I was cleaning and sorting my garage when I ran upon some burnt Poplar I got several years ago.  I liked it because it was unusual, so I bought what was left in a barrel.  Ever heard of it? They put Poplar in a kiln with a very good temperature control. They elevate the temperature to the point where the sugars in the wood caramelizes. They hold it there for a preset time and then let it slowly cool down. This leaves the wood a chocolate brown and I wanted to try some out. It also leave it with a sort of burnt smell and I'm not sure how that will work out, but if it is sealed good, I don't think it should be a problem.

 

Ron.........that sounds cool. I've never worked with a smoked or burnt smelling wood. But, years back, a cabinet shop I know of says he built cabinets out of oak that had been thru a fire and had smoke damage.

In your case.........I might just take a small piece and put a finish on it and let it set for a week or two.............and then have some one that doesn't know about the odor............put the ol'sniffer on it to see if they can detect an odor.

could you post a pic please Ron?

 

thank you

Sure, I have most cut into strips, but will  post some pictures tomorrow.

John Hechel said:

could you post a pic please Ron?

 

thank you

Shellac should seal that smell in for you. I too am interested in seeing the wood.

 

Rick

  I will try for a picture today.My computer crashed and I have to rely on my old laptop that is slow and overheats. I have yet to download a picture on it and may run into problems there too. However, I will try

Rick Mathison said:

Shellac should seal that smell in for you. I too am interested in seeing the wood.

 

Rick

Many years ago I came across some pine that had surface chared, I cleaned off the char and to me it seemed the wood had hardened.   At that time I did not have a planer but I lightly sanded it and the patina it had was quite striking.   I made a medicine cabinet from the wood.   I too would like to see pictures of the wood you have and the project you make from it;  from your discription of the color finishing should be a snap.