Drying sweetgum...again

[kelLOGg]

The sweetgum ovals I cut months ago

Has anyone cut oval table tops on a bandmill? in Sawmills and Milling

have now come out of the kiln and they look fantastic. (No pics yet - still in the kiln) Those with bark 360° around did not crack or twist but most of those test pieces with a flat barkless end did crack.

One problem though.
They are not dry. MC measures about 12 to 13%. I put them in the kiln at 19% MC and the lowest I could get them was about 14%. I then turned up the heat to 140° and vented after 18 hrs and after cooling I measured 12.7%. I read an account of a commercial kin drying at 230°.
Is this what it takes to dry sweetgum? What a tease, bummer.

Bob

[Southside]

Is this what it takes to dry sweetgum?

Thermal Nuclear Energy...:D

[GeneWengert-WoodDoc]

Sweetgum heartwood, called red gum, and not black gum as was in my earlier draft, does dry slowly.  Stay fairly cool, like you are in temperature, and wait.

Sapgum, the sapwood, dries quite quickly and can take high temperatures, but you have to consider the heartwood.

[kelLOGg]

Thanks, Gene. How "cool" should I keep the kiln? and how much longer do you estimate the drying will take? My MC measurements were taken in heartwood - I did not measure it in the sapwood. I will do that tomorrow.

I have had a very hopeful experience sawing SG as ovals, air drying, and kiln drying to ~13% MC. I just don't want to stumble so close to the finish line.

Bob

[GeneWengert-WoodDoc]

My favorite would be 130-135 F.

Do not let the RH get under 40% RH except maybe the last day.

[ellmoe]

Sweetgum heartwood, called black gum, does dry slowly.  

Gene, never heard in called black gum, perhaps you meant " red gum"?

[xlogger]

I always thought that a black gum was a total different tree from SG.

[kelLOGg]

Ricky, in an earlier post you said you had cut several ovals. Were they SG? and what was your experience/conditions for drying?
Bob

[GeneWengert-WoodDoc]

Fooops!  I was out to lunch...red gum is correct.

[xlogger]

have not cut any SG figured might be a waste of time.

[WDH]

The heartwood can be beautiful.

[bwstout]

Not sure if you can really see all of the figure in the 3 bowl from the right but it is sweet gum heart wood it is really beautifully wood easy to turn and finish.