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I scored several gums probably about 2 1/2 cords now I'm getting it split and racked... I've burned it in years past but wanted to know what do you guys thick about gum good / bad ... other than it's ability to resist splitting especially by hand...
I had some that I burned earlier in the season and I really liked it. Burned nicely but was a bugger to split! Sweetgum this was; I'd take it again if the situation ever arises.
I'm not great at species ID, but I picked up what I think was gum (mottled bark, hard and stringy wood, burns hot) last year. Filled my Ferd Ranger p/u with most 18" or bigger rounds, some of which had been quartered by the tree guys. Just about impossible to split w/o the power splitter. I rented a 20-ton splitter a month or so ago. For the most part, it tore the wood apart rather than splitting it. It also strained sometimes before splitting the wood. I do manage to re-split some of the splits with the super-splitter maul, but others still sneer at me.
Burns fairly hot. Crackles a lot. Yup, I'd take it again if its free. Let it season 'till I have enough to rent a splitter again. And yes, it does season unsplit, at least here in sunny So. Calif.
Also try to keep the rain off of it -- I've noticed that it has a tendency to soak up more water than other types of wood. When it's dry, it burns well.
Just got some gum. Some cut to 20+inch lengths and splits larger than I like so I have had to cut and split up some of it. It is a pain to split. I have an easier time with the axe than maul. The maul is basically useless if the axe doesn't work then I get a wedge in it and that normally does the job. But I like the burn a lot. Burns hot and leaves a nice coal base.
I have a 50/60 year old sweet gum on my lot (the only one) matter of fact it's the only one I've seen in my travels around here in CT.
It lost a good sized 10" limb in 2003, laid right down in front of my house. Burns good (comparable to ash/maple) (splits like an old twisted swamp maple though)....nice score you got!
I scored several gums probably about 2 1/2 cords now I'm getting it split and racked... I've burned it in years past but wanted to know what do you guys thick about gum good / bad ... other than it's ability to resist splitting especially by hand...
A guy just came over to my house from down the street where he was painting and ask me if I wanted about 8 gum trees that he's going to drop along a ditch bank in a couple weeks havn't seen them but I said yes he even has a burn pile to put the brush ... my back will be healed by then and my buddy will bring his splitter over for me ...
I've burned a lot of sweetgum and blackgum. The black gum went punky fast. The Sweetgum needs to be splitt or it goes punky fast.
I would not buy gum and would not want B.G even free.