Where might one begin looking to find sweetgum. I am working on an older home where all the woodwork was done with this wood. It’s really quite beautiful… a light coffee color with darker streaks and subtly grain.
I’ve seen some urban timber companies that have some boards, but I’m at a loss for finding larger quantities or consistant sources.
I’m in Bloomington Indiana.
thanks!
-i may update with some photos of the woodwork in the house soon-
Replies
We lived in Owensboro, KY about 30 years ago. The place was loaded with sweetgum, a pretty tree - but the gum balls in the fall drove me crazy.
The point is, you might try looking a little South of you for lumber sources.
Frosty
Woodshop News has an add for Downs and Reader Hardwood Co in MA that lists 4/4 red gum in stock - BTW - Red Gum is the trade name for heartwood lumber from sweetgum.
Here is a link: http://www.downesandreader.com/
Go to Forestryforum.com. Go to the "Wanted" section and puy in your request. I guarantee you that you will find what you want
Good luck finding it in board form. The vast majority of gum trees around here (NC) end up being the inner plys in hardwood plywood.
Support our Troops. Bring them home. Now. And pray that at least some of the buildings in the green zone have flat roofs, with a stairway.
Plan on buying about double what you will need to complete the job. Red gum has some serious interlocked grain which makes it hard to dry and very prone to internal checks. It can look fine on the outside but once you start moulding or resawing it the cracks start to show.
Given that, it is one of the most beautiful native woods around.
Good luck.
J.P.
I live 50 miles west of you in northern Knox county. Sweet gum grows throughout southern Indiana. However, you won't find it at a lumber yard. Go to a local sawmill. It will probably be green but you can air dry it or take it to a kiln to have it dried. Kentucky also has a lot of sweet gum. Back in the 50s I along with my dad and uncle, built a small house on Kentucky Lake near Paris Tenn. We framed it with red oak and sheathed, decked and floored it with sweet gum. We used it green from local saw mills as it would be very hard to nail if dried. Many older houses in our area were built from green native lumber.
This won't help you find a source. But, I have read that, at one time, years ago, sweetgum was a main source of wood for furniture.
Billy B.
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