Thread: The best Wood for Toy and Model Making?

Originally Posted by bj383ss

Not to burst your bubble Pete, but here in the states Poplar is commonly used as a secondary wood such as for drawers and parts of furniture that you don't see. People also use it for projects they are going to paint.

It has a green tint to it. Not sure if the pieces you have are like this. It can be stained and look nice though. It does machine better than pine. Price range it is between pine and red oak at Lowes. Whenever I need some I don't buy from Lowes though I buy from my Hardwood dealer, better pricing in the rough.

If you look at my first train toy the boiler is a piece of poplar dowel I bought from Lowes.

I took some pics of some scraps I have. Is this what yours looks like?
Attachment 210634Attachment 210635Attachment 210636

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I had a chance to go to Masters today and to look at their Poplar. Bret was right and his photographs were similar to what was there.

I have been in touch with my friend in Kentucky and he tells me that their is pleanty of Poplar in his area and a local sawmiller has it. He use them for larger in the rough pices but often uses Lowes for small pieces because it is kiln dried and DAR.

He also says that it has the greenish brown black tinge through it and he selects the best he can.

At Masters I noticed a variation , some a lot better then others.The samples my friend sent to me were hand sanded and very smooth and were select off white.

The biggest bummer was the price difference between it and the Pine.

eg PIne 184 X 19mm x 1800mm was $6.75

The poplar

184x18 X1800 mmm was $26 .20 nearly four times the price.

At that price while the Poplar was good, I will now look for some other species that might be better value at that $26.20 price.

Pete

G'day Pete,
Have a look at the "yellow pages" under "timber merchants" Gold Coast..
There are a heap of them, I'm sure one of them might be able to offer you a similar timber at a more reasonable price.
Yellow Pages® | Timber--Trade &/Or Retail in Gold Coast, QLD, Australia

Cheers, crowie

Originally Posted by crowie

G'day Pete,
Have a look at the "yellow pages" under "timber merchants" Gold Coast..
There are a heap of them, I'm sure one of them might be able to offer you a similar timber at a more reasonable price.
Yellow Pages® | Timber--Trade &/Or Retail in Gold Coast, QLD, Australia

Cheers, crowie

If only it was that easy crowie. Speaking from experience, many on the list aren't much chop. Some don't actually sell timber. Very few others sell furniture quality stuff. Most sell structural hardwoods or MGP pine. A few small sell kwila decking or treated pine for landscaping.


STAR - I've often ended up at Paradise Timbers at Helensvale. They have a reasonable range of timbers and happy to deal with hobbiests in small quantities. Their showroom is impressive but the timber racks are fairly clinical for a timber seller. They mainly do banisters, ballustrades and mouldings, and are really a factory operation. But worth a visit. I asked a few weeks ago about offcuts but they donate them to two diff. charities that make and sell toys.

What about paulownia ? Don't know if it's suitable or not, or economical. Geoff Rouse is at Reedy Creek. He has taken over Whitewood's business. The website link is on the forum somewhere. I guess just search for paulownia.

Pete,

There is another wood here in the states called Aspen.
Aspen

Not sure if it is available in Aussie. It is similar to Poplar in hardness. Not quite a hardwood but much better than pine.


Bret

Well, I bit the bullet and purchased some Popklar from Masters. I needed something to blend in with our stained Kitchen cabinets and the sample I had from the States matched up real good.

So, I purchased some 284 mm X 18 mm Poplar and will have some left over which will go to some toy and models.

Be interesting to see how it cuts up because I will be dissapointed if I cannot at least match my samples in a clean cut and sandability.

At this stage it is starting to grow on me, once I get over the price compared to Pine but the price difference might be worth it providing you are not in the business of selling your production because i doubt you will get your raw materials cost back let alone your labour.

I will have a play on the week end.

Pete

Have you tried some of the various Tasmanian timbers? They have a good range of both hard and softwoods. Some of the pieces of Huon Pine that I picked up some time ago machine up beautifully and look great. Have also used the blackwood, Tassie oak, olive and Red Myrtle.

Peter H

Originally Posted by Superfoot

Have you tried some of the various Tasmanian timbers? They have a good range of both hard and softwoods. Some of the pieces of Huon Pine that I picked up some time ago machine up beautifully and look great. Have also used the blackwood, Tassie oak, olive and Red Myrtle.

Peter H

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Thanks for the reply Superfoot.

The timbers you have mentioned are great and all would be a better choice then the Poplar with the exception of Tasmanian Oak. But, alas, I guess so would the price differential.

Here on the Gold Coast we do not have much of a choice and I am not into fine woodworking. The Poplar is very tight grained, unlike Tas Oak, that I have and at this stage lends itself ideally for the work I do. It is more expensive then Pine but without checking expect it to still be far cheaper then the nice woods you have mentioned.

My friends in the States believe for their purpose it is an undervalued wood and I am slowly coming around to that opinion also.

Pete

Pete,
Try Island Speciality Timbers at Geeveston in Tassie

Huon pine » Island Specialty Timbers

They used to put out a catalogue every so often and the prices weren't all that bad.

Peter H

Star
I guess you have looked at the contacts for timber in ourown forums, i.e. the Market Place at

TIMBER SALES (and MILLING EQUIPMENT) MARKET - Woodwork Forums

Peter H

Originally Posted by STAR

I originally put this in the wrong area, should be a thread of its own.

Here is my quandry. I have come to the conclusion that my wood selection is holding me back from reaching the standard and quality I am looking for in toy making. I am fed up with using pine, especially as a friend in the States who makes quality Toys and Joys models was good enough to send me a few samples of his wood of choice.

The wood he sent me is of such quality that even Lowe's the big Box store has it and that is where he gets it. His wood of choice is Poplar and after seeing, touching and drooling over realize what a bad selection Pine is for Toy making.

This poplar, is tight grained, yet sands really smooth, cuts cleanly and looks neat. Now, my question is what wood do you guys prefer for quality work and do you know where I may be able to get some Poplar or similar quality of wood without breaking the bank.

Pete

Hi Pete it’s been a while since I have had a yarn with you! I was just wandering around the place and come across your post about your conclusion on wood selection I have had this problem myself over the years.
I have resolved it by pulling apart suitable old wooden furniture that people throughout.
Also if there is a company nearby that make stair cases they seem to have a lot of good quality wast timber that’s great for wooden toys and models.
It’s been a while since anything has come out of my work shop mainly because of my travels about the place.
On that score I have a small chain saw in the caravan and pick up the odd piece of Wood in the bush when it’s appropriate to do so.
I even carry some paraffin wax to seal the ends of the green timber to stop it from splitting.
At the moment I am in Northern Territory and having a good look around although there is one small problem! The wife has started collecting rocks and our vans not that big!! My timber collection has been curtailed a bit, anyway good luck with it all.

PS
I have just been informed that it’s called lapidary

PPS
There is plenty of Poplar at Glen Innes
Colbra