Red gum tree and milling

[Bob10]

I am taking one down later this week probably 18" Diameter and 26 years old. Very straight for about 14' would any of you try to get boards out of it or just split for burning?

[Gregory of Sherwood Forest]

Get whatever boards out of that you can. I love red gum wood. Turning blanks also. Beautiful and very colorful.

[jteneyck]

No advise on what to do but I'm impressed that it's 18" diameter and only 26 years old. The growth rings will be huge. Hard to imagine it would be very stable as lumber, but I know nothing about red gum.

John

[Bob10]

want to be really impressed grow Acacia that crap grows insanely fast. As for the age of the tree it is sitting in front of a house that was built in 89 so it might be a little older but I doubt much. I bought the place last December and the tree is nothing but a mess each time I am there. It drops little thorny balls that will twist an ankle and currently dropping loads of pollen along with greenery of some type. I am dropping it next time I visit as burning up 30 minutes to an hour to clean up every couple of days isn't how I want to spend my time

[Steve N]

Sweetgum qualities


Some gum is awesome to look at I would want to crack it open to see what it looks like inside

[TomFromStLouis]

We usually quarter saw sweetgum and black gum because it likes to move a LOT when drying. They are softer than soft maple, but shape and carve like a dream. Worth the effort.

[Pink Floyd]

If you have the capability to mill it yourself, go ahead. It is, after all, almost free wood. If you have to pay to have it milled, I would suggest you pass.

Sweetgum is best quartersawn but 18" diameter is not really big enough to QS. The boards would all be very narrow. Also, it won't have much, if any, of the red heartwood like was pictured at the Hobbit House site. I expect most of it will be a very bland cream color which will turn gray as it dries. Flat sawn board will move a LOT while drying.
BTW, the stuff is nearly impossible to split, too, even with a hydraulic splitter.

[Bibliophile 13]

Ah yes, sweet gum. Good shade tree and fast growing, but as you say, it makes quite a mess in the yard.

You've been given good advice about the properties of this wood. It does want to warp a lot while drying. Milling oversized is a good idea. Do what you can to weight down the stack once you have it stickered. It's also pretty rot-prone, so keep it out of the elements while it dries.

Once dry, it can be quite pretty, and I find it easy to work.

[JustinTyson]

OP is in California. I assume when he says red gum, he's referring to eucalyptus, but some confirmation would be helpful.

[Steve N]

Bob does it look something like this in the fall?






Any of this look familiar?





Map shows like this, so I'm guessing yes.