Sycamore

[rockman]

We had a storm blow thru this afternoon before I got home from work. It blew the top out of one of my largest Sycamores, (I will post photo's later).I will leave the but standing til I'm ready to have it sawed, it's about 30" on the stump. My question is, what is the best use of Sycamore lumber?

Thanks,

Kevin

[Woodsrover]

Please don't say it's awesome lumber for this or for that....I had a 24"er pull out of the ground in my storm and I bucked it up and pushed it over the bank.   :-\

[Tree Feller]

My question is, what is the best use of Sycamore lumber?

Thanks,

Kevin

QS Sycamore has beautiful lacy figure and is prized by woodworkers, (me included).

If the tree were mine, I would QS it, dry it and either use it myself or sell it to other woodworkers.

[WDH]

Sycamore has spiral interlocked grain, making it difficult to dry straight without twist and warp.  It is most stable quartersawn, and the ray fleck is very stunning like Cody said.  It is a challenge to keep the boards flat after you plane them if they are not in perfect equilibrium moisture content wise.

[davch00]

Posted by: Tree Feller
« on: Today at 09:19:12 pm » Insert Quote
Quote from: rockman on Today at 08:58:01 pm
My question is, what is the best use of Sycamore lumber?

Thanks,

Kevin

QS Sycamore has beautiful lacy figure and is prized by woodworkers, (me included).

If the tree were mine, I would QS it, dry it and either use it myself or sell it to other woodworkers.

You beat me to it. I was going to say sycamore makes some might fine furniture.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

I really like to QS Sycamore. When QSawn it will show a "snake skin" look.

I shed a tear when WOODSROVER said he pushed a Sycamore over the bank. 

" Make BENCHES" out of it and sell 'em. People love the look. Saw 2-3 inch slabs and let them dry and make a bench. You'd be surprised what a Sycamore log is worth.....with a little thought.  say_what

And if the wood is SPALTED.....That's gravy!



  

 

[WDH]

That bench is still watching me  .

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

 

That bench is still watching me  .

smiley_beady_eyes

[Magicman]

Once dried, it is very stable.  I have made several pieces of furniture from it and it also makes wonderful drawer sides and backs.

[Delawhere Jack]

I really like to QS Sycamore. When QSawn it will show a "snake skin" look.

I shed a tear when WOODSROVER said he pushed a Sycamore over the bank. 

" Make BENCHES" out of it and sell 'em. People love the look. Saw 2-3 inch slabs and let them dry and make a bench. You'd be surprised what a Sycamore log is worth.....with a little thought.  say_what

And if the wood is SPALTED.....That's gravy!



  

 

On the narrow end of that bench...I see a tom turkey's face......... on November 20th.......... when he knows his fate.

[Woodey]

I have turned some nice looking vases from Sycamore.
You can see the "snake skin" look on the vase.

I had some logs that I let set to long, I ended up with spalted sycamore.  ;D   Wow, it looks good!

[5quarter]

something to note about sycamore...If the log has twist in it and you are going for true qtrsawn, you will be disappointed. you may be exactly 90° to the rings on one end, but as the log twists, the rays will very quickly run out. If you're log is knotty and/or has twist up the trunk, push it over the bank.  ;) I haven't had too much trouble with sycamore, flat or quartersawn. but I won't saw sycamore unless its clear and well formed. also, I will saw a few oaks and stack them on top. Sycamore always goes at the bottom of the stack.

[T Welsh]

rockman, Its worth the effort ;D

  

  . As other,s have said make sure when you sticker it up keep you sticker perfectly inline and weight it down afterwards. Not all logs are good for sawing,only butt logs with no knots, any knots bigger than 4" will twist like a pretzel. Tim

[Woodsrover]

I shed a tear when WOODSROVER said he pushed a Sycamore over the bank. 

It's still there.  Just pushed it there after this past storm and it's right on top.  The bottom 6' is still on the uprooted stump and there are a few 4' or so sections.  If anyone wants it, come and get it.

[WDH]

Putting the stickers closer together will help, too.

[Kansas]

A couple of things. If you saw perfectly quartersawn on thicker lumber, you will get flake on one side; you won't get it on the other. It has to be pretty well perfectly lined up to get it. Rift sawn may lay flatter than flat sawn, but really doesn't show the good stuff. Also, each log may show it better or worse than the last one. Not all flake is equal. Its been our experience that those logs with more color in them show better flake than ones that are more white. I don't know about other parts of the country, but around here, shake can be a problem. We did have a job with a lot of sycamore come in and not a single log had shake. Think Jeff has a picture of one we sent him for our website from that job but never has finished (our fault, not his-the website that is). All the years of having timbers logged I never encountered that clean of sycamore.

[hackberry jake]

I used sycamore for 80% or so of my sawshed. As log as the grain is fairly straight it makes pretty strong lumber. If it has crooked grain or knots, don't use it for load bearing applications.

[Fil-Dill]

Jake, how well will it take a nail or screw?

[Magicman]

I can tell you that seasoned Sycamore is very hard.  Pre-drill your screw holes.

Having 20"+ logs helps with stability.

[hackberry jake]

I have a Hatrid for nails. I used 3" deck screws for the most part. I let it dry in the sticker stack for about three months, then built with it. I didn't pre drill for the holes and it works great. Some of the screws would squeeze out some moisture when they bottomed out so I know it was still pretty green. Sycamore is known for its inability to split. With dryer lumber you may need to pre drill.

[Kansas]

When I had my house built and they built the deck from bur oak from the mill, they never predrilled a hole. They used a hammer drill and special screws. I never saw evidence that they twisted any of them off. If you could do that with bur oak, it should be a lot easier in sycamore.

[Bibbyman]

 

 

We used sycamore to frame out our swashed.   It's hard to make long straight and accurate lumber out of sycamore logs as there tends to be a lot of stress to deal with.

We saw and nail right off the mill with water still squirting out.  Let it dry and it will crawl off and be too hard to drive a nail into.  But nail it up green and pull the bends out of it and it will dry reasonably straight in place.

We have sawn thick 1" sheeting for a couple of guys rebuilding and restoring log cabins.  The rafters were 4' spacing so the lumber was sawin 1-1/4" thick.  Both customers were very pleased. 

Put nail or screw into sycamore and its there forever.   You'll never pull it.  The nail may break off.

We removed one shed off the north side of the saw shed and replaced it with a major extension.  I used the loader to demolish the framework.  Or tried to.  I managed to pull it down and mangle it.  I ended up taking the chainsaw and reducing the framework to sizes small enough to handle and dispose of.   The nails would not pull out and the sycamore would not bust up.

[Indiana Robinson]

Three of the old barns here on the farm are timber-frame and in all three the timbers are sycamore cut here on the farm at least 100 years ago and assembled green. It works great for that as long as it is protected from the weather. Those three were sided with SYP shiplap.
I need to replace several post in one barn and plan to saw them from sycamore from here on the farm (just because  ).
All three could use work, one more than the others. I really wish that I had the funds loose (and energy) to do some serious work on them. Sadly everything you do on an old barn can get $$$$.   :


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[rockman]

something to note about sycamore...If the log has twist in it and you are going for true qtrsawn, you will be disappointed. you may be exactly 90° to the rings on one end, but as the log twists, the rays will very quickly run out. If you're log is knotty and/or has twist up the trunk, push it over the bank.  ;) I haven't had too much trouble with sycamore, flat or quartersawn. but I won't saw sycamore unless its clear and well formed. also, I will saw a few oaks and stack them on top. Sycamore always goes at the bottom of the stack.

Fortunately, This tree is on level ground and is very straight. I am glad to hear it makes nice furniture, I need to build a few pieces.

Kevin

[jpmorris98]

Made for a right pretty header arch earlier this year....


 
The remainder of the frame is white oak.