Tom King Posted September 2, 2019 Report Share Posted September 2, 2019 Previously, my favorite thing about Sweetgum, was when I found out about Arsenal, so finally something that would kill it. Anyway, on one of the old house properties I look after, there are two HUGE Sweet Gum trees that need to come down. They're big enough, that if they aren't hollow inside-which I've never seen in SG, there could be Many quarter sawn seat blanks cut out of these trees. They're well over 4' in diameter, and high enough to the first branches that the saw logs should be pretty good. The owners are going to pay someone to cut them, and dispose of them, but I'm wondering if they are worth any effort, at all, on my part to try to do something with them. One of the things on my to-do list is to build a run of at least 20 Windsor chairs, but there is no rush on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Beasley Posted September 3, 2019 Report Share Posted September 3, 2019 Sweetgum is one of those woods that move in bad ways as it dries. Ask Spanky what happened to the last batch he worked on. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted September 3, 2019 Report Share Posted September 3, 2019 On the flip side, if you can get it dry and keep it flat, its a pretty nice looking wood. That's a big 'if', though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Beasley Posted September 3, 2019 Report Share Posted September 3, 2019 One thing Ive learned about sweetgum is it spalts beautifully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted September 3, 2019 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2019 I know how Sweet Gum goes crazy when flat sawn, but I've never seen any quarter sawn. Windsor chairs are painted anyway, so it doesn't really matter what the wood looks like. The blanks could be cut, or split, oversized, ends painted, and left to air dry for several years. Around here, the only thing I know that's made from it is pallets. Does anyone have any experience with it at all, other than what you've heard? I've never even considered doing anything with it before, but it would please all involved if these trees were put to good use. The last timber we had thinned, the good stuff brought $15.50 a ton, and Sweet Gum brought a dollar a ton. No one even wants to burn it as firewood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted September 3, 2019 Report Share Posted September 3, 2019 IIRC the heartwood of sweetgum is quite pretty looking in my opinion. The downside to the wood is that it is kinda soft like poplar or a good SYP. If you can get it dry i think the wood is a good choice. It looks like it responds well to steam bending from my research and another upside is it's lightweight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bmac Posted September 3, 2019 Report Share Posted September 3, 2019 Some quick searching on the web I was surprised to find out that the strength of sweet gun is comparable to cherry. Thought it was softer like Nut had mentioned. It has favorable characteristics to steam bending and can be a pretty wood. I would say if you have the time and energy it is a wood that could work for you if, and it's a big if, you can get flat stable stock out of the logs. I assume quartersawing will help but it still moves a lot. Here's a nice link from a wood guru, Gene Wengert, he actually comments that it is one of his favorite species that is overlooked as a premium and relatively strong wood. https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/wood/wood-explorer/sweetgum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted September 3, 2019 Report Share Posted September 3, 2019 3 hours ago, Tom King said: No one even wants to burn it as firewood. Probably because it doesn't split for love or money. Even on a hydraulic splitter, I've seen it just sort of mash apart. Forget about using an axe... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark J Posted September 3, 2019 Report Share Posted September 3, 2019 Apparently the best way to get it to split is to put it in a kiln. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curlyoak Posted October 23, 2019 Report Share Posted October 23, 2019 On 9/3/2019 at 8:03 AM, Tom King said: Does anyone have any experience with it at all Yes, I have experience. A long tome ago, early 70's, Gum plywood was available by only one distributer. Dixie Plywood. No grain to it. But it is the best wood to paint. Better than poplar. I only knew of it in plywood. Never boards. But the plywood behaved OK. A year ago I had work that needed to be painted. Made me think of gum ply. So I called Dixie ply and asked for the oldest employee. He remembers the salesman I dealt with and the plywood. He told me that the gum has been gone for decades. So I bought birch ply and poplar lumber to paint. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curlyoak Posted October 23, 2019 Report Share Posted October 23, 2019 If this matters, the ply was not sliced off the log like match grain, it was peeled of like they do fir... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted October 23, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2019 It would just be for the Windsor seat blanks. I don't care about using it for anything else. Nothing has been done with the trees yet. They're slow to make a decision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curlyoak Posted October 23, 2019 Report Share Posted October 23, 2019 I think there are better woods for a chair back. No meaningful or noteworthy grain as I recall. But nothing painted better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted October 23, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2019 Windsor chair seat blanks. Windsor chairs are painted, so the grain doesn't matter a bit. It's no trouble finding seat blanks, but we need at least 20 of them, and they typically go for a hundred bucks a piece, already dried. These trees are large enough to get quarter sawn, one piece seat blanks out of, without the pith, and they need to come down anyway. We have the years to dry them before I can get to making the chairs anyway. I have absolutely no use for the wood from these trees for anything else, nor does anyone else involved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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