Sweet gum for a benchtop?

[Derek Gilmer]

I've got a line on some sweetgum lumber for around 50 cents/bf. From what I've read it can get some pretty nasty warping going when it dries. This stuff is all 1.25" x 6-8" and 7-8' long and has been stickered and drying in a barn since July.

Would most of the shrinkage/warpage have occured already in drying or is the best still to come? I'm going to go take a look at it tomorrow and want to know what to look for.

Also, compared to cutting up 2x12s for their best wood how would using this stuff compare assuming it is flat and stays that way? My plan is to make either a roubo or new fangled bench. So these boards would all be made square then laminated together once they are dry enough.

[george wilson]

It will do more warping when you get it into a heated/cooled room.

[Thom Porterfield]

I bought a bunch of 4/4 sweet gum once, because of the really cool figuring. Built a baby crib from it.

And had no end of trouble with dents. The stuff (the stuff that I got, that is) is really soft. Pretty, but soft. It's easy on blades, though. ... and I had no trouble with warping.

[John Coloccia]

I would never occur to me to make a bench out of sweet gum. I always think of sweet gum as a turning wood. Maybe it will work out but I suspect you will not ultimately be happy with the end result because it's pretty soft. It's harder than pine but not by much. It makes nice furniture and can generally be stained to resemble other woods. In terms of structural integrity I personally wouldn't use Sweetgum anywhere I couldn't replace it with pine and maintain structural integrity. So I would make dressers out of it, for example, but probably not an light, elegant spindle chair or a workbench (where I'd expect some fair amount of abuse).


Re: warping. Yeah, it'll warp badly unless it's dried by someone who specifically knows how to dry SweetGum, and then it will be fine. I don't have the Sweetgum decoder ring so I'm not sure what the proper schedule/technique is.

Just my opinion. I haven't seen a piece of sweetgum in a local lumber yard in a long time. Maybe I just don't notice it anymore because I don't use it.

[John A. Callaway]

Sweet gum grows like pine trees around here. those things are everywhere.... I have always wondered why it wasn't used as a furniture wood. I have looked around at local lumber suppliers and they don't carry it. I dont even see it on log rail cars at work either.

[Johnny Kleso]

Sweetgum aka american mahogany

General
The sapwood of sweetgum is white to light pink, while the heartwood is reddish brown to brown. The grain is interlocked, producing an attractive grain, but causing problems in seasoning. The wood is moderately hard, stiff, and heavy.

Hardness is 850

Working Properties: Sweetgum is above average in turning, boring, and steam bending. It is intermediate in planing, shaping, bending, splitting and holding nails and screws. It requires pretreatment before gluing.
Durability: Rated as slightly or nonresistant to heartwood decay.
Preservation: No information available at this time.
Uses: Lumber (boxes, crates, dimension stock, furniture parts and fixtures), veneer, plywood, slack cooperage, railroad ties, fuel and pulpwood.

Hardness of other woods
American beech is 1,350
Douglas-Fir 660-700
SY Pine 660-870

[Jim Underwood]

As for whether it is dry or not... rule of thumb for woodturners is 1" drying per year. Sawn wood? I dunno. I would think it's as dry as it's going to get in another 6 months. If it's brought inside, it'll take several more weeks to equalize moisture content.
Depending on the stresses developed during the dry time, it'll move some more once you open it up (cut it) again.

If you laminate it, it will tend to counteract any movement. I recommend a formaldehyde glue to prevent creep or springback.