sweet gum /Red gum

[Joey Grimes]

We recent cut some mature sweet gum into 8/4 slabs I've always heard mature sweet gum with mostly heartwood was then called red gum? It has very interesting color and grain patterns. 

 

[fishfighter]

How wide was that log? The few gums I sawed for just blocking, the lumber was all white. Logs around 16" on the small end.

[Joey Grimes]

They were about 18 inch diameter

[brad918]

That gum has some great figure! Does red/sweet gum mostly grow in the south? Here is a table I made from "red" gum, at least that's what the guy who sold me the slab said. He said it must have sat around awhile before it was milled. I always thought red gum was, well red.

[sandsawmill14]

i saw ALOT of gum in the spring time while sap is rising the gum logs will sprout limbs and put 2-3 leaves on while in the log pile if its rains alot    maybe one of the foresters will enlighten us about this

It comes from epicormic buds under the bark.  These are stimulated by sunlight.  Normally these are dormant, but you'll see them on trees if there has been a heavy removal of timber.  You will get leaves and branching all over the bole.  They drop off when the overstory closes in. 

I have sawn logs that have had this, and it is a loss of grade.  The log looks good, but you'll hit a couple of inches of wood that have a bunch of pin knots.  You'll can have a FAS front, and the back can drop below 2 Com.  Next board will clean up.

Logs will branch out in the spring, as there is enough moisture in the cambial layer to support it.  I have seen it in tulip poplar and walnut, as well. 

[fishfighter]

I'm sure MM will be posting about his favor log to saw. :D

Yep, they sure do saw easy. Heck, clearing land with a backhoe, a gum that is around 12" at the base will snap off if one doesn't dig enough root ball up.

[WDH]

Joey,

I don't saw it because of warp and twist from the spiral grain.  Hopefully, your slabs will dry straight.

[Joey Grimes]

I have had similar experience with twist and warp but it had a lot of sapwood .This log layed flat and showed no stress when cut so I'm hoping for the best time will tell.

[Wudman]

Liquidambar styraciflua (sweetgum) is generally a southeastern US species.  It is a prolific seeder and will outrun Virginia pine across a fallow field.  Leave a field fallow for a couple of years and you will be fighting sweetgums until you break out the herbicide.  One good thing about sweetgum......it is highly susceptible to glyphosate.

I have heard the sapwood of sweetgum referred to as sap gum and the heartwood referred to as red gum.  I had a customer that peeled (plywood) it for curved drawer fronts.  It grows rapidly, is often gun barrel straight, but has a spiral grain that likes to twist when drying.  Most of it here ends up in the cross tie and pallet market.

The color of the heartwood ranges from green to purple to blue to brown.  Most of it will go to a brownish color when dry.  I have seen some beautiful spalted sweetgum table tops.

I'm sure any of the guys south of the Mason Dixon will send you all that you want to saw.

Wudman 

[Okrafarmer]

I love sweetgum, and have had very little trouble getting it to dry straight, especially if the logs were 16+ inches in diameter before milling. Sometimes there's a little movement, but nothing I don't find in other species, such as red maple.

There is a lot of variation in sweetgum heartwood. Often times the heartwood shape (looking at the end of the log) is more Antarctica-shaped, elephant-shaped, or octopus-shaped. Often there are random specks of heartwood scattered throughout the sapwood, like a pixelized digital photo.

_grin

[Okrafarmer]

Oh, and at least once i had a sweetgum log that was too big in diameter to fit on an LT40. That shouldn't be a problem for me now, with the Turbosawmill.

[fishfighter]

DanG sweet gum is a problem on my place. Last time I had a section select logged, I had them just about clear cut some sections of the woods due to sweet gum over taking areas. Had them leave behind big oaks and of course I never let them take pecan trees.

Those areas are now oak and pecan stands which are around 15 years old.

When they tree sweet gum around here, it's all chip wood.

[WDH]

Joey,

Yours is some of the prettiest that I have seen.