Sweet Gum trees

[TonyF]

What can I do with Sweet Gum trees? (besides burn 'em) Do they make good framing lumber? What about a rail fence? Pole barn? I understand they warp when they dry.

A local sawmill here does not have much of a market for them -- one place makes pallets out of them and and another railroad ties, but no demand at the moment.

I have about 30 trees I need to find a use/home for.

Thanks,

Tony

 

[vaskeet]

Pulp wood or fire wood are the only things I can think of Randy

 

[woodchuckie]

We have sold some which went for logs (lumber) but they were big trees. Don't know what they use the lumber for. I think it's softer than pine.

 

[Taylortractornut]

A friend of mine with a mill sells alot of it to build rafters in pole barns and as lath on them and some flooring for corn cribs and barn siding. He sells alot of it. One of our equipment shops perfers gum blocks of different sizes for cribbing as it wont split when dried out.

 

[kenmac]

I have about 30 trees I need to find a use/home for.

Tony

I have about 20 less than I had. If I can only get about 8 more cut they would be gone for good. I hate those gum trees and the balls they produce. I paid to have mine cut . None of the loggers I talked to wanted them

 

[jeffreythree]

Gum moves a lot when drying, starts out straight and can look like a pretzel when dry. If any are big and old enough to have decent heartwood, then it can have what they call red gum for furniture lumber cut from there. If you don't have a serious woodworking hobby where you can use it yourself, then there probably is not any use for them unless you can get the tie or pallet mill to buy them.

 

[TonyF]

A friend of mine with a mill sells alot of it to build rafters in pole barns and as lath on them and some flooring for corn cribs and barn siding....

That is what the sawyer at the local mill mentioned, some of the locals like to use it for furring strips and lath because nails won't pull out of it.

 

[TonyF]

I have about 20 less than I had. If I can only get about 8 more cut they would be gone for good. I hate those gum trees and the balls they produce. I paid to have mine cut . None of the loggers I talked to wanted them

We've probably taken out and burned close to 100 of them. I thought I was done then we discovered a low wet area that needs work, so the trees in it have to go. After this round I'll be down to about 8 or 10. I don't mind leaving them in the woods where the balls do no harm.

They are a sturdy tree, no doubt, heavier than pine, tough on the chainsaw, massive roots hard to dig out, while the pines next to them jump right out of the ground.

Tony

 

[TonyF]

... If you don't have a serious woodworking hobby where you can use it yourself....

My hobby right now is removing them

 

[kenmac]

We've probably taken out and burned close to 100 of them. I thought I was done then we discovered a low wet area that needs work, so the trees in it have to go. After this round I'll be down to about 8 or 10. I don't mind leaving them in the woods where the balls do no harm.

They are a sturdy tree, no doubt, heavier than pine, tough on the chainsaw, massive roots hard to dig out, while the pines next to them jump right out of the ground.

Tony

They seem to love wet areas. The ones that I've cut down and cut up seem to be full of water. After the wood sits for a while & the water runs out they tend to rot fast.. I've cut some down that were arounf 80' tall. They tend to grow very tall for some reason

 

[JHTFarmer]

What's wrong with Sweetgums? They are hurricane durable, attractive, and have nice autumn foliage. They've even been selected as specimen trees for the World Trade Center memorial.

 

[kenmac]

What's wrong with Sweetgums? They are hurricane durable, attractive, and have nice autumn foliage. They've even been selected as specimen trees for the World Trade Center memorial.

You must not have any & had to deal with all the balls they produce. Every couple years there's a bumper crop. This is 1 of those years

 

[JHTFarmer]

Seriously? You guys are cutting down Sweetgums because of their monkey balls? We've got about a dozen large specimens on our property and enjoy their presence. Seems like a waste a fine tree just because you dislike their prickly seeds. Wouldn't it be easier to just not play in stocking feet under these trees and let them be?

Sorry, I hope I don't offend. was just reminiscing Dr. Suess's The Lorax.

 

[TonyF]

Seriously? You guys are cutting down Sweetgums because of their monkey balls? We've got about a dozen large specimens on our property and enjoy their presence. Seems like a waste a fine tree just because you dislike their prickly seeds. Wouldn't it be easier to just not play in stocking feet under these trees and let them be?

Sorry, I hope I don't offend. was just reminiscing Dr. Suess's The Lorax.

No offense, at least not by me. We removing the trees close to where the house will be, not discriminating against the sweetgums, the pines etc are coming down as well. But, I don't like the balls and won't have the sweetgums next to the house or in a lawn area, deeper back in the woods is fine.The balls are so thick in places one can hardly see the ground.

Also removing the bent, split, twisted, etc trees.

Its just that I have an abundance of sweet gum and would like to put the lumber to good use if possible. After this go around we'll be down to about a dozen sweet gums.

 

[Army grunt]

Sweet Gum trees
The wood is strong very fibrous that's what keeps it from splitting.
Theirs a study being done to make a hybrid tree that will not have the balls.They are attractive.
Army Grunt

 

[kenmac]

I talked to a Horticulturlist once that told me that the male sweet gum tree doesn't produce the sweet *** balls. It's the female gum tree. I really don't know of anyone that likes or wants these gum ball producing trees in their yards

 

[Marlowe]

I always thought that sweetgums were just a tall weed. They remind me of catfish; hard to kill. I've cut and chopped so many of them in my life I'm beginning to wonder if I'm doing the right thing. If you step back enough for the little prickly balls to not prick your toes they actually look pretty nice. They are undeniably sturdy. Maybe if we all decide to cultivate and actually want them they will be more like a delicate rose, and whither at our touch. Yep, that's the solution. Plant them, and they will all die.

 

[buck12]

I have always considered sweet gum trees a nuisance tree. My Dad has owned his property for 30 plus years and has almost gotten all the sweet gum trees. He has been cutting a couple a year for all those years. Like someone else said they are almost like a weed. I have been cutting many on our remote property that are in the 8 to 20 range. They resprout the next year. Of course I can take the sprouts out with the bush hog. I have noticed the smaller trees I cut with the bush hog don稚 tend to come back. I go out of my way to save the small oaks when bush hogging and go out of way to take the sweet gums out.

 

[DennisArrow]

Yes, definately weeds; but.........A very fast growing tree for a screen, shade, or fence row while others fill in.........

For me though, the best use is for "smoking" cooking meat.......It's one of my smoking secrets and folks go on and on about the taste........Does leave a sweet, non-smoky, red brown color, and not overpowering...........REALLY GOOD......

In the spring and summer I use a branch about the size of a finger and cut it into pieces using a lopper......YES THE LEAVES and all........It does require monitoring to keep it smoking.........

In the fall and winter I cut branches or trees the size of an arm and cut up 1" or so chunks with the radial arm or band saw.........I just feed these when the last feed quits smoking............

Just a differnce if it seems that hickory or oak get to dark or strong in taste.........Dennis

 

[TonyF]

...For me though, the best use is for "smoking" cooking meat.....
Dennis

Really? Everything I read states NOT to use sweet gum for smoking meet. Here's a sample, last page.

http://www.deejayssmokepit.net/BasicSmoke_files/SmokingFlavorChart.pdf