Shopsmith Forums

Another great project by Charlese!

I did notice a small error in the demo setup. Since the queen always goes on the square of her own color, that means the white queen is directly across from black queen and hence the white king directly across from black king.

JPG wrote:What is the lighter species?

Poplar


Lover - Yep, the board is next. Have the wood and will get started after finishing the players.

charlese wrote:

JPG wrote:What is the lighter species?

Poplar


Lover - Yep, the board is next. Have the wood and will get started after finishing the players.

SAP? Does not look 'green'.

JPG wrote:

charlese wrote:

JPG wrote:What is the lighter species?

Poplar


Lover - Yep, the board is next. Have the wood and will get started after finishing the players.

SAP? Does not look 'green'.

Looked more like Aspen to me, but Charelese knows his woods.

Oh boy! Here I go on a long discussion on how the English word "Poplar" is used and mis-used when buying lumber. The Idea that the wood poplar usually refers to the species, Liriodendron tulipifera is most usually true in much of the U.S.. This tree also called "tulip poplar". The wood has a pale green heartwood as described below.

Here in the Western part of the U.S. There is a poplar tree (or quite a few actually) that are logged and sold as Poplar. That's because they are all from the Genus Pupulus. If one would look up "Western poplar" you will be refered to Populus Trichocarpa (cottonwood) or Populus spp. such as P. tremuloides (Aspen).

When I order poplar from my supplier, I simply ask for Poplar. The lumber dealers will provide what they have. I only got Tulip poplar once. Most of the time it is totally white wood. I could order white wood, but then they might send spruce. I don't want spruce or white pine.

In this case I went to the lumber supplier, rather than ordering. They had a large supply of "poplar" - all white - which is what I wanted.

The white chess pieces are probably cottonwood, but maybe aspen. I really don't care! Just as long as it is a hardwood and is white.

The lumber industry has always dealt with their own regional English words to define their product. (As they say in the South, "Bless their pea picken' hearts".) It'll drive you nuts, if you let it! (My favorite example is; Juniper called cedar.)

So - I simply called the wood, used for the white chess pieces, the same name as the lumber provider.

For some details here's copies from the internet--------------------------------------

Populus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused with Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip poplar), the source of poplar wood
Populus
Populus is a genus of 25–35 species of deciduous flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. English names variously applied to different species include poplar /ˈpɒp.lər/, aspen, and cottonwood.

Liriodendron tulipifera
The soft, fine-grained wood of tulip trees is known as "poplar" (short for "yellow poplar") in the U.S., but marketed abroad as "American tulipwood" or by other names. It is very widely used where a cheap, easy-to-work and stable wood is needed. The sapwood is usually a creamy off-white color. While the heartwood is usually a pale green, it can take on streaks of red, purple, or even black; depending on the extractives content (i.e. the soil conditions where the tree was grown, etc.). It is clearly the wood of choice for use in organs, due to its ability to take a fine, smooth, precisely cut finish and so to effectively seal against pipes and valves. It is also commonly used for siding clapboards. Its wood may be compared in texture, strength, and softness to white pine.

My daughter has a house 100% paneled in poplar(even the shower!). The green fades and the sap darkens with age/uv/time/whatever. Light tan now days.

Using scraps. Doesn't compare to everyone else's projects.

Skizzity wrote:Using scraps. Doesn't compare to everyone else's projects.

That is beautiful! Nicely done.

My only question is: what could have those bananas possibly done to deserve the gallows .....

rjent wrote:That is beautiful! Nicely done.

My only question is: what could have those bananas possibly done to deserve the gallows .....

Thanks. Hehe, some preemptive hanging to keep 'em from going bad on me.

The Banana gallows is a real good kitchen appliance. Wish I'd thought of that before wife bought one. Nice work!