Insane Sweet Gum "splits"

[7acres]

We processed two cords of sweet gum this weekend. It was the strangest splitting wood ever. It's like the grain of the tree is woven like a braided rope. When the wedge starts sinking in ropes of wood would tear out on either side of the wedge.

I don't know how you could possibly split it with any axe. I've even heard that it's harder to split when dry. Check out the attachment. All the splits look like ragged lightening bolts. Is there any wood that's more of a pain to split than Sweet Gum?

 

[PA. Woodsman]

I only had one round of Sweet gum in my life, and I split it by hand and it was horrible, That picture is really crazy looking! I liked the way that it burned though.....

 

[Babaganoosh]

I can get a decent amount of this green and free. I've got a 27 ton splitter.

Worth it?

 

[7acres]

I can get a decent amount of this green and free. I've got a 27 ton splitter.

Worth it?

From what I've heard it's good fast drying clean burning softer wood. As long as your splitter can handle it, use it. I guess I'll experience it this upcoming winter. Watching the splitter press through it was a unique experience.

 

[chance04]

I burned a fair amount this season, royal pain to split as you have found out, really a pain to try and stack both on a pallet and in the stove. Lots of wasted space between splits. Burns very fast, but seasons quite fast as well

 

[Richie]

I am burning some black gum right now. The splitting was similar to your experience. Black gum burns hot and fast. I would pass if I had another chance at it.

 

[7acres]

I am burning some black gum right now. The splitting was similar to your experience. Black gum burns hot and fast. I would pass if I had another chance at it.

I was eyeing a large leaning black gum to harvest. I passed on it this year as its lean angle wasn't favorable. But it makes me wonder, are there any Gum species that split clean? Or is all Gum a hot burning mess?

 

[Fred Wright]

We've been burning sweetgum for years... it's OK for off-season fires when it's not very cold out. The Amish neighbor burns it in his shop stove. It's plentiful; sweetgum grows like weeds here.

I worked up my last cord of it last year. I'm just tired of dealing with it. Aside from the difficulty of splitting, it's a low BTU wood and leaves a lot of ash. We'd be cleaning out the ashes every other day when burning sweetgum. It gets moldy very quickly in the stacks and stinks when it burns. Will cure after a year but two years is better.

Your mileage may vary; I've heard from some folks that sweetgum splits better for them when it's green off the stump. I haven't experienced that ~ always left the rounds set a few months before splitting. Trying to split it green, all I got for my trouble was a mangled mess like in the OP's photo. After a few months drying time in the round it'll slab off the sides easily. The center is still stringy but it splits, at least.

Black gum, or tupelo is a whole nother thing. Black gum tends to slab off the side easily, almost smooth like it's been planed in places. The wood is a soft tan color. It seems to burn a bit better than sweetgum and lights off faster. I've cut and split a few black gums over time but am not gonna fuss with any more. It's a low BTU wood. Red maple is better and there's plenty of it.

I prefer to leave black gum stand to feed the birds and deer. If you have honeybees around, the honey from tupelo blooms is renowned for its exceptional flavor.

 

[7acres]

Black gum, or tupelo is a whole nother thing. I prefer to leave black gum stand to feed the birds and deer. If you have honeybees around, the honey from tupelo blooms is renowned for its exceptional flavor.

I'm glad you mentioned that as I'm a beekeeper.