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 > ==================== > > -- > **Please remember to trim posts, as requested in the Terms of Service** > > To terminate puerile preservation prattling among pals and the > uncoffee-ed, or to change your settings, go to: > <http://listserv.icors.org/archives/bullamanka-pinheads.html> -- **Please remember to trim posts, as requested in the Terms of Service** To terminate puerile preservation prattling among pals and the uncoffee-ed, or to change your settings, go to: <http://listserv.icors.org/archives/bullamanka-pinheads.html>