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i'd like to know if anyone has ever turned this wood

Dan Noren

Dan Noren

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falcon heights, minnesota
my dad and nephew are taking down a tree at the nephew's new house. at first they thought it was olive, or russian olive. i told them both to save the larger diameter trunk, and branch parts. after looking at the wood, i was pretty sure they were wrong, and brought home a leaf from the tree to identify the species. it turns out to be an aspen tree. the wood is very hard, and cannot be marked with a thumbnail. i am wondering if any of you, flat or spinny, have ever used this wood.
 
The Aspen I've used (for FLAT work!) has been pretty soft. Easy to work, with sorta 'stringy' sawdust. Too soft to hold a profile - might be good for painted stuff, but probably best saved for use as a secondary wood.
 
When I lived in ny I used it for setup of machines. It is very soft and takes stain great. My old house has aspen stained to look like cherry. Like jim said it is stringy and finishes kinda fuzzy.
 
Something's not right here..."aspen" and "very hard, and cannot be marked with a thumbnail" are mutually exclusive. Are you sure it's not some type of maple? Or perhaps elm? Do you have any photos of the wood, bark or leaves?
 
Don Baer said:
Vaughn brings up a great point plus aspens typically grow at high altitude such as the rocky mountains. I don't think they would do well in your area.
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Vaughn usually brings up good points.:eek:

As far as aspens not doing well in Minnesota, ................WRONG:p. They are quite abundant in many areas.
 
ok, i've now got a pic of the leaf. the cut part that i checked out had outer sap wood about 1/2" from the bark, and the rest, with no observable pith, was a pinkish color. the sample i checked is about 4" in diameter. i checked to see how hard the wood was, and ran my thumbnail across the saw marks, and didn't leave a dent. my dad said that the branches were difficult to cut, as the wood was so hard. i'm curious about this wood, as there will be bigger chunks coming when he takes down the trunk.
 

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I just finished two cabinets that run from the floor to the cieling. One on each side of a fire place. I used Aspen fore both the face frame and the stiles & rails of the doors and Also for the drawers. Nice to work with. Sands easly,but is for sure a soft wood. Have been getting it at Menards. It comes all wrapped in plastic and is about the same price as clear pine. Very good for painting. As there is hardly no grain to deel with.
 
not to certain about that jay, as the tree is old enough, but has no fruit. i ventured out into the heat, and lopped off a part of what i brought home. i then split it down the middle on the bandsaw. hope that helps.
 

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Dan Noren said:
not to certain about that jay, as the tree is old enough, but has no fruit. i ventured out into the heat, and lopped off a part of what i brought home. i then split it down the middle on the bandsaw. hope that helps.
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I didn't see this post before I suggested poplar... the picture above definitely looks like the Bradford Pear I've cut around east Tennessee... hard, pinkish to tannish to almost a orangish color... very close grained and turns great... does it flower in the spring, would have white flowers all over the branches before the leaves pop out... mine have tiny little "pears" on them as the tree is a hybrid of a Chinese pear tree that was hybrid to not produce fruit.
 
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