I've got a lot of sweet gum on my property, and was wondering if it was good for anything.
Burning 🔥 Let it dry for a few YEARS (at least 2) and then you'll be able to split it with a maul or an axe. Be warned, not as many BTU's as oak. I don't have a splitter, but a good one should do the job.
Also not good for walking around the yard barefoot! The little pods look like sea urchins.
Or you can sell it for $500 a slab. Your choice. Cut these today.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/34297/KIMG1000.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1614391455)
Quote from: Southside on February 26, 2021, 09:03:11 PM
Or you can sell it for $500 a slab. Your choice. Cut these today.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/34297/KIMG1000.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1614391455)
Awesome
From what I've been told, sweet gum is kinda plain and not very pretty fresh cut, but if you let it lay for a year or so and then mill it the colors can be quite pretty
Sweetgum has a nick name of "satin walnut" because it is pretty wood. It doesn't dry straight, especially when flat sawn. Your best bet is to saw it oversized or quarter saw it. I used it for my son's bedroom trim, but I had to do a bunch of re-sawing and planing to make it usable, because I sawed 6/4 slabs that did not dry flat at all.
My son and I made a picture frame for some of his soccer pictures today. We used a piece of sweetgum that was hanging around the shop. I think it will look very nice with some finish on it.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/13036/P1020972.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1552909946)
Made from sweetgum diagonally cut, air dried and kiln dried. Has not split after several years. I have made 3 of these.
Well done!
Powderpost beetles ate my lumber up.
It was beautiful, but twisted the most of anything I've ever had.