Is Sweet Gum any good for firewood?

[@twinarrowssurvival.2.065]

I don't like sweet gum for firewood it's hard to split it stringy and it produces very little heat in my opinion as a firewood manufacturer oak is by far the best or hickory

[@TheRevoltingMan]

I agree, red oak is my favorite. I had to drop this sweet gum though so firewood it will be!

[@Adam.Rushing]

We had Sweet Gum trees in LA (State, not City Z!) too. I knew my ma-maw used to use the oils and dad hated bucking them up too. We called it Alligator Wood though. So, courisoty got the better of me...here's some "fun facts" I found. Don't mind the numbers at the beginning, I deleted the stupid ones: 3. This deciduous tree got its name from the gummy texture of its sap, which also happens to be one of the earliest versions of chewing gum! 4. Sweetgum trees are easy to recognize. They grow hard spiky fruit, or gumballs, and have star shaped leaves similar to those of a maple tree. 6. Sweetgum trees are considered medium to large, on average they grow to a height of 50 to 70 feet, but in the right conditions they have been known to reach over 100 feet in height. 7. The average diameter of an adult sweetgum tree’s trunk is usually somewhere between 24 and 36 inches. 9. The sweetgum tree won't flower or produce their gum balls for the first 15 to 20 years of growth, but they will go on to live for 150 to 400 years so there is plenty of time! 10. The sweetgum tree attracts a great deal of wildlife including blue jays, cardinals, mourning doves, squirrels, chipmunks and even luna moths. 11. These American sweet gumball trees are a popular choice of hardwood in the United States. They can be used for lumbar, veneer and plywood. 12. The spiky gumballs are the containers for its seeds. These spiked seed balls are often referred to as gum balls, spiky nuts, sweet gum fruit, burr balls, sticker balls and sweet gumballs. 13. Each of these gum balls contain a cluster of around 60 capsule fruits, and then each fruit holds one or two seeds. 14. The spikes on these gumballs serve a purpose. They allow the seeds to carried away by animals! The seeds stick to the animals fur and they can be carried far and wide, when they fall off they can create new sweetgum trees. 15. The sweetgum seeds are produced by fertilized flowers. The sweetgum tree bears both male and female flowers, this clever trick means that only one tree is needed for pollination! 17. These spiky little sweet gum pods are full of nutrients making them great food for chipmunks, birds and squirrels. 18. The scientific name for the sweetgum tree is 'liquidambar styraciflua'. 22. The name liquidambar, literally means "liquid amber" and refers to the resin these trees produce if you peel back the bark. 23. Another name for the sweetgum tree's resin is storax. 24. The sweetgum tree is known as Alligator Wood in some parts of the American South, this is because the scaly sweetgum bark looks just like the alligator's hide. - SEE YALL, I WASN'T LYIN'! 26. The sweetgum tree is very fast growing and is highly resistant to insects. This makes them the perfect species of tree for reforestation projects. 27. The sweetgum tree is used to fix nitrogen in soil and improve its fertility, these trees are also used to reclaim former zinc and phosphorus mines. In other words, they are good for the soil! 29. Indigenous Americans were the first to use the resin from the sweetgum tree to maintain dental hygiene, the antiseptic properties make it great for eliminating bacteria from the mouth. 30. When added to tobacco and smoked through a pipe, it was believed that the resin of the sweet gum tree was a great pain reliever, that could also aid sleep and even relieve wind! 31. Three species of sweet gum tree have been shown to possess antioxidant potential. 32. The sweetgum tree bark has astringent properties, believed to help with dysentery and diarrhea. 33. Indigenous American Cherokee tribes would apply the resin from of the sweetgum tree directly to wounds to help heal them. 34. The anti inflammatory sweet gum tree resin has also been used to treat bedsores and angina. 35. The sap of the sweetgum tree is also useful. By boiling it and letting it cool, it can be made into a medicinal balm that is rich in cinnamyl cinnamate, ethyl, nenzyl and cinnamic acid. This balm can then be used to treat many topical ailments as cinnamic acid is known to have both antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. 36. Sweet gum leaf oil taken from the species liquidambar orientalis and liquidambar styraciflua was found to contain many of the same ingredients as tea tree oil, a well known antimicrobial. 37. American sweet gum balls can be burnt down to ash and made into a healing salve by mixing the ash with grease. 40. The sweet gum tree fruit has been found to be effective against rheumatic pain. 41. Explorers have used it as a toothbrush. They would cut a twig around four to six inches long, remove any leaves, then score one end along the long edge. They would then chew on the scored bits of wood for a while, which would cause them to fray and create bristles!

[@InvisibleCitizen]

I have at least a dozen sweet gum trees around my cabin. 2020 was a very productive year for the balls. My wife’s grandmother was a member of the Cherokee tribe and she made a cold & flu med from the seeds inside the balls. I’ve been told that pharma learned this and made tamaflu from the seeds but now uses a Chinese plant which is cheaper to use.

[@mrlafayette1964]

Been there done that, sometimes my maul would just bounce off it.

[@TheRevoltingMan]

The stuff is of the devil! Still not half as bad as sycamore though!

[@outdoorswithlarryrobin]

Hello Young Man, from Northern Virginia, just Subscribed, we have that wood on our land, Take Care and Stay Safe 🚜🪵👍🏼🇺🇸

[@TheRevoltingMan]

Thank you!

[@InvisibleCitizen]

In some places in Europe they still make furniture from sweet gum trees. They also make those old style fruit and vegetable baskets out of them since they are easy to split and bend to form the baskets. It’s too much labor for us since we have become too lazy.

[@TheRevoltingMan]

It must be a different variety. It would be really hard to get straight splints off if this stuff.

[@DamianBloodstone]

We have those everywhere here in VA where I live. I can barely walk for those gumballs. I'd rather have one of those by my house than an oak or pine when big winds come. I've only seen two taken out by direct hits from tornadoes in my area. Thanks for showing how and explaining it. Hopefully, I won't be cutting or chopping any. Take Care and Stay Safe to you and your family.

[@beeamerica5024]

Yeah I know what you mean about the sweet gum Zack we always call it a tree within a tree the way it blends together how much prefer pine even though it will make your chimney dirty faster but you can't beat good old hardwood hope you got plenty of wood going to be a hard winter 👍👌😉🐝

[@TheRevoltingMan]

We need a hard winter, although I pity those poor bastards in Europe.

[@lancecorporalveteran0621]

That's very similar to eucalyptus it's probably the hardest to chop it grows almost like a spiral and breaks apart in a spiral and the straighter ones have a slight angle to them on the inside Very fibrous and tough but it burns hot

[@Ahch.]

Good info

[@Polk4t]

My pop made me a bow from a sweetgum sapling when I was young I had it for years.

[@TheRevoltingMan]

Interesting. I’ll try that.

[@leebrink4570]

Yes, sweet gum is a pain in the ass my grandfather would take sweet gum and throw in the fireplace if it was too big for the woodstove in the basement, here in Virginia Locust is the preferred firewood, at least in my family

[@TheRevoltingMan]

The black locust we have here is damn near fireproof and then when you get it to burn it burns so hot I worry about my pipe!

[@winfieldjohnson125]

I grew up with a Liquid Amber in my back yard.....hated those spike balls ( I had to clean them up). Nice to know they are actually good for something other than creating work for disobedient little boys.😉

[@TheRevoltingMan]

Lol, work is what disobedient little. It’s need most!

[@akyukon]

Yeah brother, when I lived in Virginia, before I moved to Alaska, I split tons of oak, hickory, walnut, maple, cherry, etc by hand without any problem. Splitting big gum logs takes about as much energy as splitting an atom. And not worth it for firewood if there's anything better.

[@south-eastgeorgiafreedomfo1505]

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[@hudsonquay]

I brought down a massive sweet gum that was overhanging my property here in Hawkes Bay New Zealand. I cheated and rented a hydraulic splitter. I’ve now got an enormous pile of wood that’ll last me a few winters. I’ve been mixing it up with other species. Free fuel is always good.

[@stevesparta4995]

I used a log splitter on mine, although it doesn't really split. Burns good but hardly worth the effort.

[@TheRevoltingMan]

It’s tough stuff.

[@deangullberry5148]

Down in these parts you always know that Sweet Gum is the "Firewood/ $80.00 cord" in the classifieds Here's my experience with it: Pain to split Burns clean, but not very hot Good as a kindling wood, or if you're trying to burn old wood that's starting to punk, it mixes well.

[@FreedomInc]

$80 a cord isn't worth the time. Even if the trees had already been felled and bucked up. It would be worth the time of splitting it. Then again, I have seen some crackhead firewood salesmen this year here in Tennessee also.

[@TheRevoltingMan]

Firewood salesmen tend to be scammers. The only way to make it pay is to have one of those automated jobbies.

[@FreedomInc]

@@TheRevoltingMan the way to make it pay is mid to end of winter. If I don't get $450 a cord. It can rot. Aceoss the country that is now the going rate for the higher btu firewoods

[@halfcan-nitafan5207]

Deano you auld dawg you still alive ye mangy old mutt aah come here let your old forlorn mate halfcan give you a hug, :) Well feck me to tears but it's fecking good to see your still about I Sincerely hope you and all those you hold dear are keeping well and stop making me worry about you I ain't doubting your worth it but I've got enough to worry about without adding a contrary wanna be marine to the mix 😉 I'm glad to see your handle pop up again dearthair

[@tomwolfe6063]

It's like hickory without the any of the good qualities.

[@andrewthompson6908]

Red gum it the best firewood ever but it can melt metal

[@TheRevoltingMan]

I’m not familiar with it. I’ll look it up.

[@waynef.martin4925]

Sweet gum trees are the largest weed in the world. That may be a good wood for camp fires. No need to split the larger pieces, as long as u can pick them up. A couple of larger pieces may last all weekend.

[@TheRevoltingMan]

And I’ll use the ones I can’t split for bonfires. Good idea!

[@randywolfe44]

That activity will definitely keep the fat man away. Sweet gum splits alot easier when green if it's dry 27ton or more log splitter would be recommended.

[@Adam.Rushing]

Interesting...that's a bit counter-intuitive. Though I can say, splitting pine is MUCH easier at -40*F...it just flies apart :)

[@randywolfe44]

I've broken 10 ton splitters on dry sweet gum. When it's green it definitely comes apart easier for what ever reason.

[@TheRevoltingMan]

I’ve noticed that too, green sweet gum is much easier to split.

[@user-up5zl5es2e]

no its not good for firewood, its good for mortars though

[@mattdg1981]

Here in coastal new jersey we are infested with sweet gum. I love the speed it grows and the shade it gives but the gumballs are awful.

[@TheRevoltingMan]

They really are the worst.