Poplar Lumber

Poplar Lumber in Los Angeles

Poplar is the unsung hero of the hardwood yard. It is one of the most affordable and readily available domestic hardwoods, yet it machines cleanly, takes paint better than almost any other species, and offers a lightweight workability that makes it a pleasure to cut, nail, and shape all day long. While it rarely gets the spotlight as a show wood, poplar is the go-to choice for painted furniture, cabinet interiors, drawer boxes, shelving, trim carpentry, and prototype work where performance and budget matter more than exposed grain. At House of Hardwood, we keep poplar lumber in stock year-round for cabinet shops, trim carpenters, furniture makers, hobbyists, and contractors across Los Angeles.

Our Poplar Lumber Selection

We carry tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) in 4/4 through 8/4 thicknesses, available in both rough-sawn and surfaced options. Poplar is one of the deeper inventories we maintain given its steady demand across trades, with a good range of widths and lengths available at any given time. The heartwood can range from creamy white to green and even purple-streaked, which machines away under paint but can also be used as a design element in the right project. For large-volume orders or specific dimension requirements, we can source additional material quickly.

Why Woodworkers Choose Poplar Lumber

• Best-in-class paint grade hardwood - The tight, uniform grain and smooth surface accept primer and paint with an almost factory-like finish, making poplar the top pick for any project that will be painted
• Lightweight and easy to work - Poplar is significantly lighter than oak, maple, or ash, which reduces fatigue on long production runs and makes handling, hanging, and installing trim and shelving much easier
• Budget-friendly without compromise - As one of the most affordable domestic hardwoods, poplar lets you build with real wood instead of MDF or plywood without stretching the project budget
• Clean machining across the board - The consistent grain rips, crosscuts, routes, and profiles with minimal tearout, holds crisp edges on molding profiles, and glues up reliably for panel work
• Versatile utility wood - Poplar works as drawer sides, cabinet backs, concealed structural components, jigs, fixtures, templates, and mock-ups where you need real wood behavior without the cost of a premium species

Sizing

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Here at the House Of Hardwood, we sell most of our lumber by volume, using Board Feet.

Volume = Thickness" x Width" x Length" / 144 = bf

Importantly, the hardwood measuring system bases the thickness based on rough cutting done at the lumber mill, so all fractions indicate the ROUGH thickness.

We sell our hardwood S2S (Surfaced 2 Sides) – This means the boards have been planed down from their rough cut form to be flat. The edges are still not straight at this point, but we can straighten them up for you!

This S2S operation removes 3/16" therefore it is important to note net thicknesses:

Rough Thickness	Net Thickness (S2S)
4/4 Lumber	13/16"
5/4 Lumber	1 1/16"
6/4 Lumber	1 5/16"
8/4 Lumber	1 13/16"
10/4 Lumber	2 5/16"
12/4 Lumber	2 13/16"
16/4 Lumber	3 13/16"