Winding Sticks
Posted 2 September 2015
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I cut my diagonal line on the band saw, and now when I put the two pieces back together, there is a 1/4 inch gap on either end. When I put the flat sides together I’ve now got a hollow, but I started with square stock. Had you not mentioned to check to see if pressure had been released after the cut, I would have thought for sure I’d done something wrong. I’m still in disbelief actually! I am using some Honduras mahogany that was gifted to me by someone cleaning out their wood shop. According to him, it was in the back of a wood shed for 20+ years, so I assumed it would be as stable as can be.
Tape the pieces together tightly with your cuts facing out and let it sit for a week or two and see what happens. You may just need to let the wood acclimate seasonally.
Would poplar be a stable enough wood to use for winding sticks? Thank you.
Hi,
Paul says:
It’s not the most stable wood so I probably would choose something like walnut, maple or one of many other hardwoods.
Kind Regards,
Izzy
There is than one kind of poplar. In Europe you are more likely to see Populus Alba or white poplar. It’s pretty stable. The Mona Lisa is painted on it. Big forests of it in Lombardy and Tuscany.
In the US and Canada, it is also available but what you will most likely find in a box store is Tulip poplar, a completely different genus -liriodendon tulipfera. . It is sometimes called yellow poplar if it isn’t green. Though different genus and species, the woods act pretty much th same.
It’s usually green colored as you find it in box stores, which will turn brown in a few decades. If you get straight grained well seasoned, and quartersawn wood, it can also be pretty stable. It is a traditional choice for secondary wood in furniture on this side of the pond. You will often see drawer sides made from the stuff and as the base wood for veneer wood.
Be careful if it’s plantation grown from China. That is grown too fast to be very stable.
More important than species is how well it’s seasoned. It’s kinda soft wood, though.