Sweetgum score...would you go for it?

If I needed it you bet!

Rcrozier said:

Free score bucked. Would you go for it?

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That stuff is b!tch to split, so i hope you have access to a splitter.

I have a splitter, so I'd take it. Then again- it's probably too far for me to drive.

Don't know about sweet-gum but I have black-gum and it is extremly hard to split, I cut the rounds into 4 to 6" pieces and going to try to burn that way someday.

Good Luck

This is Black Gum as you can see I gave up on splitting I don't remember how many times I tried to spit that 1 its still in one piece, not wanting to waste I cut real shor will thow on hot coals .

All bucked to length, not sure why you wouldn't go get it. No such thing as this tree around here that I've ever heard of, so I have no direct experience. Worst case scenario, those rounds don't lok all that big...if its a pain to split, noddle it into quarters wiht the saw and use them for overnighters.

Does it have another name in CT? As far as I know I have never burned sweet gum. Thank you, oak.

Tryed to post earlier but couldn't this is black -gum that one all stringy is the first I tried to split (hydrolic splitter) it is still in one piece its nothing but a bunch of strings, I cut the other in short rounds will just throw in as is. I looked it up to figure what it was and was listed as fair firewood just like sweet-gum. The sweet -gum is supposed to be alittle easer to split. Black-gum was listed as unsplitable. Would I bring it home , do you need the wood that bad.

cptoneleg said:

Tryed to post earlier but couldn't this is black -gum that one all stringy is the first I tried to split (hydrolic splitter) it is still in one piece its nothing but a bunch of strings, I cut the other in short rounds will just throw in as is. I looked it up to figure what it was and was listed as fair firewood just like sweet-gum. The sweet -gum is supposed to be alittle easer to split. Black-gum was listed as unsplitable. Would I bring it home , do you need the wood that bad.

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Wow cookie cutter them rounds and toss like a frisbee into the fire. I have a few piles I will use on the very cold days really gets a nice blaze!

i would go for it!

smokinjay said:

cptoneleg said:

Tryed to post earlier but couldn't this is black -gum that one all stringy is the first I tried to split (hydrolic splitter) it is still in one piece its nothing but a bunch of strings, I cut the other in short rounds will just throw in as is. I looked it up to figure what it was and was listed as fair firewood just like sweet-gum. The sweet -gum is supposed to be alittle easer to split. Black-gum was listed as unsplitable. Would I bring it home , do you need the wood that bad.

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Wow cookie cutter them rounds and toss like a frisbee into the fire. I have a few piles I will use on the very cold days really gets a nice blaze!

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What Jay said.

I have Sweet Gum here in CT. It will punk out real fast.
Similar to Red Maple burn wise...........

WoodButcher

If I still had a hydraulic splitter,sure. Otherwise nope lol

Even if I thought it would be a pain to split, I'd still go for it. I can't pass up wood that is so easy to get.

Cascade Failure said:

Does it have another name in CT? As far as I know I have never burned sweet gum. Thank you, oak.

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Ive never seen it either, never heard of it til I joined this forum.

cptoneleg said:

Tryed to post earlier but couldn't this is black -gum that one all stringy is the first I tried to split (hydrolic splitter) it is still in one piece its nothing but a bunch of strings, I cut the other in short rounds will just throw in as is. I looked it up to figure what it was and was listed as fair firewood just like sweet-gum. The sweet -gum is supposed to be alittle easer to split. Black-gum was listed as unsplitable. Would I bring it home , do you need the wood that bad.

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Well, your pictures may have changed my mind. I cut up a downed tree 2 years ago that was missing most of the bark. When split it was a stringy mess and looked just like your picture. It burned ok but for the effort it sure isn't my first choice.

Thanks for the 'cookie cutter' rounds idea, guys. That had never occurred to me before- even though I do save and burn all sorts of small, gnarly wood. I even have a special wood crib for the stuff. If I ever get something nasty that shreds like the photo showed, I'll turn that wood into 3 to 4in thick 'biscuits. Ought to dry real fast that way, as well.

I learn something new fairly often in this forum.

BTW I got hold of something I thought to be Black Gum last year. That particular log split 'OK' with difficulty by hand. Most of what I have on my property that I believe to be Gum has a whiter, more stringy wood, so I'm not totally sure about my wood ID's on these. Anyway, that more white, stringy stuff also split OK for me by hand- but it took more effort than Oak does.

I got almost 2 cords of sweet gum last winter. I used a 22 Huskee to "split it"...it really tore it more than split it, larger rounds were a real pain, I had to basically peel it from the outside in. It was really wet, full of water, but seems to be seasoning pretty fast, I haven't burned any yet but will this fall, it's suspossed to be about like pine. If I had to do it over I wouldn't mess with it unless the rounds were smaller than 6 or 8 inches.

I feel like it's good stove chow if you can get it to the point of well seasoned. Maybe not always worth bothering with, but sometimes it makes sense. I burned some this past winter- seemed worth the effort. I feel the same way about Tulip (Yellow) Poplar, too. I don't go out of my way to get it, but it does make a good, hot burning fuel if you have it and it's well seasoned.

Rcrozier said:

Someone must have already snagged it.

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You didn't really lose much. Low heat value wood, and there's always tons of that around...

Woody Stover said:

Rcrozier said:

Someone must have already snagged it.

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You didn't really lose much. Low heat value wood, and there's always tons of that around...

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That's much easier splitting too.