Is Aspen good for firewood?
The not-so-good news is that Aspen doesn’t have a lot of density. And low-density lumbers simply don’t burn for very long, because those flames will consume them really quickly. So, Aspen can work well as kindling, helping to get a fire going.
What is aspen lumber?
The trees and lumber called aspen is from two trees, mainly trembling aspen ( Populus tremuloides) and a little bit of bigtooth aspen ( P. grandidentata ). Lumber from the two species can be mixed and would not separated. Aspen wood is lightweight and fairly weak and bendable.
Can you mix Aspen and aspen lumber?
Lumber from the two species can be mixed and would not separated. Aspen wood is lightweight and fairly weak and bendable. But, in spite of these somewhat negative features, the wood is very desirable for many uses including children’s toys, tongue depressors, and paneling and seats in saunas.
Is aspen wood good for toys?
Aspen has no odor and imparts no taste to food-stuffs, so it's ideal for baskets, bowls, and containers. Children's toys made from aspen remain splinter-free. Across the southern reaches of the nation, aspen lumber may be hard to find.
Is aspen wood weather resistant?
Aspen is moderately resistant to weathering (USDA 1999). Aspen weathers to a light gray color. The weathered wood tends to have moderate sheen. Weathering checks are usually small and inconspicuous.
Is aspen a good wood for outdoor furniture?
Aspen is a good wood for furniture that captures a rustic look. It will take stain and paint well, and it sands nicely too. While it accepts most stains well, it can be beneficial to use a sealer. Aspen is a light wood, but still offers a good degree of durability.
What is the best wood for outdoor use?
Potential Woods for Use in Outdoor ApplicationsIpe. This tropical hardwood from Central and South America makes an excellent choice for outdoor projects, including decking. ... Teak. Long a popular choice for boat building, teak is another good candidate for outdoor applications. ... African Mahogany. ... VG Fir. ... Western Red Cedar.
Is aspen good for exterior use?
Avoid humidity – aspen does not cope well with moisture, so don't use it for outdoor furniture if you live in a wet or humid climate.
What wood lasts the longest outdoors?
Teak is the king of durable, outdoor woods. It's extremely rot resistant, reasonably dense and straight-grained, will not warp or crack over time, and has an attractive appearance. Teak is chiefly associated with boatbuilding.
Which is harder oak or aspen?
Yes, Aspen wood is a hardwood. But it is not hard as Oak, Maple, and Cherry woods. Aspen wood has a hardness rating of 420 lbf (1,868 N) which is relatively lower than most hardwoods.
What is the most weather resistant wood?
Teak – Teak has been used in coastal construction and outdoor furniture for years because of its reputation of being one of the most weather-resistant hardwoods.
What is the most water resistant wood?
Pine, larch, Douglas fir, western red cedar, chestnut and oak represent the most water resistant woods for exterior coverings , even without treatment. White fir and spruce will require protection to be able to last over time.
What wood will not rot in water?
Choose Rot Resistant Wood for Your Project Well-known domestic examples include cedar, redwood, old-growth cypress, mulberry, yew, osage orange, and black locust. Tropical wood examples include ipe, lignumvitae, purpleheart, and old-growth teak.
Is aspen stronger than pine?
Alder on the other hand is usually very consistent as far as its weight is concerned from piece to piece....Is this list complete? That's where you come in.Wood SpeciesHardnessWhite Pine420Aspen432Guanacaste (Parota)470Butternut490220 more rows•Jun 30, 2015
What is aspen lumber good for?
Aspen is the most common species used for oriented strand board (OSB) and can be used to produce high-quality laminated veneer lumber (LVL) for headers, joists, beams and planks.
Is poplar the same as aspen?
While Poplars and Aspens are in the same genus there are differences. Usually the winter buds of the Poplars are very resinous and have 12 to 60 stamens (the male part of the flowers.) The Aspens are only slightly resinous and have on 6 to 12 stamens. Here in the south there are two Poplars and one Aspen, P.
Is aspen wood good for anything?
It can be sawn into studs for construction lumber under National Lumber Grades Authority rules, and there is interest in producing it for millwork. Indigenous peoples have many uses for aspen, including medicine, food and a source of poles, canoe paddles and bowls.
What wood is most weather resistant?
Teak – Teak has been used in coastal construction and outdoor furniture for years because of its reputation of being one of the most weather-resistant hardwoods.
Which wood is most water resistant?
Pine, larch, Douglas fir, western red cedar, chestnut and oak represent the most water resistant woods for exterior coverings , even without treatment. White fir and spruce will require protection to be able to last over time.
What are aspen logs good for?
Abundant because it propagates and grows rapidly in areas cleared by fire or harvest, aspen has many commercial uses. You'll find it in furniture, toothpicks, matchsticks, boxes and crates, paneling, and chipboard. And, this plentiful tree has been a popular source for paper pulp since the late 1940s.
What is the difference between sapwood and aspen?
Both aspen have oval-shaped leaves with toothed edges and stems flattened on the sides. Sapwood comprises the majority of wood in aspen. It has the whiteness of holly or poplar. The small heartwood core produces light brown wood, often streaked and discolored. It weighs 25 pounds per cubic foot.
How much does aspen lumber cost?
Where sold, however, the boards will be high quality, but generally neither unusually wide nor thicker than 1". Expect to pay about $1.15 per board foot for lumber and around 50 cents per square foot for mottle- and stripe-figured veneer.
What is the bark of an aspen tree?
Bark on young trees may be white or greenish white, with dark gray or black welts and ridges. On older trees the bark can be 2" thick, black near the base, and deeply fissured. If you confuse aspen's bark with that of white birch, the leaves provide identification. Both aspen have oval-shaped leaves with toothed edges and stems flattened on the sides.
Where do aspen trees grow?
Bigtooth (or large-tooth) aspen ( Populus grandidentata ), which also quakes, prefers the Great Lakes states and New England. Kin to willow and cottonwood, aspen rarely exceeds 60' heights and diameters of 20". In their first 20 to 30 years it grows rapidly, and quickly renews a forest.
Why is aspen so abundant?
Aspen, due to sheer quantity alone, supports much of the logging industry across the Great Lakes states and Canada. Abundant because it propagates and grows rapidly in areas cleared by fire or harvest, aspen has many commercial uses.
Can you use aspen as veneer?
Occasional mottle- and stripe-figured logs become veneers. Aspen doesn't contain resin, and has toughness as well as exceptional stiffness. The wood resists splitting when nailing or screwing, yet you can work it easily with hand tools because of its softness. It also glues well.
Do beavers like aspen?
Beavers love aspen bark and consider it a staple food. These busy creatures, forever dam-building, also favor the wood for construction. They'll often gnaw down trees a half-mile or more from their damsite, and then drag or float them home.
What is aspen firewood good for?
Aspen firewood produces a lot of really big, hot flames for a short amount of time. This is good if you want to roast hot dogs or sausages.
How to know if aspen is good firewood?
To know if aspen is good firewood, you have to consider that aspen's moisture content varies greatly between being green and dry. You also need to understand the amount of heat aspen releases and in what amount of time it is burned.
What are the two types of aspen trees?
Thus, there are two main types of aspen firewood in the United States. The two types of aspen firewood are quaking aspen and bigtooth aspen.
How long do aspen trees live?
Aspen trees have a very short lifespan. They usually die off in 5 to 10 years. Aspen trees also sprout other trees from their roots. This means, in a large area, aspens grow like grass. They are plentiful, and since they naturally die off quickly, you can have a plethora of aspen firewood available to you if you cultivate them or live in an area where they are abundant.
How much heat does an aspen produce?
Aspen has a low or mid-level heat output. Its lower density doesn't allow it to pack a lot of heating power. Quaking Aspen put out 18 million BTUs per cord. Some charts show some species of aspen only producing 13 million BTUs per cord.
How long does it take for aspen to dry?
Splitting aspen firewood is relatively easy. Aspen can be seasoned in as little as 6 months. Some of it can take as long as 12 months to fully dry.
Why do people burn aspen logs?
Because of aspen's tendency to rot, some people like to chip their logs and then burn them. They feel they can dry it quickly and keep it dry as chips better than as logs.
What is aspen used for?
It has also been widely used for paper manufacturing, making paper especially soft and absorbent. Aspen was also used in summer kitchens, as the wood would ignite quickly and burn quickly, supplying the needed heat for cooking, but then would quickly burn up and not keep the kitchen excessively hot.
How much does an aspen weigh?
A planed and dry 1 x 6 x 10' piece of aspen will weigh only 8 pounds. Drying. Aspen is one of the easiest woods to dry, unless it is bacterially infected. Drying rates can be as rapid as possible. Slow drying initially can quickly lead to blue stain.
What is the wood that is used for quaking?
Aspen. Aspen, also known as aspen poplar, poplar (especially outside North America), popple, trembling aspen, bigtooth aspen, quaky and a dozen other local names is a wonderful wood for many use.
What is a wet pocket in wood?
Bacterial infections are almost always found in the heartwood. Wet pockets are small regions within a piece of 6/4 and thicker lumber (a typical size is 1/2" deep x 1" wide x 6" long) that have much higher moisture content than the surrounding wood. Long drying time is the only cure for wet pockets.
Why is my aspen fuzzing?
Due to the fuzzing problem, caused by the weak fibers in aspen, in addition to low final MCs, the tools must be extremely sharp. High speed steel is recommended rather than carbide. Likewise, only fresh sandpaper (particles are sharp) should be used. A sizing coat or sanding sealer is often used to stiffen the fibers and eliminate the fuzzing problem.
How stable is wood?
Once dry and any wet pockets are dried as well, the wood is very stable. It changes 1 percent in size tangentially with a 6 percent MC change (about 30 percent RH change) and 1 percent in size radially for a 10 percent MC change (50 percent RH).
Is aspen a low grade lumber?
Aspen has typically been considered as a low grade species. The lack of large clear pieces of high quality lumber have made this species fairly unpopular in the national trade. It has been only in the last decade that the Hardwood Market Report included aspen lumber in its weekly lumber price listings.
What wood is used for outdoor projects?
The three most widely available and suitable exterior lumber choices, not treated with chemical preservatives, include Western red cedar, redwood, and cypress. Your geographic location will determine the availability and cost of these materials. Redwood, for example, is widely available and used in ...
What is ACQ treated wood?
Early in 2004, the old CCA (chromated copper arsenate) treatment that contained arsenic was replaced by various treatments, but the most common is ACQ (alkaline copper quat). In spite of its shortcomings, ACQ-treated wood holds up well.
How long can you air dry treated lumber?
To avoid these tendencies, you can air-dry treated lumber for two warm months, or purchase KDAT (kiln-dried-after-treatment) lumber. The downside: cost (usually double the wet stuff) and the need to special-order it from lumberyards or home centers beforehand.
Does ACQ wood rot?
In spite of its shortcomings, ACQ-treated wood holds up well. It might crack, warp, or shrink, but it won't rot or prove tasty to insects. ACQ is a water-based preservative forced deep into the lumber, usually Southern yellow pine. Consequently, the lumber is saturated when banded and shipped.
Is heartwood wood immune to rotting?
Although no wood is completely immune from rotting and insect damage , some resist decay better than others. Because of naturally occurring preservatives in heartwood, insects and fungi find the woods listed in the chart on the last page undesirable. Each choice has its advantages and disadvantages, so decide which wood best suits your building needs and budget.
Is mahogany a good wood?
Mahogany serves as a great project wood. It machines, sands, and finishes well, but costs more than ipe. Be sure to ask for African or Honduran mahogany, (avoiding Philippine mahogany). One nice thing: You can buy it in broad thicknesses for use in large projects.
Is teak wood good for boating?
Teak is still available in small quantities, but you'll pay a hefty price for it. Largely associated with boatbuilding, it doubles as an excellent choice for small outdoor projects where you want the beauty of the wood to speak as loudly as the craftsmanship. Mahogany serves as a great project wood.
