Poplar for heads?

[Tom Whitehurst]

A friend gave me a nice piece of 3" x 5 " poplar about 5 foot long. How would it hold up for some heads?

 

[gcs]

If it works well then why not?
We used cedar 4x4's years ago and they hold up.

 

[Brad F]

When my supply of sugar pine dried up I used a piece of "stump" cut 4" slabbed Lombardi Poplar for heads on bsc cork and tan cork diver decoys. That was starting about 1985. They (30 or 40) are still ready to use and held up just fine. I don't think the poplar you buy is the same tree. Maybe "foresters" here will give some insight into the wood?

 

[Nick Zito]

Assuming you paint the wood I don't see a reason why it wouldn't hold up. It's mostly a junky wood except for pulp as far as I'm concerned, but it's plentiful (cheap) and soft.

I'm one of said "foresters" []

 

[Bob Holzworth]

As a whim I carved a teal decoy, body and head, using fresh cut green poplar wood. It turned out to heavy to float correctly, but after it dried, the decoy was as light as any cedar decoy. While drying the body split open, then after a few months it closed tight. Cedar and pine are my choice for decoy wood. No picture, I gave it to a good neighbor. Bob.

 

[Tom Whitehurst]

Thanks all, I'll get started cutting out a few heads.