve used Poplar for paint grade work I was not to happy.
On the other hand Poplar glues well and will hold a screw or a nail nicely.
I would say if I were doing the work I think I would have used Pine, Fir or Mahogany
 

Ross

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Jun 15, 2004
14,693
Islander/Wayfairer 30 sail number 25 Perryville,Md.
Billbeard, how can you use pine, fir and mahogany in the same sentence. This was/is interior work.
 
Jan 27, 2008
3,092
ODay 35 Beaufort, NC
about 11 years ago I used poplar to make a seat for my sailing dinghy. It is holding up weel and if often very wet with the boat getting rained on, tipping over, getting completely filled with water and so forth. Do you think 25yearslater can at least get 20 or 30 years out of poplar now that he has done all this work in this application or is your recommendation he tear it all out and start over.?
Are your comments about poplar based on personal experience or is this a textbook versus actual situation?
 
Aug 20, 2010
1,399
Oday 27 Oak Orchard
Bye the bye I epoxy coated the edges and ends anywhere it contacts other wood or fiberglass.
 
Sep 15, 2009
6,244
S2 9.2a Fairhope Al
first off i would not have used it in this app as my first choice.....but no crime has been commeted...it does work very nicely in the shop and in homes .....sence you have used it and coated it like you say you have i would just give it a go and see what happens..it may well last a very long time ...

regards

woody
 

Ross

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Jun 15, 2004
14,693
Islander/Wayfairer 30 sail number 25 Perryville,Md.
If you don't write a date on it somewhere you will have it for so ling you will forget what year you made it. Poplar fence boards will rot off on the ends where they are nailed to the posts but the clear spans endure.
 

chp

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Sep 13, 2010
440
Hunter 280 hamilton
Lets face it, unless the boat sinks or has a major leak most any wood would work if properly sealed. I'm in the process of making my own new cabinets for my mac and using mahogany mainly for its looks.
 
Jun 16, 2010
98
Lancer 25 Newbergh
I often use mahogany for paint grade work when the situation calls for it.
It is useful for doors, gates, jambs, sills, sashes etc. as Redwood supplies dried up and Cypress cutting was regulated a lot of trades started using Mahogany as an alterative.
Besides with as much as I use in the shop I always have some sapwood for paint grade work.
Epoxy encapsulation is a good idea!
 
Jan 27, 2008
3,092
ODay 35 Beaufort, NC
What do you wood experts think about using snakewood for this application? It has a very nice grain and is quite exotic, it would really add some class to the boat.
 
Sep 15, 2009
6,244
S2 9.2a Fairhope Al
What do you wood experts think about using snakewood for this application? It has a very nice grain and is quite exotic, it would really add some class to the boat.
it would be a lot cheaper to use ribbon stripped mahogny....the snake wood is very expensive and heavy in compareson it also hurts like hell when you get a splinter of t on your hand....but it is a very good looking wood..... you might look at curly maple or cherry they are both nice looking as well...

regards

woody
 

Ross

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Jun 15, 2004
14,693
Islander/Wayfairer 30 sail number 25 Perryville,Md.
Cherry is durable but maple is no better than poplar for durability.
 

BobT

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Sep 29, 2008
239
Gulfstar 37 North East River, Chesapeake Bay
Agreed, now that it's done, go ahead and live with the poplar. In the cabin it should be fine unless is gets soaked. Worst case is the door swells and sticks or wags a corner out at you. The heartwood is respectably rot resistant, and if it's rift or quartersawn it can be quite stable. Some South American mahogany inventories are being replaced with African woods that can be quite ornery. It's best ask your suppliers what they are peddling these days.
 
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