Cottonwood: More Than Firewood

Cottonwood is the big tree along every river and ditch on the Western Slope, and most people think of it as firewood at best. It deserves better. Cut open, cottonwood can show some amazing color and grain, and it makes beautiful tables and shelves. Old-timers around here also swear by it for trailer decks.

What it is good for

Tables, shelves and other interior pieces where the color and grain get to show off, and the trailer decks the old-timers have been building for years. Cottonwood is soft, about as soft as ponderosa pine and the softest of the hardwoods we mill, so it is not the wood for a floor that takes a beating.

What to know before you mill one

Cottonwood is a lot of work at the mill. It tears and drags on the blade and builds heat, so it takes sharp blades and patience. It is very prone to warp while it dries, and it shrinks enough that straps on a stack loosen and need retightening. It also gives its best color when it gets milled soon after the tree comes down, especially in warm weather.

Older cottonwoods from wet ground can carry wetwood, a bacterial condition with a strong sour smell, high moisture and discoloration. Those zones are weak and can crumble, so cottonwood with wetwood should never be used for joists or rafters, and any structural use needs to be graded first. Cottonwood heartwood is not rot resistant either, so keep it out of the ground.

Worth milling?

For the right log and the right project, yes. If you have a big, straight cottonwood coming down and a table or a shelf in mind, bring it in and we will tell you honestly what it looks like once it is open.