I had a friend give me some very old wood.....poplar. Has anyone had any experience with this?....the wood has a greenish tinge.....very soft, easy to turn....
Oh, yeah. I've used a lot of poplar. I went to a lumber yard and picked out the greenest tinged poplar I could find for some Christmas Slimlines. Works a little better than Sugar Pine.
I ended up using the rest of it to hold drill bits - little custom "rack."
Poplar has been used in furniture building for many years. It stains very well, often used under veneer or with walnut. Its soft but works easy. It has a potential for many colors like yellow, green, purple, black. It will darken over time on its own but takes dye very well.
I've used poplar for allot of furniture projects and most of the toys I make are made with it . It's a great wood , it works easily , takes stains and dyes very well and it turns nicely .
Poplar is a good hardwood for woodworking. Easy to work with, easy to cut and finish, and inexpensive. The most common poplar in my area is yellow Poplar. I do find it has a light colour, wide grain and makes a rather un-interesting pen. The colour variation in the grain is just too subtle.
I have seen pictures from UK turners who are turning with what they called Black Poplar, that is a nicer wood for pens.