I was helping my son cut up an 8" thick sycamore branch that he stuck in the
garage LAST YEAR. He had this idea about carving it into something, sohe
wanted it to dry. The stuff was hard as rock, which made me wonder why I
never see it mentioned in lists of choices for woodworking. Granted, my
woodworking knowledge is about a 1.2 on a 1-10 scale, but still.....are
there problems with that wood?
"Doug Kanter" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> I was helping my son cut up an 8" thick sycamore branch that he stuck in the
> garage LAST YEAR. He had this idea about carving it into something, sohe
> wanted it to dry. The stuff was hard as rock, which made me wonder why I
> never see it mentioned in lists of choices for woodworking. Granted, my
> woodworking knowledge is about a 1.2 on a 1-10 scale, but still.....are
> there problems with that wood?
Some problems drying it(goes brown). Other than that a good wood for
kitchen utensils and wokk tops.
http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fplgtr/fplgtr83.pdf
http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/usda/tb1267.pdf
Interesting stuff. Free, too.
"Doug Kanter" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "Doug Miller" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > In article <[email protected]>, "Doug Kanter"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
> > >I was helping my son cut up an 8" thick sycamore branch that he stuck
in
> the
> > >garage LAST YEAR. He had this idea about carving it into something,
sohe
> > >wanted it to dry. The stuff was hard as rock,
> >
> > Then it wasn't sycamore. :-)
> >
> > > which made me wonder why I
> > >never see it mentioned in lists of choices for woodworking. Granted, my
> > >woodworking knowledge is about a 1.2 on a 1-10 scale, but still.....are
> > >there problems with that wood?
> >
> > It's too soft for anything that's likely to see hard use (such as
> children's
> > furniture) or even moderate use (such as a kitchen table). It's also not
> very
> > strong. If it's plainsawn, it's prone to warp and has an indistinguished
> and
> > boring appearance.
> >
> > Quartersawn syscamore is stable, though, and has dramatic ray-flake
> figure,
> > often stunningly so. (There was a thread here not too long ago about the
> > appearance of quartersawn sycamore; several people posted links to
photos.
> You
> > might want to Google that up.) It's still soft and weak, though.
>
> Interesting. Maybe the saw was ready for sharpening. It was definitely
> sycamore, though.
>
>
"John McGaw" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Doug Miller" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > In article <[email protected]>, "Doug Kanter"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
> > >I was helping my son cut up an 8" thick sycamore branch that he stuck
in
> the
> > >garage LAST YEAR. He had this idea about carving it into something,
sohe
> > >wanted it to dry. The stuff was hard as rock,
> >
> > Then it wasn't sycamore. :-)
> >
> > > which made me wonder why I
> > >never see it mentioned in lists of choices for woodworking. Granted, my
> > >woodworking knowledge is about a 1.2 on a 1-10 scale, but still.....are
> > >there problems with that wood?
> >
> > It's too soft for anything that's likely to see hard use (such as
> children's
> > furniture) or even moderate use (such as a kitchen table). It's also not
> very
> > strong. If it's plainsawn, it's prone to warp and has an indistinguished
> and
> > boring appearance.
> >
> > Quartersawn syscamore is stable, though, and has dramatic ray-flake
> figure,
> > often stunningly so. (There was a thread here not too long ago about the
> > appearance of quartersawn sycamore; several people posted links to
photos.
> You
> > might want to Google that up.) It's still soft and weak, though.
> >
> >
> > --
> > Regards,
> > Doug Miller (alphageek-at-milmac-dot-com)
> >
> > Get a copy of my NEW AND IMPROVED TrollFilter for NewsProxy/Nfilter
> > by sending email to autoresponder at filterinfo-at-milmac-dot-com
> > You must use your REAL email address to get a response.
> >
> Guess I had better not tell my kitchen table that it is too soft to be
used.
> But it is definitely sycamore and it is definitely in the kitchen and it
> definitely is holding up perfectly well. Sure, it isn't hard maple but it
> isn't all that much softer than soft maple in my experience. As for
boring,
> that depends on several factors but I must be doing something right
because
> plenty of people like pieces I've made from sycamore
> http://johnmcgaw.com/furn15.html http://johnmcgaw.com/furn16.html
> http://johnmcgaw.com/furn18.html http://johnmcgaw.com/furn21.html
> http://johnmcgaw.com/furn26.html .
>
> Yes, it does move around more than I'd like but with care even radical
> movement can be handled gracefully. I've learned to never use breadboard
> ends on a sycamore tabletop.
>
>
That primitive bench looks pretty refined to my eyes.
"Doug Miller" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> In article <[email protected]>, "Doug Kanter"
<[email protected]> wrote:
> >I was helping my son cut up an 8" thick sycamore branch that he stuck in
the
> >garage LAST YEAR. He had this idea about carving it into something, sohe
> >wanted it to dry. The stuff was hard as rock,
>
> Then it wasn't sycamore. :-)
>
> > which made me wonder why I
> >never see it mentioned in lists of choices for woodworking. Granted, my
> >woodworking knowledge is about a 1.2 on a 1-10 scale, but still.....are
> >there problems with that wood?
>
> It's too soft for anything that's likely to see hard use (such as
children's
> furniture) or even moderate use (such as a kitchen table). It's also not
very
> strong. If it's plainsawn, it's prone to warp and has an indistinguished
and
> boring appearance.
>
> Quartersawn syscamore is stable, though, and has dramatic ray-flake
figure,
> often stunningly so. (There was a thread here not too long ago about the
> appearance of quartersawn sycamore; several people posted links to photos.
You
> might want to Google that up.) It's still soft and weak, though.
>
>
> --
> Regards,
> Doug Miller (alphageek-at-milmac-dot-com)
>
> Get a copy of my NEW AND IMPROVED TrollFilter for NewsProxy/Nfilter
> by sending email to autoresponder at filterinfo-at-milmac-dot-com
> You must use your REAL email address to get a response.
>
Guess I had better not tell my kitchen table that it is too soft to be used.
But it is definitely sycamore and it is definitely in the kitchen and it
definitely is holding up perfectly well. Sure, it isn't hard maple but it
isn't all that much softer than soft maple in my experience. As for boring,
that depends on several factors but I must be doing something right because
plenty of people like pieces I've made from sycamore
http://johnmcgaw.com/furn15.html http://johnmcgaw.com/furn16.html
http://johnmcgaw.com/furn18.html http://johnmcgaw.com/furn21.html
http://johnmcgaw.com/furn26.html .
Yes, it does move around more than I'd like but with care even radical
movement can be handled gracefully. I've learned to never use breadboard
ends on a sycamore tabletop.
"Doug Miller" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> In article <[email protected]>, "Doug Kanter"
<[email protected]> wrote:
> >I was helping my son cut up an 8" thick sycamore branch that he stuck in
the
> >garage LAST YEAR. He had this idea about carving it into something, sohe
> >wanted it to dry. The stuff was hard as rock,
>
> Then it wasn't sycamore. :-)
>
> > which made me wonder why I
> >never see it mentioned in lists of choices for woodworking. Granted, my
> >woodworking knowledge is about a 1.2 on a 1-10 scale, but still.....are
> >there problems with that wood?
>
> It's too soft for anything that's likely to see hard use (such as
children's
> furniture) or even moderate use (such as a kitchen table). It's also not
very
> strong. If it's plainsawn, it's prone to warp and has an indistinguished
and
> boring appearance.
>
> Quartersawn syscamore is stable, though, and has dramatic ray-flake
figure,
> often stunningly so. (There was a thread here not too long ago about the
> appearance of quartersawn sycamore; several people posted links to photos.
You
> might want to Google that up.) It's still soft and weak, though.
Interesting. Maybe the saw was ready for sharpening. It was definitely
sycamore, though.
American Sycamore has a nice even texture, and relatively lightweight.
It works well with good finishing properties. Sycamore makes fine
furniture, butcher block, and veneer.
On Tue, 02 Nov 2004 16:47:02 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>I was helping my son cut up an 8" thick sycamore branch that he stuck in the
>garage LAST YEAR. He had this idea about carving it into something, sohe
>wanted it to dry. The stuff was hard as rock, which made me wonder why I
>never see it mentioned in lists of choices for woodworking. Granted, my
>woodworking knowledge is about a 1.2 on a 1-10 scale, but still.....are
>there problems with that wood?
>
In article <[email protected]>, Larry Jaques
<novalidaddress@di\/ersify.com> wrote:
> On Thu, 04 Nov 2004 12:44:53 +0000, [email protected]
> (Robert Bonomi) calmly ranted:
> >Explained "properly", you can be assured that she will _never_ bother you
> >with any of her 'war stories' again. <muffled snicker> *GRIN*
>
> NO, don't do that. If Doug lets her think the tree is sick, she'll
> hire some brainless-less-than-minimum-wager-with-a-chainsaw who will
> drop it smack dab on top of Doug's _house_.
Come, now. Surely you don't believe that any town with a "tree
historian" allows citizens to cut down their own trees, do you?
Kevin
>Subject: Re: Why not sycamore?
>From: Phisherman [email protected]
>American Sycamore has a nice even texture, and relatively lightweight.
>It works well with good finishing properties. Sycamore makes fine
>furniture, butcher block, and veneer.
Not hard on the eyes while growing on
your parkway or lawn, either, although
cleaning up the leaves, can be a pain. I love the
way the bark, or lack thereof, looks.
Hard on the back, raking up the mountains of _huge_ leaves, not to mention
the button silk mess. Me for something of a less spreading habit.
"BUB 209" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> >Subject: Re: Why not sycamore?
> >From: Phisherman [email protected]
>
> >American Sycamore has a nice even texture, and relatively lightweight.
> >It works well with good finishing properties. Sycamore makes fine
> >furniture, butcher block, and veneer.
>
> Not hard on the eyes while growing on
> your parkway or lawn, either, although
> cleaning up the leaves, can be a pain. I love the
> way the bark, or lack thereof, looks.
Kevin Craig <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<051120040126005161%[email protected]>...
> In article <[email protected]>, Larry Jaques
> <novalidaddress@di\/ersify.com> wrote:
>
> > On Thu, 04 Nov 2004 12:44:53 +0000, [email protected]
> > (Robert Bonomi) calmly ranted:
> > >Explained "properly", you can be assured that she will _never_ bother you
> > >with any of her 'war stories' again. <muffled snicker> *GRIN*
> >
> > NO, don't do that. If Doug lets her think the tree is sick, she'll
> > hire some brainless-less-than-minimum-wager-with-a-chainsaw who will
> > drop it smack dab on top of Doug's _house_.
>
> Come, now. Surely you don't believe that any town with a "tree
> historian" allows citizens to cut down their own trees, do you?
That job should pay only in acorns!
In article <[email protected]>,
Doug Kanter <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>"BUB 209" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>> >Subject: Re: Why not sycamore?
>> >From: Phisherman [email protected]
>>
>> >American Sycamore has a nice even texture, and relatively lightweight.
>> >It works well with good finishing properties. Sycamore makes fine
>> >furniture, butcher block, and veneer.
>>
>> Not hard on the eyes while growing on
>> your parkway or lawn, either, although
>> cleaning up the leaves, can be a pain. I love the
>> way the bark, or lack thereof, looks.
>
>I agree, but tell that to my neighbor. The day after I moved to my new
>house, she came over and said "Hi. My name's Helen. Let me tell you about
>this hideous tree of mine." To make a long story short, she said she's
>consulted with the town's historic tree administrator (we have one), as well
>as two tree services, in an attempt to find out what disease makes the bark
>fall off. She thinks there's a conspiracy to keep the information from her.
>I told her that's just what sycamores do. She said "Well...if you're not a
>tree expert, I'm not inclined to believe you". I said "Have a nice day".
Well, then, tell her the _truth_ -- that the tree was accidentally exposed to
'tincture of time'; which had an unfortunate effect on the bark, causing it
to peel, in perpetuity. There is *no* known cure, nor ameliorative treatment,
for that particular condition. The 'good news' is that the tree manages to
re-grow the protective sheathing as fast as it sheds it -- and the health of
the tree is not in danger.
That particular species *is* well-known for being susceptible to a _wide_
variety of illnesses -- there =is= a reason it's called "sick-a-more"
Explained "properly", you can be assured that she will _never_ bother you
with any of her 'war stories' again. <muffled snicker> *GRIN*
On Thu, 04 Nov 2004 12:44:53 +0000, [email protected]
(Robert Bonomi) calmly ranted:
>Well, then, tell her the _truth_ -- that the tree was accidentally exposed to
>'tincture of time'; which had an unfortunate effect on the bark, causing it
>to peel, in perpetuity. There is *no* known cure, nor ameliorative treatment,
>for that particular condition. The 'good news' is that the tree manages to
>re-grow the protective sheathing as fast as it sheds it -- and the health of
>the tree is not in danger.
There ya go. That five syllable word will knock her socks off.
>That particular species *is* well-known for being susceptible to a _wide_
>variety of illnesses -- there =is= a reason it's called "sick-a-more"
>
>Explained "properly", you can be assured that she will _never_ bother you
>with any of her 'war stories' again. <muffled snicker> *GRIN*
NO, don't do that. If Doug lets her think the tree is sick, she'll
hire some brainless-less-than-minimum-wager-with-a-chainsaw who will
drop it smack dab on top of Doug's _house_.
The first option gets it.
--------------------------------------------------------
Murphy was an Optimist
----------------------------
http://diversify.com Comprehensive Website Development
"BUB 209" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> >Subject: Re: Why not sycamore?
> >From: Phisherman [email protected]
>
> >American Sycamore has a nice even texture, and relatively lightweight.
> >It works well with good finishing properties. Sycamore makes fine
> >furniture, butcher block, and veneer.
>
> Not hard on the eyes while growing on
> your parkway or lawn, either, although
> cleaning up the leaves, can be a pain. I love the
> way the bark, or lack thereof, looks.
I agree, but tell that to my neighbor. The day after I moved to my new
house, she came over and said "Hi. My name's Helen. Let me tell you about
this hideous tree of mine." To make a long story short, she said she's
consulted with the town's historic tree administrator (we have one), as well
as two tree services, in an attempt to find out what disease makes the bark
fall off. She thinks there's a conspiracy to keep the information from her.
I told her that's just what sycamores do. She said "Well...if you're not a
tree expert, I'm not inclined to believe you". I said "Have a nice day".
Doug Kanter writes:
>> Not hard on the eyes while growing on
>> your parkway or lawn, either, although
>> cleaning up the leaves, can be a pain. I love the
>> way the bark, or lack thereof, looks.
>
>I agree, but tell that to my neighbor. The day after I moved to my new
>house, she came over and said "Hi. My name's Helen. Let me tell you about
>this hideous tree of mine." To make a long story short, she said she's
>consulted with the town's historic tree administrator (we have one), as well
>as two tree services, in an attempt to find out what disease makes the bark
>fall off. She thinks there's a conspiracy to keep the information from her.
>I told her that's just what sycamores do. She said "Well...if you're not a
>tree expert, I'm not inclined to believe you". I said "Have a nice day".
You know what fugly is, right? There are also fidiots out there, and you are
living next to one.
Charlie Self
"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character,
give him power." Abraham Lincoln
On Thu, 04 Nov 2004 07:17:38 -0800, Larry Jaques
<novalidaddress@di\/ersify.com> wrote:
>On Thu, 04 Nov 2004 12:44:53 +0000, [email protected]
>(Robert Bonomi) calmly ranted:
>
>
>>Well, then, tell her the _truth_ -- that the tree was accidentally exposed to
>>'tincture of time'; which had an unfortunate effect on the bark, causing it
>>to peel, in perpetuity. There is *no* known cure, nor ameliorative treatment,
>>for that particular condition. The 'good news' is that the tree manages to
>>re-grow the protective sheathing as fast as it sheds it -- and the health of
>>the tree is not in danger.
>
>There ya go. That five syllable word will knock her socks off.
>
>
>>That particular species *is* well-known for being susceptible to a _wide_
>>variety of illnesses -- there =is= a reason it's called "sick-a-more"
>>
>>Explained "properly", you can be assured that she will _never_ bother you
>>with any of her 'war stories' again. <muffled snicker> *GRIN*
>
>NO, don't do that. If Doug lets her think the tree is sick, she'll
>hire some brainless-less-than-minimum-wager-with-a-chainsaw who will
>drop it smack dab on top of Doug's _house_.
>
>The first option gets it.
So point her to someone who can fell it and mill it into planks. Her
nickel, of course. And then generously take the cut up sycamore off
her hands.
--RC
>
>
>--------------------------------------------------------
> Murphy was an Optimist
> ----------------------------
>http://diversify.com Comprehensive Website Development
That which does not kill us makes us stronger.
--Friedrich Nietzsche
Never get your philosophy from some guy who ended up in the looney bin.
-- Wiz Zumwalt
"Robert Bonomi" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> In article <[email protected]>,
> Doug Kanter <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> >"BUB 209" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> >news:[email protected]...
> >> >Subject: Re: Why not sycamore?
> >> >From: Phisherman [email protected]
> >>
> >> >American Sycamore has a nice even texture, and relatively lightweight.
> >> >It works well with good finishing properties. Sycamore makes fine
> >> >furniture, butcher block, and veneer.
> >>
> >> Not hard on the eyes while growing on
> >> your parkway or lawn, either, although
> >> cleaning up the leaves, can be a pain. I love the
> >> way the bark, or lack thereof, looks.
> >
> >I agree, but tell that to my neighbor. The day after I moved to my new
> >house, she came over and said "Hi. My name's Helen. Let me tell you about
> >this hideous tree of mine." To make a long story short, she said she's
> >consulted with the town's historic tree administrator (we have one), as
well
> >as two tree services, in an attempt to find out what disease makes the
bark
> >fall off. She thinks there's a conspiracy to keep the information from
her.
> >I told her that's just what sycamores do. She said "Well...if you're not
a
> >tree expert, I'm not inclined to believe you". I said "Have a nice day".
>
> Well, then, tell her the _truth_ -- that the tree was accidentally exposed
to
> 'tincture of time'; which had an unfortunate effect on the bark, causing
it
> to peel, in perpetuity. There is *no* known cure, nor ameliorative
treatment,
> for that particular condition. The 'good news' is that the tree manages
to
> re-grow the protective sheathing as fast as it sheds it -- and the health
of
> the tree is not in danger.
>
> That particular species *is* well-known for being susceptible to a _wide_
> variety of illnesses -- there =is= a reason it's called "sick-a-more"
>
> Explained "properly", you can be assured that she will _never_ bother you
> with any of her 'war stories' again. <muffled snicker> *GRIN*
>
>
I like it!
In article <[email protected]>, "Doug Kanter" <[email protected]> wrote:
>I was helping my son cut up an 8" thick sycamore branch that he stuck in the
>garage LAST YEAR. He had this idea about carving it into something, sohe
>wanted it to dry. The stuff was hard as rock,
Then it wasn't sycamore. :-)
> which made me wonder why I
>never see it mentioned in lists of choices for woodworking. Granted, my
>woodworking knowledge is about a 1.2 on a 1-10 scale, but still.....are
>there problems with that wood?
It's too soft for anything that's likely to see hard use (such as children's
furniture) or even moderate use (such as a kitchen table). It's also not very
strong. If it's plainsawn, it's prone to warp and has an indistinguished and
boring appearance.
Quartersawn syscamore is stable, though, and has dramatic ray-flake figure,
often stunningly so. (There was a thread here not too long ago about the
appearance of quartersawn sycamore; several people posted links to photos. You
might want to Google that up.) It's still soft and weak, though.
--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek-at-milmac-dot-com)
Get a copy of my NEW AND IMPROVED TrollFilter for NewsProxy/Nfilter
by sending email to autoresponder at filterinfo-at-milmac-dot-com
You must use your REAL email address to get a response.