I will be getting a bunch of sweet gum wood from my son in NC. I have never done anything with this type of wood. Would any of you folks from the south have advice for turning this wood?
Thanks
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Sweet Gum
- Thread starter Bill Weaver
- Start date
I believe the trees get as get as large or larger as oaks..... neighbor up street has 2 in front yard.......lots of leaves.....large turnings possible
You need to send me a sample, so I can try it out and report back to you what it's like
The hat that I am wearing in my avatar here is sweet gum.
Soft, spalts well, can be rather bland, but some have nice color/mineral streaks in them. I don't care for the trees in my yard. Pretty fall leaves, but the pokey balls they drop on the ground are nasty on bare feet, and the roots go out across the top of the ground and set up all sorts of runners. They can get over 24 inch diameter here, but our growing season is long, mild, and wet...
robo hippy
robo hippy
I'll let you all know. He has to finish cutting out of his mini woods in back yard. I think sometime after 1st of year.
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It turns well and as stated spaults well. Once the spault is where you want it be sure to bring inside to a dry area. I did my dough bowl in it.
The attached is not the best shape but that is not the sweet gum's fault.
With a bit more spalting sweet gum can take on some interesting colors.
And it will take a finish.
With a bit more spalting sweet gum can take on some interesting colors.
And it will take a finish.
I have turned a bunch of sweetgum. The color varies from tree to tree. In one case I had a 18 inch diameter tree with a dark brown streaked center and only about 1 1/2" band of white wood under the bark. Other trees were mostly white with only a couple inches of coloring in the center.
The wood turns well but deforms a lot as it dries. If you are not careful, the rough turned bowls tend to crack while drying. The wood also has a tendency to support fungus and turn black if kept wet too long. A dunk in bleach after rough turning helps a lot.
The wood turns well but deforms a lot as it dries. If you are not careful, the rough turned bowls tend to crack while drying. The wood also has a tendency to support fungus and turn black if kept wet too long. A dunk in bleach after rough turning helps a lot.