Blue Gum - scrounge and pics

[Auzzie Gumtree]

Another easy scrounge on my way home last night. A very dense Blue Gum. ~ 977 gsm 20% higher than oak.

Its probably the most dense wood we have in this part of Australia. I will use these to fill my overspill area.

I find it a lot easier to find free wood when its in the 90's no-one else wants it

 

[Plow Boy]

Is that stuff as hard to split as the black and sweet gum we have around here. I used my splitter to split some sweet gum a few weeks ago and swore, no more gum.

 

[Auzzie Gumtree]

This ones not too bad as long as you split before it dries out. I will use the hydrolics on this one when I get a couple more loads to make it worth while.

The rounds were very heavy and solid. They will be good burning in 3 years time

 

[Wood Duck]

Australian Gums aren't related to the Gum we have in North America. In Australia gums are usually Eucalyptus, is that right Auzzie? I have seen Blue Gum in California, where they grow to huge size, but never burned any.

 

[kennyp2339]

Auzzie, how you doing down there, nice and cold up here in the Northeast again. Hope all is well.

 

[Auzzie Gumtree]

In Australia gums are usually Eucalyptus,

Yes all ours 'gums' are eucalyptus - there are over 700 types and I'm still learning a couple of them... some split nice and easy but some of the others are practically impossible without sledge and wedges. Before i bought the hydraulic splitter i had to be a bit selective which wood i collected as i ended up with a huge pile of 'to be done later' rounds that were too hard with the fiskars. That all changed with the hydraulics i take pretty much everything.

nice and cold up here in the Northeast again

I have been watching the weather over there and it does look cold. although i don't think it looks as bad as last year? How's the wood stack lasting? will you guys have enough to last? We have had a mild summer so far. In fact the fire has been lit a couple of nights a few weeks ago.

Blue gum is one of the better firewood.

 

[kennyp2339]

I'm good to go with firewood for the next three years, all oak and maple. It hasn't been as cold as last year in regards to day time temps, night time has been rough, mainly in the single digits for the last couple weeks, we have been getting some cold shots though lows minus 5 to 10 below but with windy conditions.. Snow has been about the same, a little north and east from me the people have been hit real hard, literally 60 inches in the last 10 days in Boston, we are forecasted to have an active snow period right to the end of February.

 

[Apprentice_GM]

Another easy scrounge on my way home last night. A very dense Blue Gum. ~ 977 gsm 20% higher than oak.

Its probably the most dense wood we have in this part of Australia. I will use these to fill my overspill area.

Great score Auzzie, but you don't have ironbark in your area? That stuff is only a bit denser according to your chart but I swear it blunts sharp chains just looking at it . . .

I burn a lot of bluegum and it's a great firewood but only with a big hydraulic splitter imho.

 

[Auzzie Gumtree]

Yes I like the splitter too it makes light work of all the wood I scrounge. I still like splitting by hand if I have the time.

It looks like I have just run out of room and I am waiting to start burning again to make some space. I have collected a few ute fulls which will just have to wait a couple of months

 

[Apprentice_GM]

Hey Auzzie next time you get a big bluegum tree (>600mm diameter / 24") can you buck a 24" long round off it and split it by hand? Because I have a lot of those to split and I have tried by hand but it just wastes my time - I just can't split it. I burn 24" splits because my woodstove can take them that long so I like minimising the processing plus the overnight burns are better / longer. I just gave up and bought a 40 ton splitter but I'd be curious to know if it is just a strength and skill thing I lacked or whether that size of aussie hardwood can't be done (unless you are David Foster).

 

[SawdustSA]

Now that is a familiar sight. It is pretty much all I burn here in South Africa. I also had to get a spilitter to be able to process it.

The council is clearing a large area around 2 miles from my house and all the bluegum is been taken to the dump since no-one else has a use for it. Truck loads full!
My problem is that the house is on the market and I am not alowed to make a mess at the moment. Terrible timing!

 

[Auzzie Gumtree]

Hey Auzzie next time you get a big bluegum tree (>600mm diameter / 24") can you buck a 24" long round off it and split it by hand?

I will give it a go - i don't get much bluegum and since i have the hydraulics, anything that doesn't split in a couple of swings goes on the 'too hard pile'. What i have noticed there can be differences within the same species ie it can sometimes depend on how open the area is where the tree stood, and if it was open to excessive wind. this seems to cause the grain to spiral around the tree and therefore when you try to split it, it just laughs at you.

The olny way i do the big rounds is to start at the edge and work my way around. I never try to split the round in half, its just a waste of energy. When i first started i always tried to split it in half but then i read on here somewhere to start at the edge and work your around the large round. Doesn't always work......

It doesn't seem to make much difference in the size of the rounds more on the grain pattern. I think this one took a couple of swings - the more accurate you are with the fiskars the better. I couldn't lift this in to the Ute so had to split it smaller...

 

[SawdustSA]

I often compare those bluegum rounds with a radial steel tyre/tire. Once you break the steel ring, it works much easier. I usually noodle those rounds in half and leave it for a day or 3. They tend to relax a bit and split a bit easier.

 

[Auzzie Gumtree]

I usually noodle those rounds in half and leave it for a day or 3.

I would try that next time - but I'm an opportunist scrounger usually on my way home form work and the only tool i have to hand is the Fiskars.....

 

[osagebow]

Nice score, hope you are all set for winter. It's been mostly below freezing here for days. We're 70 km southwest of Washington DC. By the way, I just posted a neat Aussie invention over in the inglenook.