simulated wood species

Poplar.

-- 温故知新

As a remodeling contractor this is something that I run into all the time.

Poplar is one of the most used. If you go with a darker tone, solid body stain like Sherwin Willams BAC wiping stain or MLCampbell’s wiping stain, you will get a look that simulates other species.

Alder is another one that is good and poplar or alder is often used to simulate cherry and is often referred to as “poor man’s cherry.” Alder tends to come as knotty or clear, knotty alder is less expensive as you can guess than clear.

Poplar comes in white wood to hues of green, with streaks of purple and even black. If you stay away from the dark streaks, a heavy body stain as mentioned before will cover nicely. The heavy body stains are high in pigment and solids content and they cover the colors well.

Poplar is often used as a paint grade trim. It mills and cuts wonderfully, very similar to cherry. It is more stable than pine and is relatively inexpensive. Trim companies offer a wide variety of profiles in poplar and the stock can be easily found in boards as 4/4”, 6/4”, or 8/4” by 14” wide and 12’ long.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://americancraftsmanworkshop.com

This is the interior of a big house that I built with my brother. The interior is all trimmed out in poplar and stained with a cherry-like color. This includes the base trim, the light trough and sconces that cap the rock columns, the door and window casing, the beam wraps on the ceiling, all the wood between the big windows.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://americancraftsmanworkshop.com

Not to digress from the OP’s question…which has been quite adequately answered….but, Todd, you do beautiful work!

-- Gene 'The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.' G. K. Chesterton

Nuther Poplar vote! A friend of mine built his home, he used Poplar for all of his woodwork throughout the house and he and his wife were very satisfied with it for about 14 years. I only use real hardwoods for my woodworking, I choose the wood depending on color desired, never use stain. She started quilting so I built her a Mahogany quilt rack. She loved the looks of it but didn’t know what it was until they asked me, when I told them they thought I was joking. They both told me that thier bedroom had Mahogany moldings all through the room and it was a lot darker red color than my rack. I showed them pictures online of Mahogany compared to that stain they used. He is still mad at me, he had to replace all the molding in thier master suite to real mahogany to match the quilt rack.

Ummm Todd? I don’t think that’s a “house.” LOL. A mansion maybe, maybe even a hotel, but definitely not a house. :)

-- Chip -----------http://www.penmanchip.com-----------------Micah 6:8

This house was designed in the prairie style. It is a beautiful house full of features that the clients, my brother, and I personally designed.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://americancraftsmanworkshop.com

I forgot, all of the interior passage doors are poplar too.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://americancraftsmanworkshop.com

Todd A. ClippingerHope you don’t mind a question from a newbie, but on those beautiful finishes you did to poplar did you have to prep the wood in anyway?