A little water-powered sawmill near the tiny town of Edgewood where I once 
lived out here in BC had a contract during WW1 to supply cottonwood lumber 
for the making of war aircraft.    The story told is that when the supply of 
structural balsa wood was cut off from South America, the cottonwood here 
was deemed a good substitute.  It was shipped out by lakeboat and then train 
to the east coast and then to Britain.

Saw some fresh cut cottonwood used to make fences and cabins by some 
back-to-the-landers here in the 1960's, and the shapes the boards took was 
as wandery as the occupants' pipe dreams.   It sure was pretty to see the 
wandering sculpture of the fences!   Boards would pop their nails if needed 
to go their own way, but the occupants didn't mind.   They enjoyed running 
their little mill, and just kept cutting new wood and patching it in 
wherever an opening occurred.   It looked bizarrely wonderful, sort of like 
a horizontal Watt's Towers.

At that time (before Alice's Restaurant), I bought a little deconsecrated 
log church to live in.   Built in 1935, it had a vaulted ceiling made of 
cottonwood plywood.   With the surface never "finished", it still had a 
whiteish creamy colour.   It was 3 ply, and I never did find out where it 
came from.   Seemed awfully early for sheet plywood.   The barrel vault 
shape was framed with arched rafters made up of four layers of 1/2" thick 
boards nail laminated together.   I guess you would have to say they were 
made of 1/2 x 4s.   Four layers made up the real inch dimensions used for 2 
x 4s here in that era.

I never tried cottonwood for lumber after seeing the lively homestead, but 
it sure made great overnight wood in the stove.   Just like coal.   A single 
big chunk would last all night without needing a neighbour to keep it 
burning.    The ash was another story, and that was why none of the other 
locals chose to burn the wood, but I loved it because I never had to tend 
the fire in the middle of the night in deep winter.

cp in bc


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mary" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, December 04, 2010 6:52 PM
Subject: [BP] Vermont store, porch decking


> Ruth
> A few folks recommended species of wood & milling specs for your  store's 
> porch deck. When I was faced with a similar task, I despaired  that I 
> couldn't get milled cottonwood (not poplar). I'm old enough to  remember 
> wood-floored trucks and trailers. The old guys said the  decking was 
> cottonwood and was common in wagon floors. I did have rhe  good fortune of 
> living where we had cottonwoods and a local miller. We  had him 1/4-saw 
> planks, then Milland plane to approx. 2 x 5 -inch  planks-- each step 
> preceded by cure time. We installed the planks on a  summer kitchen floor 
> which took a beating -- traffic, hosing, and four  seasons of weather. I 
> had use of it four four or five years and it  remained in superb 
> condition. My understanding is that cottonwood,  properly milled and 
> cured, is strong in all three directions, thus  resists cupping, wowing, 
> splitting, etc. and holds up to abrasion.  I've been thinking about this 
> and respectfully offer this comment.
>
> Mary
> ====================
> Mary Tegel
> hands on impresario
> architectural intern
> Tegel Design + Planning
> ====================
>
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