i want to ask you guys with the experience, Is a sweet gum worth cutting < B-I-L is clear cutting some property and the excavator is in there digging stumps and knocking down trees the timber company did not want and there is a sweet gum tree laid down right now and not in a burn pile YET, B-I-L said take it if i want it, but i need to get it PDQ before it finds its way in a pile, Its about 30" diameter straight as an arrow and about 60' of good cutting , what would you guys do cut or take a pass on it? thanks for any info
I have no use for sweetgum, I know a few here have saw some up before.
Sweet Gum makes some of the best Barn Siding I've experienced.
When dried....its as hard as a rock. When I use it, I saw it green and get it up.
I built a shed using SG for siding. I was prepared in the way as I sawed 20 boards, I would stop and install the boards to the shed.
I used rink shank nails to keep the boards from drawing away from the shed as the boards dried. Screws can be used also.
I also use my shed as a sales point that SG came be used.
Google Sweet Furniture. Its beautiful. getting it to dry without a twist is the trick. I've never built furniture from it but they say it takes a green SG board 1 1/2" thick just to get a dried 3/4" board out of it because of the twisting.
No sweetgum around here but sure sounds a lot like cottonwood or Elm , both like to twist. Siding sounds like a good use for it put up green. I use Elm and cottonwood for outrigger board on semi trailers as it doesn't spilt , with enough weight most dry fairly straight. Steve
po jo, grab that sweet gum log and quarter saw it. Stack and sticker with weights on top. It's slow to dry, but once dry, it's quite stable. Makes nice furniture. Sweetgum has spiral grain, and flat sawn, it WILL twist and warp. Fresh cut, it mills nicely..
Quote from: pineywoods on June 30, 2013, 03:26:47 PM
po jo, grab that sweet gum log and quarter saw it. Stack and sticker with weights on top. It's slow to dry, but once dry, it's quite stable. Makes nice furniture. Sweetgum has spiral grain, and flat sawn, it WILL twist and warp. Fresh cut, it mills nicely..
+1
Where is Magic Man ?
QuoteWhere is Magic Man ?
He said it was cabin time, for a week. ;)
Quote from: beenthere on June 30, 2013, 06:05:49 PM
QuoteWhere is Magic Man ?
He said it was cabin time, for a week. ;)
Jeff banned him when he reached "15,000 Posts"! ban_smiley :D
so what would be the best thickness to saw it? quarter sawn and or used for siding? thanks again for the insight
I have used it for flooring on lowboy trailers. When it is dry it don't get as brittle as oak. It won't last as long but it seems to have a little give to it when the back-hoe is between the cross members. Put it down green.
Quote from: customsawyer on June 30, 2013, 07:21:39 PM
I have used it for flooring on lowboy trailers. When it is dry it don't get as brittle as oak. It won't last as long but it seems to have a little give to it when the back-hoe is between the cross members. Put it down green.
another+1 on trailor decking. david
I would definitely NOT flat saw it. Like Piney says, quartersaw it. It does not like to behave in wide glued panels or tabletops. However, it would make very nice wainscott or paneling where each board is free to move as in V-goove or tongue in groove.
Heavy equipment mechanics and haulers prefer sweetgum for blocking.
well after the 3.5" of rain yesterday afternoon, I caught the guy in the excavator early this morning and had him move that tree closer to the road and out of that swamp mud hole from the ran, it was so muddy even that excavator had to work some to get it moved to the road,
Had a buddy with 30 yrs in the logging business back when they were cutting big stuff out of the swamps with chainsaws here to help/ school me on some proper bucking, this thing had that massive root ball on it and that kept the base a good 5' off the ground due to the root ball, i looked at it and said to myself man i need to get some help on this and not kill myself trying to buck it, my buddy came over and made look easy, tho i know he had the experience from years of cutting , he took the top out first then did 3 10' section , weird they were partial cuts not fully thru and he said watch this, when he cut the final cut near the root ball , all the cuts open up and set that thing down nice and easy, i could not or have ever thought of cutting that way but he has the experience, glad i called him,
Then we dragged that thing out of the mud and got them moved to house and 2 of them loaded up on the log deck, then it began to rain again, will have to go out in the morning and put the anchor seal on the end, I didnt think the anchor seal would stay on in the pouring rain being its water clean up, so after all was said and done i got 3 10' long logs running in the 32" diameter range,,, for me these things are huge and gonna be a lot of work to cut, and test myself and machine, hopefully i can get to start cutting on my next weekend,
I am looking forward to this adventure.
Pictures please!
If the heartwood is figured, like it sometimes is, there will be some spectacular color. It will have a striped effect on the quartersawn face.
I don't care what it is, if someone offers me a 60' log in the 32" dia class, I'm not turning it down. Sweetgum can be some really pretty wood, if you can keep it straight. If you are milling for trailer decking, find out what thickness they want before you start cutting. Glad you're going for it, looking forward to photos.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/12837/SwtGum_11s.jpg)
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/31204/0702130845.jpg)
This is 2 of the SG logs on the deck they make that red oak that i have on the mill look small, gonna be be interesting trying to cut these things, gonna have to wash these down when it comes time to.especially after.dragging them thru the mud and sand, i am already wishing i had your guys nicer rigs especially those with hydraulics on them, :)
Po-Jo,
What do those SG logs measure across, 28 inches? Love to know how they saw on that EZ Boardwalk. I have EZ Jr. also. What type of lumber are you sawing up and what are you using the lumber for?
What blade set are you using? The same for hardwood or softwood?
If you keep this up I might have to ride over and supervise. ;D Please notice I am not offering to help.
Po-Jo before i got a debarker i used a small draw knife on dirty logs.It worked quiet well.
Jake if i run into much more of this I am gonna call you and work a deal with you taking them and i help you , this is really starting to get a little out of my range, especially without hydraulics :-[
I need to try that draw knife and see how it would work for me.
ez the bigger log is pushing 30 and the smaller one is 27, I use the same blade on both just different speeds, I am not a PRO like most of the fellers on here, I am doing this for projects around the house, barns, chicken house, room addition stuff like that
Mud is a killer for bands for sure, po-jo, keep on keeping on, you will figure this out soon enough, those look to be some good logs, there is a bark wizard for chain saws, I kinda think this would be better than a draw knife, if possible, in the mean time turn the logs with the sawn side out to reduce the bark entry, a pain, but worth it till a debarker is available, david, side note, trailer decking should be bolted down, or whatever, soon after cutting, they will warp and twist,
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/31204/0310141407.jpg)
Well its been a while but this is some of that sweetgum i cut , it was tricky to dry, but i am making bookshelves out of some of it now, man does this stuff have some really nice markings in it, i wish i was a better furniture builder, this stuff is buetiful when i did some staining and poly
Bookshelves are a good start. ;D 8) 8) 8)
https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/31204/desk~0.jpg desk shelve combo for the kids schooling
Nice ;D
You are a very brave man ;D. Nice piece, too.
I have lots of SG tall and straight like tree weeds. Some are not big enough for crossties and I've been wondering what to do with 'em. Even if I can get just a few boards outa one, it's more than what I had. I at least I need siding for the mill shed. Thanks for testing the water.
I love Sweet Gum for siding.......I just have to get my nerve up to saw it, 'cause I know I gots to start screwing it up. :D
I thought that was your strong point. ;D
Large and straight is the key word. Limbs and crotches are a no, no.
I thought of one other use for sweetgum, something to challenge the Autine splitting axe with for a real worst case test! Cut a few 18" sections and send it to Latvia for John Neeman to try out!
I was out splitting wood the other day and everything was going great until I hit this one piece and my axe (home depot axe not Autine) got stuck 1/2 way through. Didn't pay attention before but my neighbor threw some sweetgum on the pile. Took me ten minutes to get the axe out it was wedged so bad. Had to get a splitting wedge and a sledgehammer from the barn.