[Chahlie]

Well it another quiet day here in Portland(to paraphrase Garrison Kellior's letters from Lake WoeBegone). Got to go by the Crosscut Hardwoods store here in Portland after work on saturday(1-10-04) and may I say they were real nice about not being rude about the drool...of course I wiped up as I went...LOL! Found my bass wood for making blanks...there was a big chunk in their garbage so I took it to the desk and said this was in your trash...how much? they said how about a buck? I said sold....I will be able to get 4-6 good sized blanks out of it. they stock bass wood in 3 inch and 4 inch thick slabs and will cut you off a chunk as long as they have a 6 foot piece left...pretty nice of them. They sell it by the board foot(BF) at $4.25 perBF so a 1 foot section of 3 inch will run around $12. They also sell bass wood as dimensional lumber also. I made out like a bandit. I did a few test cuts with my pocketknife and there is a world of difference between the poplar I am using for my first project and the bass wood. Well have a good day!

Boy, sounds like you tripped in just at the right time!

Is what you call poplar aspen, or is it that eastern poplar (tulip) ? If it's aspen, don't give up on that wood.....if you find a decent piece it is really nice carving and holds detail well. I use mostly aspen (big tooth), but quaking is also a nice wood. They are both a mite harder than basswood, but really nice clear straight grained and like I said, holds detail really well. It tends to fuzz almost exactly like basswood, and finishes the same.

Al

Thanks for the information Chahlie. I know where I will get my next basswood. I just received an order out of Northern Minnesota, but the age kind of hurts. Will go across the river next time. Dick in Vancouver, Wa.