Best practices for Sycamore

[@aaronwarner2762]

A knucklehead like me being the first commenter should say something. This video and I am guessing others are HIGHLY undervalued. This was fantastic and thorough!!!! Here in the states in the midwest (Indiana) they can be huge! I've milled one and I fell in love instantly with the quarter sawn boards. Absolutely knockdown drag out gorgeous!!! Only those who don't know of it, don't appreciate it. Keep up the great work. I subscribed.

[@rolliekelly6783]

I too, am an Indiana, southern, native. In our part, the Sycamore trees tend to start center rotting early in their mid-life, yet continue to grow. There are stories told down here in Lincoln country of immigrating families living inside of these hollow trees while the cabin was being built.

[@billgeorgene]

Do you ever quarter saw Sycamore? Here in New England in the USA Sycamore is not as common but they do provide nice wood. I typically try to quarter saw as much of it as I can in order to get that Lacewood or snake skin like appearance from the ray flec.

[@radharcanna]

That’s very interesting. I never knew sycamore was used so much. I like the tree itself but not how it spreads in the garden!

[@thefreese1]

I remember cutting them in the spring and summer..lol Literally gallons of water came pouring out of these ... I know that these were hewn and snuck in with white oak as railroad ties years ago when tie hackers were selling them to the railroads ...you can always tell them from the oak ties because they'd be so twisted up ... We have log church made out of them in the 30s .... all the logs are twisted up and the windows are all caddy-wompas... However, I know of a Luther who built mandolin out of quatersawn sycamore and aays once it's completely dry it works well , sands well , and the mandolin has an awesome sou.d so it's a great tonewood... If you dry it to a low moisture content first..

[@leafbone1]

Disodium Octaborate Tetrahydrate, on fresh cut Sycamore, works a treat at stopping staining, mix to about 18% apply with a knapsack sprayer. 9 years ago we sliced approx. 60 ton of Sycamore from a site a house was being built on, sliced through and through at 65mm, sprayed then dead stacked (no stickers or end rearing), they were there for about 6 weeks until the kiln was ready (things has to be done as and when, not in order), no staining, this was in the summer of 2014, planks were then kiln dried, and ripped into 20mm lamella to make glulam beams finished at 250 x 55mm x whatever was needed length wise. I'm part way through a wardrobe with some of the Sycamore cut at 25mm.

[@EnquiringMinds-vx8gb]

Hi Can you explain more about the grey streaking I seem to find in sycamore. I did not see it mentioned in this video. I have heard you can bleach it out. Is this what you are referring to and can it be done after the wood is dried? I was initially told you have to stand the boards up on end to let the water? drain out and this stops that grey colouring.

[@leafbone1]

@EnquiringMinds-vx8gb The grey is the start of the spalding process and can go all the way through the wood very fast. You can semi successfully bleach the surface only. Standing, this called end rearing, for Sycamore fresh off the saw, brush all sawdust off and stand the board up leaning on whatever so the board only touches at the very top and bottom, this allows free air movement to rapidly dry the surface below about 17%, below 17% mould doesn't normally grow, can take a couple if weeks, then stack the board as a normal plank to dry.

[@EnquiringMinds-vx8gb]

@ Thanks Someone said the grey markings come from the water evaporating due to the boards not being stood up. Do you confirm this? I often find it hit and miss when buying sycamore. I try to find figured boards but they are often part of a mixed pack and so the curing process is unknown. The places that do process it currently will usually call it white but at least 30% of the time I cut into a board and it is coloured (with grey streaks). I wish there was a good way of determining this in the yard when scraping a board. I buy thousands of £’s worth every few months and would very might like to cut down on waste. The problem is, there is little figured sycamore about and so you get a bit desperate and start rummaging though packs. I’m getting better at spotting it but often the grey is hard to see until you cut into it. The planks often dirty and even with a scraper, hard to tell.

[@leafbone1]

@EnquiringMinds-vx8gb No, it's not caused by evaporation, Sycamore stains real fast. This why traditionally it was felled in the winter, end rearing takes time and space thus money. Planking and end rearing must be the same day not tomorrow (unless its freezing weather)

[@richardlee2488]

I'm very surprised you don't worry about the stick stains in the Ash and beech. What timber are the stickers?

[@ianm5864]

Decaying wood is extremely beneficial for wildlife. It’s not sad.

[@richardlee2488]

This depends heavily on what type and where the diseased or decaying wood is. It can in some cases be a fire risk. It can be a safety risk if close to people and animals but also infrastructure. It may also be either a dormitory for undesirable insects and or diseases. Many of these can even be invasive. Professional evaluation should taken and not just make an assumption that nature will benefit. No offence intended to you. The current plant passports in the UK and Europe are hoping to combat tree diseases and prevent them from spreading. It is currently an offence to move Ash saplings and there is a quarantine for the movement of pines in sussex/Kent. Previous attempts to quash diseases like Dutch elm were a catastrophe Thanks to poor control and failures even from local authorities.

[@radharcanna]

I think he meant sad from the point of view of it not being turned into useful boards in the sawmill.

[@johncampbell9120]

Sycamore is even more beautiful if you quartersaw it.