Poplar (Yellow)
Light, uniform hardwood that is easy to work and takes paint well. The usual choice for painted cabinetry, interior trim and anything that will not be seen in its natural state.
Properties
- Family
- Wood
- Category
- wood
- Species
- Liriodendron tulipifera
- Density
- 0.42 g/cm³ · 420 kg/m³
Densityhow poplar (yellow) compares
Wood propertiesUSDA clear-wood values at 12% moisture content
- Species measured
- Yellow-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera)
- Specific gravity
- 0.42
- Janka side hardness
- 540 lbf · 2,402 N
- Modulus of rupture
- 10,100 psi · 69.6 MPa
- Modulus of elasticity
- 1.58 ×10⁶ psi · 10.89 GPa
- Shrinkage, green to oven-dry
- 4.6% radial · 8.2% tangential · 12.7% volumetric
Source: USDA Forest Service, Wood Handbook — Wood as an Engineering Material (FPL-GTR-190, 2010), Table 5–3b, for clear straight-grained specimens at 12% moisture content. The grey figures are converted at 1 lbf = 4.448 N, 1 psi = 6.895 kPa and 1 GPa = 145,038 psi; the inch-pound numbers are the published ones. Specific gravity is oven-dry mass over volume at 12% moisture content, so it sits about 12% below the working density at the top of this page (0.42 × 1.12 ≈ 0.47 g/cm³). The two come from different sampling programmes, so a few species differ by more than that.
Applicationswhere poplar (yellow) is normally specified
Appearance & workabilitytrade experience, not measured values
- Origin
- Eastern United States
- Appearance
- Creamy white to greenish-grey, frequently with dark streaks; straight, fine grain
- Working
- Very easy to machine and glue. Too soft for wear surfaces, and the green cast can show through pale stains.
Unlike the USDA figures above, these lines are not measurements: they carry no units and no single source. They describe how the timber is generally found to behave rather than what it is guaranteed to do — read them as the consensus of the trade, not as a specification.
Practical notes
- Density is for air-dried stock at about 12% moisture content
- Low durability — interior use only unless protected
Lumber sizeswhat poplar (yellow) weighs in each nominal size
Lumber size databaseDressed sizes are the same for every species — a 2x4 is 1-1/2 x 3-1/2 in in oak as much as in spruce. What changes is the weight, and that is derived here from poplar (yellow)'s density of 0.42 g/cm³.
Tools used on itmatched on the wood family, not on this page
All toolsWhich tools work a material is a property of the family (Wood), not of the individual species — so this list is the same on every wood page, and changes when the tool data changes rather than when this paragraph does.
Frequently asked questionsthe questions this page answers about Poplar (Yellow)
How hard is Poplar (Yellow)?
Janka hardness is 540 lbf — the force needed to push a steel ball halfway into the wood. Higher is harder; this is the number quoted when a wood is specified for floors, worktops or butcher blocks.
How dense is Poplar (Yellow)?
Density is 0.42 g/cm³, and the USDA table gives a specific gravity of 0.42.
How much does Poplar (Yellow) move when it dries?
Green to oven-dry it shrinks 12.7% by volume — 4.6% radially and 8.2% tangentially. Movement across the grain is what opens joints, so a species that moves a lot wants room to move.
What is Poplar (Yellow) used for?
Typical uses are Painted cabinetry, Interior trim, Mouldings and Jigs.
How does Poplar (Yellow) work with hand and machine tools?
Very easy to machine and glue. Too soft for wear surfaces, and the green cast can show through pale stains.