Aspen

[Blue Viking]

Was steaming some ribs for a future White Boy Scout restoration and had a 1/4 X 2 x 2 Inch strip of ASPEN that was lying around left over from another project that I had done....It steamed nice and bent really easy!...Has anyone experimented or used this type wood in any canoe projects....I have no knowledge of its compatability with cedar...It is light,tight grained and seems to have strength...Just another curious mind !

 

[martin ferwerda]

I would be concerned about decay resistance, having walked through many aspen groves, it does not seem to take long.

 

[Blue Viking]

Thanks for that comeback....Did some searching here on the web and found that this tree would NOT be practical for canoe work..It has low bending strength, is considered a hardwood and has the same properties as Poplar...ROT would definitely be a concern....Well this type wood is out...Gotta find something different to re-create a 9' strip built that I want to put in light wood ribs and canvas it...It was a shop product by some teenage enthusiasts who abandoned it..The "glass" was poorly installed, bubbled and peeled....But...to honor their effort I am going to rib and canvas it and the will put some kind of flooring in there to support those thin cedar strips..Better than kindling!

 

[Dan Lindberg]

Blue,

I have used Aspen for the stems on a stripper, and planned to use it for the gunwales on my current stripper project.

I'm not sure what the "numbers" are, but it is a semi-hard wood that is reasonably tough and/but also light. (I put 1,000 bf of it on the cabin ceiling so have a little working experience with it. Like other woods, specific boards can vary a lot as to weight and hardness.)

The only reason the current project isn't getting it is I could only find 8' boards and I don't want 2 splices.

Yes, it isn't very rot resistance, but on a stripper that isn't much of a issue. And the other hand, ash isn't very rot resistance either but lots of folks except it's use on canoes.

Other examples, birch also, in the woods, dosn't last long, but was often used for decks and other trim on canoes. And basswood was commonly used for all wood strip canoes, how long does basswood last when it is wet?

For a sealed construction, I wouldn't be afraid of using aspen. I've not sure I'd use it for unsealed construction like W/C except easily replaceable pieces like trim.

Dan