Sweet Gum Lumber


JohnnyNoName

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Hello all -

I just had a sweet gum log cut up into lumber from a tree in my yard. The tree was in decline, so we bit the bullet and had it cut down. I had the arborist save a 8+ long section on the bottom. The sawyer brought his protable WoodMizer to the house and cut in on the spot. There was only one hiccup in the operation. He hit a cut nail on one of the cuts and trashed the blade. Afterwards, the sawblade looked more like a mini-rake with how bad the teeth were bent. I'm glad he brought an extra blade. He cut most of it into 5/4 boards, with two at 8/4. Most of the boards are 13" - 15" wide. With the broken balde adding $25, it cost $275. Not too bad.

Has anyone ever worked with sweet gum before? I have heard (and seen now) that it the heartwod looks like walnut, but I don't know how it works. I have also heard that it can twist like a flag in the wind when it dries, so I need to really weigh it down when I air dry it.

Anyway, just sharing the adventure with everyone. Here are some before and after pics.

Jonathan

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sweetGumLog.JPG

sweetGumStack2.jpg

SweetGumDetail2.jpg

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Those boards have some great color.

I have never built anything with sweet gum, although it works great in the fireplace. In splitting it for the fireplace though, I noticed that the grain tends to spiral around the tree instead of running strait. (sort of like twine spirals down a length of rope) If the logs dry out, they also crack along that spiraled grain. As the wood dries, that spiral shrinks down on itself and becomes more compact--at least it does when I let it sit before splitting it. I think that the spiraling grain will be your biggest challenge, although having it sawed up may remove the stress of the spiraling grain.

Let us know how you decide to use it.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Pretty cool looking. I gotta say though, your grass looks even better. ;)

I am waiting for my "farmboss" AV 041 28" to be done being serviced then I can finally get to the woodmizer and the oak and walnut in my dw. Your pic makes me want to cut real bad lol:)). No nails here though, the grove of walnut was in the neck of the woods where no one goes and the oak was at my aunts/ gm for the past 89 years. She remembers ( my grandma ) the oak being a shoot lol. Sorry to get sidetracked, but before you do anything with the wood, please get it of that fine looking grass :) I'd kill for grass like that!

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please get it of that fine looking grass :) I'd kill for grass like that!

The lumber only stayed for a couple of days. It's now stickered and covered. That part of the yard does have the best grass. The rest of the yard... well, let's just say we will still love it now matter what the other plants say. :-)

Jonathan

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I saw some nice furniture on your website! Looking forward to a project made from that Sweet Gum. I have one in the backyard and it is kind of a pain.Those prickly balls make going barefoot a challenge. It might tick me off one day and end up on my wood lathe.....

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I saw some nice furniture on your website! Looking forward to a project made from that Sweet Gum. I have one in the backyard and it is kind of a pain.Those prickly balls make going barefoot a challenge. It might tick me off one day and end up on my wood lathe.....

Thanks Steve. I'm looking forward to making something with it too. I hate the prickly balls too (we called them monkey balls when we were kids, I have no idea why.) You can't mow them. They are difficult to rake. A leaf blower doesn't work on them very well. I pay my kids a quarter a bucket to pick them up.

Jonathan

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Thanks Steve. I'm looking forward to making something with it too. I hate the prickly balls too (we called them monkey balls when we were kids, I have no idea why.) You can't mow them. They are difficult to rake. A leaf blower doesn't work on them very well. I pay my kids a quarter a bucket to pick them up.

Jonathan

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Quarter A BUCKET???? Bless their hearts. Sounds like "back in the day" pricing. I used to cut a 1 3/4 acre yard with a push mower for $4. Growing up, we had gum trees. Hated the prickly balls. Go barefoot all summber and the balls would still ATTACK your feet when you stepped on them. On drying the boards, I'm guessing they may try to do a corkscrew. Stack the boards with spacers in a 2 1/2 foot wide pile. Cut 3 foot pieces of 1/4 angle iron, drill holes at the ends. One piece of angle underneath and one on the top. Use long pieces of threaded rod to join together. Space the top and bottom angle about every two feet going down the stack of boards. (three feet apart and you only have to buy one stick of 20' angle iron but I'm thinking every 2 feet would be better). Tighten the nuts on the threaded rod weekly as the wood dries and the spacing and clamping will minimize the twist. Still....may not be flat but it's pretty enough for projects needing short pieces.
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Quarter A BUCKET???? Bless their hearts. Sounds like "back in the day" pricing. I used to cut a 1 3/4 acre yard with a push mower for $4. Growing up, we had gum trees. Hated the prickly balls. Go barefoot all summber and the balls would still ATTACK your feet when you stepped on them. On drying the boards, I'm guessing they may try to do a corkscrew. Stack the boards with spacers in a 2 1/2 foot wide pile. Cut 3 foot pieces of 1/4 angle iron, drill holes at the ends. One piece of angle underneath and one on the top. Use long pieces of threaded rod to join together. Space the top and bottom angle about every two feet going down the stack of boards. (three feet apart and you only have to buy one stick of 20' angle iron but I'm thinking every 2 feet would be better). Tighten the nuts on the threaded rod weekly as the wood dries and the spacing and clamping will minimize the twist. Still....may not be flat but it's pretty enough for projects needing short pieces.

Tim-

The angle iron is a good idea. I have them covered with sand bags to weigh it down.

When the my kids are 1st and Pre-K, I can still get away with low sums... but I think that is running out.

Jonathan

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  • 2 months later...

I've often wondered about sweet gum as lumber. Never had a chance to try but thought I would mention this:

I took down a small sweet gum and larger chinese chestnut at the same time 2 years ago. Took them down mostly because of they both produce those annoying prickly balls--though the chestnuts are more like ninja balls of death than just annoying. Anyway, two years later the logs I have left from the chestnut are still essentially intact, while the sweet gum log is dust. I didn't do anything to them; they seemed to attract bugs and rot in no time flat.

(the roots on the other hand are eternal. I've had to rip up shoots every weekend for the last 2 years and it shows no sign of slowing down)

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