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Sweetgum Fence Posts?

Started by Deese, November 26, 2013, 10:34:17 AM

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Deese

My house and about 4 acres are enclosed in this wooden fence. The posts and boards were treated with creosote oil prior to assembly (the fence was already there when I bought the place). Every year or so, I will apply a mixture of non-fibered foundation coating (black tar-like stuff in a 5 gallon bucket) mixed with diesel fuel or used motor oil with a big paint brush. The fence is about 8 years old and several of the posts are beginning to develop rot in the top center of the post. Eventually I will be forced to replace them.


 

I am looking for your advice/thoughts/suggestions on cutting 6x6 sweetgum posts on the mill and using them on my fence? I would prefer to cut a bunch of them and stack/let them dry long enough for them to absorb the diesel fuel/non-fibered tar coating before sticking them into the ground. Do you think this would work, or should I immediately put them in the ground after cutting them? 
2004 LT40 Super 51hp w/6' bed extension
Cooks AE4P Edger
Cat Claw sharpener/Dual Tooth Setter
Kubota svl75-2 skidsteer w/grapple, forks, brushcutter
1977 Log Hog Knuckleboom loader/truck

CalebL

I haven't had much luck with sweet gum in the ground.  You are much better off to use white oak or cedar. 
2005 LT40 HDD34
2000 Cat 226 Skid Loader

GeneWengert-WoodDoc

Perhaps you can find a local pressure treater that will treat a few posts whenever he has a little extra space in his cylinder and therefore won't charge you much.  Dry the posts before treating.  If wet, then very little solution will get in.  Decay above ground will occur where the boards contact the post, as that is the area that will stay wet enough for fungal growth.
Gene - Author of articles in Sawmill & Woodlot and books: Drying Hardwood Lumber; VA Tech Solar Kiln; Sawing Edging & Trimming Hardwood Lumber. And more

Deese

Thanks Doc, great idea :) I will definitely look into that.

CalebL--I agree 100% about using cedar or oak, but it just makes me cringe at the thought of using them for posts. I'm talking a BUNCH of fence posts over the next few years. I'm just hoping that the sweetgum would work.
2004 LT40 Super 51hp w/6' bed extension
Cooks AE4P Edger
Cat Claw sharpener/Dual Tooth Setter
Kubota svl75-2 skidsteer w/grapple, forks, brushcutter
1977 Log Hog Knuckleboom loader/truck

DanG

Deese, you're a young guy, so I'm sure you want that fence to last a long time.  Go to a LOCAL farm supply or home improvement store and ask them where they get their fence posts, then call that supplier and ask if they custom treat.  I would go with pine, since it dries a lot faster than sweet gum.  Most treaters won't touch anything over 25% moisture, so it will take a while.  Meanwhile, I wouldn't lean on the present fence too hard.  Those posts are probably rotting just below ground level.  Be sure and clean all sawdust off of your lumber before delivering it to the treat plant, as they don't like dusty lumber clogging up their plumbing.  Some treaters will use CCA on farm lumber and others will only use it on round wood.  CCA is about half the cost of ACQ, so it would be worth some extra travel to get it. ;)
"I don't feel like an old man.  I feel like a young man who has something wrong with him."  Dick Cavett
"Beat not thy sword into a plowshare, rather beat the sword of thine enemy into a plowshare."

Sixacresand

I plan to just buy treated 4 x 4's for post and use my boards that will be stained.  Some people here soak dried post in used motor oil.   I researched chemicals, boron plugs, waterproofing material and they all seem to be complicated and so much trouble and expensive.  If there were a service to treat my dried lumber, I would definitely look into it.  Hint.  that might be a opportunity for someone.  Not me.  LOL
"Sometimes you can make more hay with less equipment if you just use your head."  Tom, Forestry Forum.  Tenth year with a LT40 Woodmizer,

Den-Den

Not sure that I would try it but; Sweet Gum heartwood is resistant to rot (at least a lot more than the sapwood).  Sweet Gum heartwood is also too pretty for fence posts.  Not all Sweet Gum trees have heartwood, I have seen 24 + inch diameter ones that had little or no heartwood.
You may think that you can or may think you can't; either way, you are right.

Magicman

Quote from: Deese on November 26, 2013, 10:55:38 AMI agree 100% about using cedar or oak, but it just makes me cringe at the thought of using them for posts.
I would cringe at the thought of using Sweetgum for fence posts.   :o 
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beenthere

QuoteI would cringe at the thought of using Sweetgum for fence posts.

'fraid they might sprout and grow ??   ;D
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

POSTON WIDEHEAD

Quote from: beenthere on November 26, 2013, 04:56:58 PM
QuoteI would cringe at the thought of using Sweetgum for fence posts.

'fraid they might sprout and grow ??   ;D

Sneak over there at night and put fertilizer around his fence post.  :D :D :D
The older I get I wish my body could Re-Gen.

Deese

QuoteSneak over there at night and put fertilizer around his fence post.   

Better wear your long johns because its gettin' COLD! :o :o :o :o
2004 LT40 Super 51hp w/6' bed extension
Cooks AE4P Edger
Cat Claw sharpener/Dual Tooth Setter
Kubota svl75-2 skidsteer w/grapple, forks, brushcutter
1977 Log Hog Knuckleboom loader/truck

POSTON WIDEHEAD

Quote from: Deese on November 26, 2013, 07:10:28 PM
QuoteSneak over there at night and put fertilizer around his fence post.   

Better wear your long johns because its gettin' COLD! :o :o :o :o

I like your new Avatar, Deese.  :)
The older I get I wish my body could Re-Gen.

Deese

Thanks Poston. He is my supervisor  ;)
2004 LT40 Super 51hp w/6' bed extension
Cooks AE4P Edger
Cat Claw sharpener/Dual Tooth Setter
Kubota svl75-2 skidsteer w/grapple, forks, brushcutter
1977 Log Hog Knuckleboom loader/truck

WDH

Deese,

Sweetgum makes a very poor post.  I would not use it for posts.  It will rot quickly. 
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

ellmoe

  We have pressure treated sweet gum posts successfully in the past. It will rot amazingly fast in it's natural state.
Mark
Thirty plus years in the sawmill/millwork business. A sore back and arthritic fingers to prove it!

Rockn H

I have to agree with everyone else, untreated sweet gum will rot REALLY fast.   You can also check with pole treatment companies.  They usually sell their blems pretty cheap, and you could resaw them to match your post.

dboyt

Looks like those post will only need to last until those trees you planted are big enough to nail onto. ;D  Actually, in the old days, people would plant black locust along the fence line for exactly that purpose. 
When the tree was big enough, they would cut it down above the fence and have some lumber & firewood.  Another option would be an old-fashioned hedge row with Osage orange.
Norwood MX34 Pro portable sawmill, 8N Ford, Lewis Winch

Deese

Quote from: WDH on November 26, 2013, 10:46:57 PM
Deese,

Sweetgum makes a very poor post.  I would not use it for posts.  It will rot quickly.

Thanks WDH. I didn't know about it rotting so fast. I will plan on using something else instead.
2004 LT40 Super 51hp w/6' bed extension
Cooks AE4P Edger
Cat Claw sharpener/Dual Tooth Setter
Kubota svl75-2 skidsteer w/grapple, forks, brushcutter
1977 Log Hog Knuckleboom loader/truck

Deese

Quote from: dboyt on November 28, 2013, 12:22:57 PM
Looks like those post will only need to last until those trees you planted are big enough to nail onto. ;D  Actually, in the old days, people would plant black locust along the fence line for exactly that purpose. 
When the tree was big enough, they would cut it down above the fence and have some lumber & firewood.  Another option would be an old-fashioned hedge row with Osage orange.

Those trees (leyland cypress) are growing very fast. That photo was taken almost two years ago when I planted them. Some of them haven't grown much, but most of them are chest-high already. I will try to remember and take photos tomorrow for comparison.
2004 LT40 Super 51hp w/6' bed extension
Cooks AE4P Edger
Cat Claw sharpener/Dual Tooth Setter
Kubota svl75-2 skidsteer w/grapple, forks, brushcutter
1977 Log Hog Knuckleboom loader/truck

Deese

I just found this one taken about one year after they were planted. They are much bigger now.


 
2004 LT40 Super 51hp w/6' bed extension
Cooks AE4P Edger
Cat Claw sharpener/Dual Tooth Setter
Kubota svl75-2 skidsteer w/grapple, forks, brushcutter
1977 Log Hog Knuckleboom loader/truck

scleigh

Deese, I know you may be going for a certain look and would like to use post' and lumber that you milled; but I don't see how you could mill them, have them treated and not spend a lot more than if you bought treated. I fenced 11 acres and bought all my post's at southern states for $ 8 apiece. Just a suggestion.

Deese

Your're probably right. I have access to as much red oak as I could ever cut, but it would probably be more valuable as lumber or firewood.
2004 LT40 Super 51hp w/6' bed extension
Cooks AE4P Edger
Cat Claw sharpener/Dual Tooth Setter
Kubota svl75-2 skidsteer w/grapple, forks, brushcutter
1977 Log Hog Knuckleboom loader/truck

scleigh

Do you have a market for the red oak as lumber or slabs? Maybe you could sell enough to pay for the fence as you replace the old.
Could use treated post and your oak (after dry and sealed ) for the railing.

SAnVA

Around here we use locust for our fence posts , if I didn't have locust I would, as others mentioned, go buy pressure treated posts, don't see how you could come out cutting posts and hauling them somewhere to be pressure treated , that would cost more than buying them to begin with, good luck!

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