On Tue, 25 May 2010 08:56:46 -0500, "Tom B"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>I have a number of sweet gum trees, complete with their spiky ankle
>breakers.
>Has anyone make things from it? Is it pretty, easy/hard to work, fairly
>hard/soft for stuff other than timbers?
>TIA TOM
Is sweet gum a eucalyptis?
-Zz
Scientific Name
Liquidambar styraciflua
Trade Name
American red gum
Family Name
Hamamelidaceae
Common Names
Alligator tree
American red gum
American styrax
Balsamo
Balsamo blanco
Bilstead
Bilsted
Blisted
Copalillo
Copalone
Diquidambo
Estoraque
Gum
Gum wood
Hazel pine
Hazel wood
Icob
Ien-gau-o
Ingano
Ko'ma
Ko'ma'liso
Liquidambar
Liquidambo
Mola
Nijte-pijto
Nite-biito
Ocozote
Quivambaro
Red gum
Sap gum
Satin walnut
Skchute
Slu'to'nko
Somerio
Starleaf gum
Storax
Sweet gum
Sweetgum
Xochicatscahuitl
Yaga-bizigui
Yaga-huille
Yellow gum
Regions of Distribution
Africa
Central America
North America
Countries of Distribution
Belize
Guatemala
Honduras
Mexico
South Africa
United States
Common Uses
Baskets
Bedroom suites
Boat building
Boxes and crates
Building materials
Cabinetmaking
Canoes
Casks
Chairs
Chests
Cigar boxes
Concealed parts (Furniture)
Cooperages
Crossties
Decorative plywood
Decorative veneer
Desks
Dining-room furniture
Door
Dowell pins
Dowells
Drawer sides
Excelsior
Figured veneer
Fine furniture
Floor lamps
Flooring
Food containers
Furniture
Furniture components
Furniture squares or stock
Furniture
Hatracks
Heavy construction
Interior construction
Interior trim
Joinery (external): ground contact
Joinery
Kitchen cabinets
Lifeboats
Light construction
Living-room suites
Matches
Millwork
Mine timbers
Moldings
Musical instruments
Office furniture
Paneling
Paneling
Plywood corestock
Plywood
Pulpwood
Railroad ties
Tables
Toothpicks
Vehicle parts
Veneer: decorative
Cutting Resistance
**** Easy to saw
* Cutting Resistance with green wood is easy
* Cutting Resistance with dry wood is easy
The wood is generally easy to work and has low resistance to sawing. Gummy
deposits in red gum may cause cutting edges to blunt slightly
Gluing
*** Easy to glue
* Good gluing propeties
* Difficult to glue
Sanding
* Very poor sanding properties
Percent of sanded pieces with good to excellent results = 23
Screwing
* Screwing yields good results
* Easy to screw
Percent of pieces free from complete splits = 69
Turning
** Very Good to Excellent Results
** Fair to Good Results
** Easy to turn
American Red Gum responds well to both hand and machine tools in turning.
(Percent of turned pieces with fair to excellent results = 86)
That is a limited data from "The Wood Explorer" - suggest wood workers to buy
this software!!
Handy when looking at your and your neighbor tress :-)
Martin
Martin H. Eastburn
@ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net
"Our Republic and the Press will Rise or Fall Together": Joseph Pulitzer
TSRA: Endowed; NRA LOH & Patron Member, Golden Eagle, Patriot's Medal.
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Charter Founder
IHMSA and NRA Metallic Silhouette maker & member. http://lufkinced.com/
Thanks for all the input...
It appears (I did a search and saw some pretty pictures of the grain) it can
be a pretty wood. But if it's known for a lot of movement, perhaps I'll
pass.
I don't have a fireplace here, but if I did I surely wouldn't want it
spitting coals at me!
Side note:
Here in Tennessee as you know we have had some rough weather and a large red
oak blew down on my property (no harm done except to tree).
I cut a section just under 4' long where a number of branches came out of
the trunk and have sawn it into 1.5" planks 8" wide. In a year or two I'll
post pictures of some very pretty grain in some project or two.
Tom
"Tom B" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I have a number of sweet gum trees, complete with their spiky ankle
> breakers.
> Has anyone make things from it? Is it pretty, easy/hard to work, fairly
> hard/soft for stuff other than timbers?
> TIA TOM
No - large tree - I lost one year before last and it was 18" 20' up!
The other - is still standing. Both were planted for shade on an old
farm house now long gone.
The sugar within draws ants.
Martin
Martin H. Eastburn
@ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net
"Our Republic and the Press will Rise or Fall Together": Joseph Pulitzer
TSRA: Endowed; NRA LOH & Patron Member, Golden Eagle, Patriot's Medal.
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Charter Founder
IHMSA and NRA Metallic Silhouette maker & member. http://lufkinced.com/
On 5/25/2010 12:09 PM, Zz Yzx wrote:
> On Tue, 25 May 2010 08:56:46 -0500, "Tom B"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> I have a number of sweet gum trees, complete with their spiky ankle
>> breakers.
>> Has anyone make things from it? Is it pretty, easy/hard to work, fairly
>> hard/soft for stuff other than timbers?
>> TIA TOM
>
> Is sweet gum a eucalyptis?
>
> -Zz
Tom B wrote:
> I have a number of sweet gum trees, complete with their spiky ankle
> breakers.
> Has anyone make things from it? Is it pretty, easy/hard to work,
> fairly hard/soft for stuff other than timbers?
> TIA TOM
It has its uses.
Very many pallets are made from sweet gum. It's strong and who cares if it
warps all to hell.
I've seen sweet gum planks used as bulkheading in sewer construction. Who
cares if it weeps sticky goo on the concrete.
Even birds avoid sweet gum trees.
<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Tue, 25 May 2010 21:21:10 -0500, "Martin H. Eastburn"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>Scientific Name
>>Liquidambar styraciflua
>>
>>Trade Name
>>American red gum
>>
>>Family Name
>>Hamamelidaceae
>>
I know of a fellow who would cut logs of it about 5' long and
suspend them horizontally on a chain in a shady area of his yard.
They were inoculated with Shitake mushroom spores and he had a
great supply to eat, to share and to sell.
Nonny
--
On most days,
it's just not worth
the effort of chewing
through the restraints..
Tom B wrote:
> I have a number of sweet gum trees, complete with their spiky ankle
> breakers.
> Has anyone make things from it? Is it pretty, easy/hard to work, fairly
> hard/soft for stuff other than timbers?
> TIA TOM
>
If they are big enough to have a dark heartwood it turns a pretty
bowl. I'll post a picture in ABPW.
I have no experience in using it for woodworking. I do have experience
in using it for firewood--It is nearly impossible to split, then it
burns with pops and bangs and will blow coals out of a fireplace all
over the room.
--
Gerald Ross
Cochran, GA
Life is the stuff that happens to you
while you're making other plans.
Not much commercial use of these really big ass trees.
They will be cut as pulp mix for paper.
If you have enough of them, get a portable band saw
guy to come in and make you some lumber. A kiln for
drying would be a BIG bonus.
Sweet gum is a real pesky wood to deal with and you run
a BIG risk with air dried lumber that might twist so bad,
it becomes firewood.
FWW ran an article a few years back on this very tree and
it's uses.
The SE part of the country is covered in these trees.
Tom B wrote:
> I have a number of sweet gum trees, complete with their spiky ankle
> breakers.
> Has anyone make things from it? Is it pretty, easy/hard to work, fairly
> hard/soft for stuff other than timbers?
> TIA TOM
"Tom B" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I have a number of sweet gum trees, complete with their spiky ankle
> breakers.
> Has anyone make things from it? Is it pretty, easy/hard to work, fairly
> hard/soft for stuff other than timbers?
Railroad ties.
Dave in Houston
Picking up paw-paws are you - and throwing them at each other!
Martin
Martin H. Eastburn
@ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net
"Our Republic and the Press will Rise or Fall Together": Joseph Pulitzer
TSRA: Endowed; NRA LOH & Patron Member, Golden Eagle, Patriot's Medal.
NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Charter Founder
IHMSA and NRA Metallic Silhouette maker & member. http://lufkinced.com/
On 5/25/2010 4:44 PM, Larry Jaques wrote:
> On Tue, 25 May 2010 14:01:53 -0400, Keith Nuttle
> <[email protected]> wrote the following:
>
>> On 5/25/2010 1:09 PM, Zz Yzx wrote:
>>> On Tue, 25 May 2010 08:56:46 -0500, "Tom B"
>>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>
>>>> I have a number of sweet gum trees, complete with their spiky ankle
>>>> breakers.
>>>> Has anyone make things from it? Is it pretty, easy/hard to work, fairly
>>>> hard/soft for stuff other than timbers?
>>>> TIA TOMn
>>>
>>> Is sweet gum a eucalyptis?
>>>
>>> -Zz
>>
>> I do not believe so as it is primarily in the eastern US, and some other
>> similar parts of the world. The Eucalyptis tree is in Asian /
>> Australian and has a willow type leave long and thin.
>>
>> The sweet gum has a more maple shaped leaf.
>>
>> Google for a better definition.
>
> I have one in my front yard, and it smell heavenly underneath the
> canopy in early spring mornings. Liquidambar styraciflua. I call
> their spiky little fruitballs "paw-paws", have since I was a kid, but
> I know they're not the actual item.
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquidambar_styraciflua
>
> Eucalyptus trees are also known as gum trees, but not sweetgum.
> Sweetgums are sometimes nicknamed redgum, but they're not the same.
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Eucalyptus_species
>
> ---------------------------------------------------
> I drive way too fast to worry about my cholesterol.
> ---------------------------------------------------
Tom B wrote:
> I have a number of sweet gum trees, complete with their spiky ankle
> breakers.
> Has anyone make things from it? Is it pretty, easy/hard to work, fairly
> hard/soft for stuff other than timbers?
> TIA TOM
Does the term "weed" resonate?
Sweetgum, like all gum, is extremely difficult to split. In fact you do not
so much split it as tear it apart (read use a power splitter only)
As previously stated, it is lousy in a fireplace. However, I do have friend
who burns it in a heater in his shop and it does not do too bad in the
enclosed heater.
It is considered a hardwood, probably only because it loses it leaves in the
Fall. It is used in "cheap" furniture and some other structural uses where
one is trying to save money.
Bottom line - like all weeds, it looks like a plant. It is a plant, in this
case a tree. That does not mean it is one that one will usually have a use
for.
Deb
On May 25, 12:37=A0pm, "Dave In Texas" <[email protected]> wrote:
> "Tom B" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>
> news:[email protected]...
>
> > I have a number of sweet gum trees, complete with their spiky ankle
> > breakers.
> > Has anyone make things from it? Is it pretty, easy/hard to work, fairly
> > hard/soft for stuff other than timbers?
>
> Railroad ties.
>
> Dave in Houston
Cut down six of them and is was useful in making charcoal
On Tue, 25 May 2010 14:01:53 -0400, Keith Nuttle
<[email protected]> wrote the following:
>On 5/25/2010 1:09 PM, Zz Yzx wrote:
>> On Tue, 25 May 2010 08:56:46 -0500, "Tom B"
>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>> I have a number of sweet gum trees, complete with their spiky ankle
>>> breakers.
>>> Has anyone make things from it? Is it pretty, easy/hard to work, fairly
>>> hard/soft for stuff other than timbers?
>>> TIA TOMn
>>
>> Is sweet gum a eucalyptis?
>>
>> -Zz
>
>I do not believe so as it is primarily in the eastern US, and some other
>similar parts of the world. The Eucalyptis tree is in Asian /
>Australian and has a willow type leave long and thin.
>
>The sweet gum has a more maple shaped leaf.
>
>Google for a better definition.
I have one in my front yard, and it smell heavenly underneath the
canopy in early spring mornings. Liquidambar styraciflua. I call
their spiky little fruitballs "paw-paws", have since I was a kid, but
I know they're not the actual item.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquidambar_styraciflua
Eucalyptus trees are also known as gum trees, but not sweetgum.
Sweetgums are sometimes nicknamed redgum, but they're not the same.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Eucalyptus_species
---------------------------------------------------
I drive way too fast to worry about my cholesterol.
---------------------------------------------------
On 5/25/2010 1:09 PM, Zz Yzx wrote:
> On Tue, 25 May 2010 08:56:46 -0500, "Tom B"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> I have a number of sweet gum trees, complete with their spiky ankle
>> breakers.
>> Has anyone make things from it? Is it pretty, easy/hard to work, fairly
>> hard/soft for stuff other than timbers?
>> TIA TOMn
>
> Is sweet gum a eucalyptis?
>
> -Zz
I do not believe so as it is primarily in the eastern US, and some other
similar parts of the world. The Eucalyptis tree is in Asian /
Australian and has a willow type leave long and thin.
The sweet gum has a more maple shaped leaf.
Google for a better definition.
Tom B wrote:
> I have a number of sweet gum trees, complete with their spiky ankle
> breakers.
> Has anyone make things from it? Is it pretty, easy/hard to work, fairly
> hard/soft for stuff other than timbers?
> TIA TOM
Rather than trying to write a tome...
<http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/usda/amwood/266swgum.pdf>
<http://www.sfp.forprod.vt.edu/factsheets/sweetgum.pdf>
--
On Tue, 25 May 2010 21:21:10 -0500, "Martin H. Eastburn"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>Scientific Name
>Liquidambar styraciflua
>
>Trade Name
>American red gum
>
>Family Name
>Hamamelidaceae
>
>Common Names
>Alligator tree
>American red gum
>American styrax
>Balsamo
>Balsamo blanco
>Bilstead
>Bilsted
>Blisted
>Copalillo
>Copalone
>Diquidambo
>Estoraque
>Gum
>Gum wood
>Hazel pine
>Hazel wood
>Icob
>Ien-gau-o
>Ingano
>Ko'ma
>Ko'ma'liso
>Liquidambar
>Liquidambo
>Mola
>Nijte-pijto
>Nite-biito
>Ocozote
>Quivambaro
>Red gum
>Sap gum
>Satin walnut
>Skchute
>Slu'to'nko
>Somerio
>Starleaf gum
>Storax
>Sweet gum
>Sweetgum
>Xochicatscahuitl
>Yaga-bizigui
>Yaga-huille
>Yellow gum
>
>Regions of Distribution
>Africa
>Central America
>North America
>
>Countries of Distribution
>Belize
>Guatemala
>Honduras
>Mexico
>South Africa
>United States
>
>Common Uses
>Baskets
>Bedroom suites
>Boat building
>Boxes and crates
>Building materials
>Cabinetmaking
>Canoes
>Casks
>Chairs
>Chests
>Cigar boxes
>Concealed parts (Furniture)
>Cooperages
>Crossties
>Decorative plywood
>Decorative veneer
>Desks
>Dining-room furniture
>Door
>Dowell pins
>Dowells
>Drawer sides
>Excelsior
>Figured veneer
>Fine furniture
>Floor lamps
>Flooring
>Food containers
>Furniture
>Furniture components
>Furniture squares or stock
>Furniture
>Hatracks
>Heavy construction
>Interior construction
>Interior trim
>Joinery (external): ground contact
>Joinery
>Kitchen cabinets
>Lifeboats
>Light construction
>Living-room suites
>Matches
>Millwork
>Mine timbers
>Moldings
>Musical instruments
>Office furniture
>Paneling
>Paneling
>Plywood corestock
>Plywood
>Pulpwood
>Railroad ties
>Tables
>Toothpicks
>Vehicle parts
>Veneer: decorative
>
>Cutting Resistance
>**** Easy to saw
>
>* Cutting Resistance with green wood is easy
>* Cutting Resistance with dry wood is easy
>The wood is generally easy to work and has low resistance to sawing. Gummy
>deposits in red gum may cause cutting edges to blunt slightly
>
>Gluing
>*** Easy to glue
>* Good gluing propeties
>* Difficult to glue
>Sanding
>* Very poor sanding properties
>Percent of sanded pieces with good to excellent results = 23
>
>Screwing
>* Screwing yields good results
>* Easy to screw
>Percent of pieces free from complete splits = 69
>
>Turning
>** Very Good to Excellent Results
>** Fair to Good Results
>
>** Easy to turn
>American Red Gum responds well to both hand and machine tools in turning.
>(Percent of turned pieces with fair to excellent results = 86)
>
>That is a limited data from "The Wood Explorer" - suggest wood workers to buy
>this software!!
>
>Handy when looking at your and your neighbor tress :-)
>
>Martin
>
>
>Martin H. Eastburn
>@ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net
>"Our Republic and the Press will Rise or Fall Together": Joseph Pulitzer
>TSRA: Endowed; NRA LOH & Patron Member, Golden Eagle, Patriot's Medal.
>NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Charter Founder
>IHMSA and NRA Metallic Silhouette maker & member. http://lufkinced.com/
The house my wife owned when we got married had all "red gum" trim -
all finished with what looked to be an orange shelac.
Pretty nice trim., and lots of it.
On Tue, 25 May 2010 14:01:53 -0400, Keith Nuttle
<[email protected]> wrote:
>On 5/25/2010 1:09 PM, Zz Yzx wrote:
>> On Tue, 25 May 2010 08:56:46 -0500, "Tom B"
>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>> I have a number of sweet gum trees, complete with their spiky ankle
>>> breakers.
>>> Has anyone make things from it? Is it pretty, easy/hard to work, fairly
>>> hard/soft for stuff other than timbers?
>>> TIA TOMn
>>
>> Is sweet gum a eucalyptis?
>>
>> -Zz
>
>I do not believe so as it is primarily in the eastern US, and some other
>similar parts of the world. The Eucalyptis tree is in Asian /
>Australian and has a willow type leave long and thin.
>
>The sweet gum has a more maple shaped leaf.
>
>Google for a better definition.
The only thing sweet gum balls are good for is keeping slugs away from
Hostas and alike. The wood is similar to constructing grade SPF lumber
in strength from what I read.
Mark