But how well does it split with an axe? However, sweet gum does give off a decent amount of heat and the wood is capable of heating your home. Wood that is poisonous when used for Smoking: Do not use any wood from conifer trees: pine, fir, spruce, redwood, cedar, cypress, or they will make you sick! Do not cart it 5 inches. Well, let me tell you. Do not split the wood down the center, just focus on the edges. It's a light wood and heats up fast on cold mornings. This can even be more difficult if you are planning to use it for furniture. Firewood is generally obtained in one of three ways. I wouldn't burn it in a fireplace without a good screen to keep it on the fireplace. Sweet gum is not a very popular firewood choice for a variety of different reasons. [ 1] However, with its interlocked grain, it … In fact, sweet gum will produce approximately 20.6 million BTU's per cord which isn't all that bad. The moisture content of 20 percent or less is okay for burning, but the optimal moisture content for Sweet Gumwood firewood is around 12 percent. A Guide to Burning Black Locust for Heat. Let’s find out. It also responds quickly to turns, stains, glues, and finishes well. That said, the best time to carry out the splitting of Gumwood is when it is greener, just right before it dries. Birch-This wood burns quickly, so you may want to have a lot of it handy. Due to its interlocking grain, it is more likely to warp severely when it dries. It produces up to 20.6 million BTU per cord, which is better than the average for burning. – Eucalyptus Firewood Guide, Is Black Locust Good Firewood? The sweet gum tree was to pioneer youth the rustic equivalent of a gum-ball machine. Understand Firewood Measurements Splitting sweet gumwood is without a doubt one of the worst aspects of using it for firewood. Backyard Boss is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed If you don't have access to a power splitter, use a sharp splitting axe and work your way around the edges shaving off thin chunks as you go. Go pick up a pork shoulder for ~$15 and give it a whirl. Sweet Gum doesn’t put off a characteristic smell. Now this is Maryland, so we're not as cold as a Michigan winter, but both 2013-14 and 2014-15 were harsh so temperatures were sub-freezing for weeks. So your best bet is to make sure you do the job earlier to make things easier for yourself. As mentioned earlier in this article, when sweet gumwood dries, it becomes more likely to warp. Resin / Sap Content: high If you need a lot of firewood I would suggested avoiding sweet gum. Many people compare the burning qualities of sweet gum firewood to pine firewood except sweet gum does not contain the sticky sap that's associated with pine. If you are using sweet Gumwood solely, then you should buy more woods than you would if you were using an Oak tree or you can increase the burning time by mixing it with other woods such as Hickory and Oak. This wouldn’t only increase the hardness but also change the overlook of the furniture. Sweet gum trees are found throughout the eastern United States. Oak Firewood creates a more subtle fragrance. If you have access to free sweet gum that's already processed or if you cut down a single tree in your yard and you need to get rid of the wood, sweet gum is fine to use. Learn how to operate, maintain and purchase an outdoor wood boiler. Chang’s gum can also be found in the United States of America and Southern China, though not in as great numbers as in Asia. to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. The best-known firewoods are white and red oak trees. I personally don't like sweet gum as firewood (to even burn in a fireplace). The Best Firewood Shed Kits You Can Find in 2021, The Best Firewood Racks Available in 2021 Reviewed, Is Eucalyptus Good for Firewood? There, they sought out a tree with unusual star-shaped leaves and bark resembling alligator skin. Once the wood is split, store it under a roof or cover because sweet gum tends to rot quickly and produce mold when it's exposed to moisture. Sweet Gum Firewood So, when you want to find the sweet gum tree wood burns well, you need to make sure the wood is laying for more than 1 year to season and make sure the wood … This is due in part to high the higher than average resin content found in it. The kind of smoke that Sweet Gum produces depends on its moisture content. Overall, in terms of workability, the Sweet Gumwood is average in comparison to other types of firewood. Outside wood burning stoves are a great way to heat your entire home with firewood. Sweet Gum Firewood Use Sweet gum is not a very popular firewood choice for a variety of different reasons. Another visitor shared these tips when splitting the wood by hand: "I've been burning wood since we lived way North where hard maple was the ultimate. Like all wood, sweetgum wood must be cured or dried before burning to increase its fuel efficiency, heat production and reduce the buildup of creosote in your fireplace and chimney. Even more, it is one of the most important hardwoods in the Southeastern US for manufacturing. It also depends on how long you have left it to dry and warm up after seasoning. Walnut-This wood also emits very little smoke! Select Page. I have been offered a mature sweetgum, and a teenage one. February 14, 2010 Sweet gum firewood is hard to split......really hard. A native tree to the eastern Mediterranean area occurring as pure stands majorly on the Greek island of Rhodes and floodplains of southwest Turkey is the Turkish Sweet Gum. But does it make good firewood? Sweet gum works good for the "shoulder seasons" when the outside temperatures are mild. However, this doesn't mean you can't use the wood. Although when you consider the planning alone, the workability is quite low, most likely because of the interlocked grain. Properly drying out Sweet Gum is a difficult task, compared to drying out other types of firewood. Big Wood. Weight: 3,850 to 4,550 wet and 2,250 to 2,950 dry That's because it retains sap longer than most other types of fire wood. Additionally, the creosote output is not high when seasoned properly. The data for these charts was compiled from various sources with different firewood types. Smoke: low to medium levels of smoke Though it’s not a popular choice as firewood, sweet gum trees can be used in a wood stove. For sanding, you might need fresh sandpaper to smoothen out the fibers in the interlocked areas. The one disadvantage to the wood is its grain which tends to warp really bad when it dries. I have a wood splitter and it doesn't make a smooth cut anywhere you try but it will burn. The spiked shells can be painful to walk on and are commonly nicknamed burr balls or sticker balls. Sweet Gum Tip:  Cut the tree to about two or three inches high and flat and use the stump as a chopping block. They would rather use their time and storage space on a wood that's more "user friendly.". The wood became super-saturated and froze up. Keep split firewood in a dry place that gets proper ventilation and sunlight. If you want to glue it, the best thing to do is to glue immediately, to avoid any moisture change and subsequent warp. When dry, Sweet Gumwood smokes lightly. If you think the smell of hickory firewood is too strong, perhaps you should try oak. If it’s more … Here is a list of the so-called second-best burning firewood: Apple-You’ll love the sweet, fragrant aroma. Although Sweet Gumwood does take much work and energy in splitting into usable sizes it does burn hot. To make your work easier, use a hydraulic splitter. However, you can still split your Gumwood with a sharp Ax. The Chinese Sweet Gum is typically found in Central and Southern China, Indochina, and Taiwan. This post may contain affiliate links so I earn a commission. This water not only makes the pieces of wood really heavy to move, but it also increases the odds of the firewood molding. Also is known as Chang’s gum, is a tree native to East Asia, specifically in Southeast China, the Liquidambar Acalycina. Learn how much wood is in a cord of firewood. Wood that is properly seasoned will have a grayish coloring. Easily identified by its star shaped leaves with 5 points and spiked fruit, these hardwood trees can grow up to 150 feet tall and live for up to 400 years. Sweet gum firewood tends to give off a lot of smoke and it even has an unpleasant odor at times. Of course, "fairly effectively" with gum still means it was the hardest wood you'll ever split, except for elm, but it was an improvement over the norm. Sweet gum, a tree genus of the Latin name Liquidambar, is found around the world. This would be enough wood to get me through winter. We have unsplit seasoned pine, poplar, black gum, sweet gum, and hackberry that's free to pick up. There are three other species under the Liquidambar genus. Remember, the more it dries, the more it tends to warp. Sweet gum will make excellent firewood as it is capable of producing large amounts of heat, as long as you are willing to put in the extra work. This ends up making it even more difficult to cut through. The official firewood measurement for buying and selling wood. The fruit opens up which releases the seeds, however, the spiked shells are left behind and are often considered a nuisance. However, this doesn't mean you can't use the wood. by | Dec 26, 2020 | Uncategorized | 0 comments | Dec 26, 2020 | Uncategorized | 0 comments Sweet Gum burns good when dry, like most other types of hardwood. Is Sweet Gumwood a softwood or a hardwood? Black Cherry wood smells amazing and burns very hot and the coals will keep for a long time. Once you start a fire with other wood it will burn but it pops if not truly seasoned. Maybe your gum tree will still make some “sweet” bowls and other turnings. Smell: no noticeable smell. If the wood is chopped into small- to medium-sized pieces before the seasoning, the ends of the lots will be cracked. I was able to split these pieces fairly well with my splitting-head axe. Elm, eucalyptus, sycamore, sweet gum trees and liquid amber wood is also unsuitable for smoking. Since the wood burns quickly and doesn't have good coaling qualities, mixing it with other hardwoods will give you better overnight results. BTU: 20.6 This is a video of an Eastonmade 22-28 splitting a piece of sweet gum with an 8 way splitter wedge!!! It's considered a valuable tree used for lumber and furniture production, as well as for ornamental purposes. It is not a good idea to store firewood too close to the house. Its beautiful foliage, which is particularly colorful in the fall months, also makes it a great choice as an ornamental tree. Sweet Gum is a hardwood. Sweetgum firewood is for the birds. The sapwood of sweetgum has a high initial moisture content; the heartwood is considerably lower. Step 1 Choose sweetgum logs that are dry enough for burning. All I have to do is drop them and haul them off. The sapwood is white and is called sapgum. Sweet Gumwood is one of the main species of trees to produce commercial hardwood in the United States. There's tons of it here, but not much of it is taken because of the interlocking wood fibers.". It also burns for a long time, although when compared with other woods, such as Oak, it has a shorter burning time. Planning, shaping, boring, and turning is quite easy. Firewood name: Sweet Gum Nonetheless, oak is a hardwood that’s easy to light, burns hot and produces a mild yet pleasing aroma. From Gene Wengert, forum technical advisor: The heartwood of sweet gum is reddish, and is therefore called red gum. Gum is a little higher than average in strength and stiffness than many other hardwood species; it is quite close to cherry, a little stronger than mahogany, and a little weaker than walnut. Most people avoid it and have mixed reviews on this wood as firewood. Do not pick it up free. I use a heavy maul and the pieces split on the first swing. Do not pay a penny for it. Is it stringy like poplar? Many people experience mold growth on … Oak is a popular alternative to hickory because it is milder and less sweet than hickory. It is used for numerous purposes, which include the making of upholstered furniture, electronic cabinetry, veneer flooring and siding, plywood, crates, pallets, and much more. One is for the user to cut the wood himself, which is the best for land owners with wooded areas and the expertise to cut wood … Another great thing about this firewood is that it is very easy to start a fire with it. But, if you use it often you may want to have your chimney inspected for build-up because it is not unusual to experience some “popping” when burning Sweet Gum. Yes, it is very useful aside from being burned as firewood. It burns fast and hot and creates a lot of ashes. The wood has a unique reddish brown color with sapwood that's nearly white and black grain running through the hardwood. Color/Appearance: Wide sapwood is whitish to light pink or tan color, and is sometimes referred to as “sapgum” or “sweetgum.” Heartwood is gray to reddish brown, and is commonly referred to as “redgum.” Heartwood with darker black streaks is called “figured redgum.” Quartersawn pieces have a ribbon-stripe appearance. These signs are the only way to determine if the firewood has been seasoned properly. Sweet Gum wood gets a bad rep as firewood but it is one of the better burning woods out there. Many people will not waste their time cutting, splitting and stacking sweet gum firewood. Return from Sweet Gum Firewood to Firewood Types. This is just a description of the process. Seasoning Time: 1 year Sweet Gum that is not properly seasoned puts off medium to high levels of smoke. Elm and sweet gum do not burn as easily or as well as other wood and are difficult to split. Avoid splitting the wood right down the center and just focus on the edges. In fact, sweet gum will produce approximately 20.6 million BTU's per cord which isn't all that bad. Or, you could stack the wood in a tall stack using the right sort of firewood rack to get superior air-flow and thus better seasoning times. Not ideal for sure. In the old days, youngsters throughout the rural South went to the woods, not the grocery store, for their chewing gum. If you enjoy the smell of firewood, types of wood such as Cedar, Poplar, and Oak may be preferable to you. Don’t buy firewood that's too long to fit easily inside your fireplace or fire pit. Even with help from the splitter, handling sweet gum is time consuming. The wood takes about 3 times longer to process compared to other firewood types resulting in a lot of work for a small amount of firewood. After splitting your wood, properly store it under a roof or cover because Sweet Gum is more likely to rot quickly and produce mold when you expose them to moisture. Start with the outside edges and then work your way around the outside of the wood till you get to the core. Sweet Gum doesn’t put off a characteristic smell. Now I use whatever there is. Cedar-Watch the sap deposits with this wood with prolonged use. Let the wood season for about 1 year and it will be ready to burn. I have burn a lot of sweet gum. The warping causes the already interwoven fibers to become even harder. There are many people who choose not to burn sweet gum firewood. This hardwood does not split, twist or shred easily. ... Sweet Gum is great for a hot fire, but burns too quickly. Since the wood burns quickly and doesn't have good coaling qualities, Outside Wood Burning Stoves - Heating With Firewood. Privacy Policy     Advertising Policy     Share This Site     About Me     Additional Resources, This post may contain affiliate links so I earn a. Mainly because there are just a lot of better woods out there. Splitting Difficulty: hard Is sweetgum good firewood? More than one turner has discovered some hidden gems buried in the firewood pile — I can imagine the same discovery in a dead-but-still-standing tree. The American Sweet Gum (Liquidambar styraciflua), native to North and Central America, is one of the most common hardwoods in the Southeastern United States, where it preferably grows in humid and temperate climates. However, how long it will burn depends on the moisture content. Although the wood burns quickly, mixing it with other hardwoods will give you better results. My Saddest TV Moments Playlist: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSAZ6PGgiwg&list=PL355BF2121364AF26&feature=plpp It easily takes on staining, painting and is moderately easy to shape and bore. You can throw it in before bed and not worry about it going out. More woods that you should not to use for smoking: Never use lumber scraps, either new or used. Scientifically known as Liquidambar formosana, this is a popular Sweet Gum variety regularly called Chinese Sweet Gum. The wood is rated intermediate as an acceptable wood for bending when steamed. The Sweet Gum has high resin content and is easy to work with. For best results, try splitting the wood when it's still green. I'm not sure if this will be useful for everyone, but the information might be helpful for someone around Maryland where sweet gum is one of the four most abundantly growing trees. A fire with sweet gum wood can be quite entertaining to watch and to listen to. If you're going to split sweet gum, using a hydraulic splitter is the best way. The wood can be dried with relatively severe kiln schedules. It produces around 20.6 million BTU per cord, which is pretty decent. Sweet gum is a great wood, but it cups and twists when it dries. When you throw a piece of sweet gum on the fire you'll probably notice heavy smoke in the beginning before it fully ignites. Sweet gum hisses and pops. I've been told Gum is hard to beat for baskets but the local basket making factory here shut down years ago.". Do you know how to identify green firewood? It does the same thing in a heater, although the wood is hopefully better cured for burning in a heater. Cut the segments of wood to half their normal length and split it green if the wood is still moist and gum is worth the trouble. That said, it can sometimes give an unpleasant odor, especially when it is not properly seasoned before burning. It grows mostly in the woodland of the warm temperate region. The only good news about it was the fact that my Dad hated sweetgum wood and he always tried his best to use oak or ash trees for firewood. Sawing and Drying Sweet Gum Sweet Gum is a troublesome wood to work with because of its tendency to twist and move, but the effort can be worth it for some uses. Try it with an outside fire sometime. Sweet gum wood is valued for its attractive, interlocked grain. Learn what to look for when buying your next load of firewood. Sweet gum works good for the "shoulder seasons" when the outside temperatures are mild. sweet gum wood for firewood. Splitting the wood is the big thing. "This winter I discovered by pure chance a way to alter the wood fibers some so you can split the wood more effectively with an axe. The wood is beautiful and it's often used as a veneer for plywood. Many people who burn Sweet Gum firewood describe the smell as yeast or beer-like. One of the things that disappoint many people about Sweet Gum is the difficulty of splitting it. Since the wood is difficult to split and stack compared to other popular firewood types, some view it as a waste of time and energy. That said, it can sometimes give an unpleasant odor, especially when it is not properly seasoned before burning. Hickory. Worst that could happen is that they go from the lathe to the burn pile if the results aren’t what you like. As easy as Gumwood is to work with, any slight change in the moisture content will alter the surface flatness, leading to a change in bond strength. In terms of hardness, it is a little higher in stiffness and strength than many species of hardwood. If you cut it extra thick and pile a ton of brick on the pile as it dries, you can get something to use when it is dry. A visitor from Maryland shared a method he uses to make splitting the wood easier. I left several large trunk cuts out in the snow in my yard through January and February. If I did not have 6 cords of wood out of the 1 tree, when it costs me nothing, I would never have known. A green sweet gum tree (one that's been recently cut down) contains a lot of water within the wood. It might take up to a year to season a sweet gumwood. This popping can ignite the combustible material and causes an explosion. Just because sweet gum might not be the best firewood around doesn't mean you can't use it.......it just takes a little more effort. Do i have to wedge it, then finish the split with an ax? Apart from the distortion due to warping, which decreases after initial drying, the wood still goes through a considerable amount of movement in service. The wood from these oak trees is prized for its strength and density, and that density makes it one of the best at producing heat. But if you've got to take the tree down and will have a bunch of sweet gum wood, let it season for at least 6 months and give it a try. It burns clean and long. Furthermore, a Hydraulic wood splitter may be needed for this job because splitting Sweet Gumwood is more like shredding, ripping, tearing apart. Burning it with less than 20 percent moisture content gives off better BTUs, burns longer, and makes better coals. These charts will give you the amount of energy per cord of wood for some of the most common firewood species. The wood from the hickory family of trees, which includes pecan trees, is also very dense and prized for use as firewood, being of similar quality to oak. Sometimes though, a sweetgum tree got in the way and had to be cut down too. To overcome this, you might have to use a 12-inch sticker spacing to increase the time of drying. Actually, it doesn't really split it just tears, shreds and twists its way apart. Many people associate sweet gum with their hard spiked fruits that fall everywhere around the tree. Many people who burn Sweet Gum firewood describe the smell as yeast or beer-like. Firewood is a topic of many different opinions. The major concern with the wood is the amount of work and energy it takes to split it into usable sizes.