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Sweet Gum......SWEET!

Started by POSTON WIDEHEAD, February 12, 2013, 04:19:10 PM

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POSTON WIDEHEAD

I sawed a few 1 x 10 x 8 inch Sweet Gum boards today. I built a shed last year and was very impressed with how it has held up in our mild S.C. weather.
I plan to build another shed to hold Custom Cut Lumber until the customer can pick it up. I'll use these Sweet Gum boards to side my new shed.

We all know how Sweet Gum acts during the drying process, but I be DanGed....I love the grain.



  

  

 

In fact, the shed you see in the pics is sided with Sweet Gum. The siding is now dry and as hard as a rock. Very good siding.



  

 



The older I get I wish my body could Re-Gen.

Tree Feller

I likes Sweetgum.   ;D

Did you nail the siding up green or was it dried?
Cody

Logmaster LM-1 Sawmill
Kioti CK 30 w/ FEL
Stihl MS-290 Chainsaw
48" Logrite Cant Hook
Well equipped, serious, woodworking shop

Jay C. White Cloud

 ;D
I miss being able to get sweet gum and tulip poplar,  :( That really is pretty stuff!
"To posses an open mind, is to hold a key to many doors, and the ability to created doors where there were none before."

"When it is all said and done, they will have said they did it themselves."-teams response under a good leader.

POSTON WIDEHEAD

Quote from: Tree Feller on February 12, 2013, 04:27:36 PM
I likes Sweetgum.   ;D

Did you nail the siding up green or was it dried?

What I did Cody was, I framed the shed up first. Had the Pine flooring down and everything in place and ready for the siding.
I then put a BIG 'OL Sweet Gum log on the mill. As I sawed boards, I'd grab a handful and walk around and hang' em. The boards were GREEN and water was a coming out.  :o  I used Ring Shank nails. When a ring shank goes in....it don't come out. The boards held in place as the "circus lumber" dried  ;D.
When I put the boards up, I jammed them together. As they dried, they shrunk leaving a crack which I wanted for the ventilation. Now air gets in to the shed very well for air drying lumber.
The older I get I wish my body could Re-Gen.

m wood

good thinking since you already knew it would be vented storage space
I am Mark
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Tree Feller

Quote from: POSTONLT40HD on February 12, 2013, 04:38:30 PM
As I sawed boards, I'd grab a handful and walk around and hang' em. The boards were GREEN and water was a coming out. 

It don't get much greener than that. Thanks for the explanation. I'm sorta surprised the boards didn't crack after shrinking that much but perhaps that spiral grain in Sweetgum helped it stay intact.

Does anyone know the MC of green Sweetgum (i.e., no drying has taken place) I know that it will sling water bad enough to warrant a slicker when turning it on the lathe.   ;D
Cody

Logmaster LM-1 Sawmill
Kioti CK 30 w/ FEL
Stihl MS-290 Chainsaw
48" Logrite Cant Hook
Well equipped, serious, woodworking shop

two tired

Poston, that looks like red gum in the pictures, I have a few spalded red gum 11/2 x 8 inchers, when I learn how to post pictures I will show them.
when wondering about weather conditions call the dog in and see if he is wet

pasbonbasile

has anyone used sweet gum for laths under metal siding and roofs? if so how did it hold up? put up green or dry? got a big shed to build and have a lot of them.
thirteen- tractors, one combine, no mill yet. Looking for one. Used -to have a wm lt4hdg25
Update 9-27-15 now have WM LT40 Super Hyd. used (1996) but back into sawing. Mostly pine and oak.

thurlow

Quote from: pasbonbasile on February 12, 2013, 05:58:23 PM
has anyone used sweet gum for laths under metal siding and roofs? if so how did it hold up? put up green or dry? got a big shed to build and have a lot of them.
In my part of the world, sweet gum was the wood of choice for laths (the unknowing may call 'em purlins) because the nails wouldn't back out;  we tried to use 'em while green, before they twisted.  Since we've started using screws, I've used other woods.........mostly yellow (Tulip) poplar.
Here's to us and those like us; DanG few of us left!

JSwigga

I wish I could get my hands on some sweet gum.  Only run across a log every so often.  Poplar on the other hand I get too much of.  Maybe I should drive it down south and trade it for some sweet gum!
60" Lucas Dedicated Slabber, TimberKing 2200 , 5 ton Nissan forklift, John Deere FEL

POSTON WIDEHEAD

Quote from: JSwigga on February 12, 2013, 06:51:17 PM
I wish I could get my hands on some sweet gum.  Only run across a log every so often.  Poplar on the other hand I get too much of.  Maybe I should drive it down south and trade it for some sweet gum!

Stick with the Poplar. I only try to find ways to use Sweet Gum because it's in an abundance here.
I call Sweet Gum, "Circus Lumber". It will do more tricks than a monkey on a tricycle if you do not properly take care of it.  :D
The older I get I wish my body could Re-Gen.

Bill Gaiche

Just wait till MM sees this... bg

JustinW_NZ

Quick question, what is the botanical name for sweet gum?
Is it Liquidambar styraciflua? - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquidambar_styraciflua

Just wondering what it is tis all :)

Cheers
Gear I run;
Woodmizer LT40 Super, Treefarmer C4D, 10ton wheel loader.

POSTON WIDEHEAD

Quote from: JustinW_NZ on February 12, 2013, 07:44:08 PM
Quick question, what is the botanical name for sweet gum?




''CIRCUS LUMBER"  :D I have no idea Justin.....hold on......DANNY!

He'll know.
The older I get I wish my body could Re-Gen.

POSTON WIDEHEAD

Quote from: Bill Gaiche on February 12, 2013, 07:42:06 PM
Just wait till MM sees this... bg

Magic may have to take an aspirin.  :D
The older I get I wish my body could Re-Gen.

Magicman

Yes Justin, Sweetgum is Liquidambar styraciflua.

The Sweetgum that I have sawed was to be used as either wall paneling (beautiful) and outside building siding such as David's use.  Always eliminate any possibility of ground contact.

Sweetgum lumber is squirrely for sure, but my dislike for the species is not the lumber but it's ability to readily spread seeds.  Sweetgum along with Honey Locust, Black Locust, Persimmon, and Pecan are by far the species that will take over any open land in my area.   :-\
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

WDH

That sure is pretty.  Sweetgum just needs room to move around, and it will behave as long as you do not crowd it  :).
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

hackberry jake

One day scientists will come up with a new drying process that eliminates drying defects 100%. They will then be mowing down pine plantations and replacing them with sweet gum. They spring up from "gum ball seeds" or from roots easily. They grow extremely fast in full sun, and once dry, has to be one of the hardest woods to split. The tree can't be killed by man nor beast (easily). I read somewhere that it is a living fossil. The tree hasn't changed much since the dinosaurs roamed this planet.
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EZ Boardwalk Jr. With 20hp Honda, 25' of track, and homemade setworks. 32x18 sawshed. 24x40 insulated shop. 30hp kubota with fel. 1978 Massey ferguson 230.

GeneWengert-WoodDoc

I think that rather than come up with new drying procedures, we need to have the forestry scientists genetically improve sweet gum to eliminate the cross grain so the wood will not warp.  Or maybe just eliminate shrinkage in the wood fiber.
Gene - Author of articles in Sawmill & Woodlot and books: Drying Hardwood Lumber; VA Tech Solar Kiln; Sawing Edging & Trimming Hardwood Lumber. And more

Magicman

Or in my instance, just send me some genetically altered seeds that will prevent germination....period.  I do not have any warp or shrinkage problem with Oak.

I hates Sweetgum.   ;D
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

scsmith42

Quote from: pasbonbasile on February 12, 2013, 05:58:23 PM
has anyone used sweet gum for laths under metal siding and roofs? if so how did it hold up? put up green or dry? got a big shed to build and have a lot of them.

I've used it here on the farm.  The wood was put up dry and also planed to thickness.  It's worked great - no noticible twisting or distortion.
Peterson 10" WPF with 65' of track
Smith - Gallagher dedicated slabber
Tom's 3638D Baker band mill
and a mix of log handling heavy equipment.

Magicman

It makes very good lathing especially if the rafters are 16" or 19 diamond spacing. 
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

hackberry jake

I hear sweet gum and sycamore put up green will shrink down on the nail and the moisture from the wood causes a little rust which makes it impossible to get your nails out. Sweet!...gum
https://www.facebook.com/TripleTreeWoodworks

EZ Boardwalk Jr. With 20hp Honda, 25' of track, and homemade setworks. 32x18 sawshed. 24x40 insulated shop. 30hp kubota with fel. 1978 Massey ferguson 230.

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