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Showerthought: I read that a huge amount of wood in old furniture is actually poplar, not oak or maple.
I was looking through a book on antique furniture from the library and it said a lot of pieces people call 'painted pine' are actually poplar under the paint. Found a photo of a 1920s dresser I'm fixing up, and sure enough, the frame is poplar. Always thought it was a cheaper, modern wood... but it's been used for ages. Anyone else run into this and have tips for working with it when it's painted over?
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kim_martin15d ago
Poplar is a classic secondary wood. It's been used for drawer sides and case backs in fancy pieces for centuries. The paint hides the green and gray streaks in the wood, which can look a bit plain unfinished. It's actually really stable, so those old frames don't warp much. Just sand it smooth and it takes new paint beautifully.
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