sweetgum logs

[Ivey]

I have a couple of nice sweetgum logs that I will be milling soon, but I am not sure what I want to make from them. Do any of you use sweetgum, and if so, what for. Does anyone need anything particular before I saw it up..
Thanks, Ivey

 

[jeff...]

I have a couple of nice sweetgum logs that I will be milling soon, but I am not sure what I want to make from them. Do any of you use sweetgum, and if so, what for. Does anyone need anything particular before I saw it up..
Thanks, Ivey

Ivey, The heart wood of red gum is also known as poor mans walnut. Looks very similar to walnut and makes great looking book matched sets. Sweet gum is a lot lighter in color and more resembles maple. Both like to peel right ahead of the saw blade when it's dry which makes it a easy cutting wood. Both are quite hard and very bendable, personally I think gum in general is way under rated, I really like working with both of them.

here's a pretty good page about gum wood.
http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/gum.htm

Thanks

 

[Ivey]

Thanks Jeff, that was a very good read. I have sawn black gum before and it looks alot like the pictures in the link, but darker.

 

[William Roscoe]

Ivey, I'd recommend cutting at least 5/4 or greater to help keep it from warping. I've got some dried gum but haven't made anything with it yet so I don't know how it will machines. It is some beautiful wood. I'm surprised it's not used more because it grows like a weed and is very plentiful.

 

[Ivey]

William, thanks for the advice, and thats what I'll do. I'll saw them 5/4 and 6/4 as wide as the log will let me:-D I have had a lot of people trying to give me sweetgum, but always turned them down. I took these because they are big w/ red hearts (redgum)
Thanks again, Ivey

 

[Big Mike]

Ivey, I know you don't prepare timber for turning but spalted sweetgum is some of the most spectacular wood you could imagine. I have seen some magnificent turnings from sweetgum.....

 

[SteveHall]

I made quite a few phone calls many months back looking for gum, but was unable to find anything dried. I like that it is a local wood, and has beautiful grains as seen in these two examples:

http://www.rjfinewood.com/bedroom/walnut-dresser.html
http://www.rjfinewood.com/bedroom/lingerie-dresser.html

I learned that a lot of gum is used as railroad ties, since their large size manages gum's apparent tenancy to twist. Please let us know how these turn out.

 

[Ivey]

Big Mike, maybe I should bury them logs under some horse poop for about 6 mo. that might do it:-D

 

[JackLeg]

There's about enough "poop" of another kind on here to bury them under!

I just bought David's 14" Delta Bandsaw. Gotta go to Raleigh now on Sunday to pick it up! LOML just smiled! Wonder what that meant?

 

[Big Mike]

Big Mike, maybe I should bury them logs under some horse poop for about 6 mo. that might do it:-D

Ivey, actually sweetgum spalts very quickly. A friend of mine spalts hiis own by taking appropriately sized sections of log and standing them on end in a shady spot. Within a month or two spalting will begin. Now of course that is dependent on how wet it is and around here rain is just a fond memory and a pretty but fictitious color portrayed on Doppler radar.....:rolf:

 

[jeff...]

Big Mike, maybe I should bury them logs under some horse poop for about 6 mo. that might do it:-D

Or let em sit at the bottom log pile for a while ;-)