[StoneandCottonwood]

Did not test mules, only horses. Lots and lots of different horses. Feel free to test it on mules though. Please let me know how they like it.

 

[TopamaxSurvivor]

Sorry, no muiles to test it on ;-))

 

[Porchfish]

I have two large cottonwood trees in bad locations. they are approx 24" in diameter and have several rather large shoots coming out of the base of the trunk. I had heard it was a member of the poplar family, but that doesn't mean it isn't the black sheep of the clan ! as soon as they begin to interfere with TV satellite transmission, down they come then I'll try to figure out what to do with them…not too excited about hand carving and handling wood that smells like a big wet dog ! anybody care for some free cottonwood ?

 

[TopamaxSurvivor]

Be Careful! My Bro in law was a logger. He says it is totally unpredictable when falling.

 

[bondogaposis]

I've heard of black cottonwood being desirable for barn floors due to it's scuff resistance.

 

[Finn]

cottonwood is used by a local interior shutter manufacturer. I have toured their plant and they have over an acre of stacked cottonwood on their back lot. The shutters they make are painted. I have used some of their scraps to make toys. Cottonwood is a type of Poplar and machines well , like poplar does.

 

[brm]

I see this is a Really old stream of online posts,But i am new to this forum and am interested in learning more. The easiest wood that i have access to is Cottonwood and am basically learning about it in order to build with it.
The most interesting post i found is from BTKS post number 36 where his friend built a house from cottonwood. I have wanted to build my own house for a few years now and always wondered about cottonwood lumber. I would like more input first . Thanks

 

[Grandpa]

When I was a kid we could get apple crates and such that were supposedly made from cotton wood. I saw a porch on an old house once that was made from cottonwood. Were bushel baskets made from cotton wood. They were maybe too hard for cottonwood but fruit crates were cottonwood back then. Today they are all cardboard. They put people to work by converting the wood into paper to make the crates…..ha

 

[brm]

Thanks for your post Grandpa. I know that there is alot more things out there made of cottonwood than the average person may be aware of.I am guessing it was used more in times past than it has in the most recent decades.I want to try using it structurally such as the porch that you refered to.About the only thing i know about it is MUST KEEP IT DRY.Eventually i'd like to get more of an idea of its overall strength capabilities such as what size of a board must it be to make it equivalent to the strength of a regular 2×6.

 

[bobasaurus]

Here's a project I recently made using cottonwood:

http://lumberjocks.com/projects/94027

It was crazy soft and knotty, but finished well after some 1# cut shellac sealed the softer parts. I like the way it looks quite a bit, but the smell and softness are not fun. I received some for free though, so I try to incorporate it into a few projects.

 

[StoneandCottonwood]

I mill and use cottonwood quite a lot. When well cured, it is quite strong, and light. I find that it works well for many things where light weight and high strength are needed. However, smaller dimensions (1") bend and wiggle in response to water quite a bit. If used outside, keep it painted or otherwise well sealed.

 

[JJohnston]

I'll add one more use to this old thread: it's shredded and made into evaporative cooler pads.

 

[mramseyISU]

Just thought I'd add my 2 cents worth here. My grandpa had(has) a sawmill and uses cottonwood all over it from framing lumber. He also builds HUD houses for his retirement fund and those are all framed with cottonwood. I've been working with it in that respect for 20 years now and I like it a lot better than any 2X lumber you can buy.

 

[StoneandCottonwood]

I would have to agree. I like it very much as general use lumber.

 

[Grandpa]

I ordered some bee hive frames. Those can be built if you have a pattern but I can buy them $11 for 10 frames so I am thinking I will probably order them when I need them. I ordered 20 frames and they look like cottonwood. They are stringy, white and no character. I don't know what this wood is but it is cheap and has the cotton wood appearance.

 

[brm]

Thank you all for the repies.I am sure learning alot.

When framing with cottonwood, and in places where you would normally use a 2×6, would you say that you would need to use a 2×8 in order to achieve the same amount of strength? I'm also milling my own lumber and so far the plan is to use rough lumber. Is there any thoughts on rough lumber framing?

 

[mramseyISU]

When we milled it up for framing we left it rough sawn to size so a 2×4 was a 2×4. For whatever reason Grandpa always built 2×6 exterior walls back before stuffing a ton of insulation in the walls was popular. So far none of them have fallen down like that.

 

[NDakota]

Coming from ND cottonwood is about the only native tree that is usable,they call it the Great Plains for a reason!Both sides of my family homsteaded here and used cottonwood from the river bottoms for everything.I can tell you that cottonwood fence posts last forever and get harder than a rock when left outside. Im speaking from experiance from fixing a lot of fence line!

 

[changeoffocus]

Cottonwood is one of the best sources of the white fuzzy stuff that plugs up condenser coils on AC units. It has been instrumental in feeding our family for 35 years.

 

[ArlinEastman]

Dave

I love turning the Crotch wood. It should be about 6" above the crotch and 16" below to get the best figure.

Other then that business use it for pellet wood heat and pallets.

Also the Bark is good for carving and carvers love the red part inside the best. The thicker the better between 2" to 8" thick and as long as possible

Arlin