Sycamore for firewood?

[TeeMan]

Guys,

My neighbor is having a 65' Sycamore tree that is 2' wide at the base taken down in a couple of weeks. Perfectly healthy tree, so I hate to see it go, but it is close to his house, has already lifted his driveway, and he is concerned about further intrusion into pipes, the house slab, etc. I have burned some of the larger limbs from this Sycamore that I was able to just chop into firewood length and they do burn well once seasoned. However, I've never tried splitting this type of wood. According to a firewood chart I reference (Firewood Ratings) it says that this is not easy to split.

Also, how much firewood would you think this tree would be (de-limbed)?

He has worked a deal out with the Arborist to down, remove, and grind the stump, so I don't think there is much leeway to have him do any additional things, but surely a few sections could be spared aside for me to have as firewood.

Thoughts?

 

[Guswhit]

I got one a couple years ago that someone in town took down, dimensions sound similar but I didn't get all the limbs. Everyone knows my splitter is large so I got the trunk and then a few of the lower branches. I'd say I got 28' of trunk and don't remember how many of the lower branch material that didn't need to be split to handle. We bucked it up to 18"-20" lengths and just split into 1/4's to be able to load and remove, I think 3 of us about 3 1/2 hrs about 4 1/2 heaping truck loads. If it wasn't free for the taking, easy to get to and close to home, I wouldn't knock myself out. These 2 guys wanted it out of their yard, they loaded their trucks and unloaded it at my house while I split and cut it. My opinion only.

 

[TeeMan]

How did it split?

How did it burn?

The limbs I burned from this tree that we had taken down last year burned well, but again those required no splitting.

 

[woodchuck357]

Burns good when dry but doesn't coal well

I find it is easy to split with ax or maul, but have watched others struggle to split it with hydro.

Slab off tangential pieces, not straight across the rounds, with a wrist flick and you will be happy with how it splits.

Years ago I was splitting up a 4 foot dia. sycamore that I had taken down in a camp ground, using the wrist flick and a young man was watching with his girl friend, making comments about how inept the old man was. He thought the wrist flick was a miss strike. I offered to let him show me 'how it's done' and handed him the maul. He pounded the round like crazy to no effect, I picked up my ax and began flicking slabs off another round. After a few min he gave up, threw down the maul, and ordered the girl to leave with him. She walked over to me, leaned her head on my shoulder, and said "I think I'll hang with the old man and see if there are things other than splitting wood that he is better at."

After he stalked off she whispered, "Just kidding, I love the big lug but he needed to be knocked off balance, for being such an arse hole".

I split up the rest of the tree and the owner sold it for $3 an arm load. It makes good campfire wood without seasoning.

 

[walkerdogman85]

I burn quite a bit of it I believe it is hard to split by hand last time I tried it water was flying out of it when I hit it. But free wood is good wood! I like it but others don't, I do know that the ash is light and by that I mean when I open the door on my outdoor wood burner and take coals or blower is on the ash flys all over and gets on me and everything else but I like it!

 

[2treeornot2tree]

Its hard to split because it us spiral grained. Split it when its frozen helps

 

[Guswhit]

How did it split?

How did it burn?

The limbs I burned from this tree that we had taken down last year burned well, but again those required no splitting.

Well, as I said I have an overkill splitter so I didn't have problems.
I didn't get the 12-14 hr burn in my OWB that I like and am used to, but it was free, or 3 1/2 hrs of labor and a little fuel. I only let it season about 8 months also, might not be a perfect representation of cured wood.

 

[spidermonkey17]

He has worked a deal out with the Arborist to down, remove, and grind the stump, so I don't think there is much leeway to have him do any additional things, but surely a few sections could be spared aside for me to have as firewood.

Thoughts?

If you want the wood and your neighbor is a friend just ask him to tell the arborist or contact the salesman that you want the wood. It is technically still your neighbors tree and he can do whatever he wants with it( give it all to you/some of it or just some of the wood) word of advice don't get in there way and have this worked out before hand and just letting you know a lot of that limb wood is going to go through a chipper because its just easy to do that and keep the job moving.

I'm my opinion I would not mess with the stuff I would rather trash it but free wood is free wood.

 

[Wood Doctor]

Sycamore amazes me

Hard to split. Finding straight logs that split easily will not be easy. Make sure you use a power splitter to process it.

Sycamore burns hot with no sparks, similar to elm. Dries as quickly as elm and is about the same in density. Like elm, sycamore trees get to be enormous, but their huge leaves are somewhat of a pest. At peak height, they rival the pin oak but grow even faster.

The American plain tree. There is one growing next to my accountant's office building. It has to be well over 4' in diameter at the trunk and nearly 100 feet tall. It's at least three times the mass of the tree that you mention here--maybe five times. The trunk of the tree that you describe is about equal in diameter to this tree's first branch up from the ground.

 

[old_soul]

Heavy when green, light when seasoned. Like others said it is hard to split. If you keep your stacks covered it will keep awhile, but keep in contact with moisture it will get punky quick.

There was just a logging company last week around here,pulling sycamore out of a river bottom for saw logs. I have no idea what they make with the lumber? never seen it cut that way before

 

[woodchuck357]

People keep saying it's hard to split

That just proves they don't know HOW to manage it. Just walk around the rounds knocking slabs off. I have even made an almost complete circle of the round leaving the slabs hooked together to make a 24" tall temporary fire pit of the outside six inches. The larger the round the easier they are to split. Not quite as easy to split as hackberry but almost. A vertical hydro splitter or one that flops over on it's side can take splits off the sides but a maul is faster and easi:msp_thumbup:er.

Open mind, closed pocketbook.

 

[MarylandGuy]

I got three cord out of a Sycamore tree that was dropped off at my house by a tree service a few years ago. It was tough to split, but my gas splitter did fine.

It sparked like crazy, even after seasoning for two years covered. I can't remember a wood that has sparked more.

Lastly, it was the worst smelling wood I have ever worked on. It was very wet inside and the smell was awful. I was so glad to finish those rounds.

It burned just fine after seasoning.

 

[woodchuck357]

Must have been diseased, rotten

I got three cord out of a Sycamore tree that was dropped off at my house by a tree service a few years ago. It was tough to split, but my gas splitter did fine.

It sparked like crazy, even after seasoning for two years covered. I can't remember a wood that has sparked more.

Lastly, it was the worst smelling wood I have ever worked on. It was very wet inside and the smell was awful. I was so glad to finish those rounds.

It burned just fine after seasoning.

Healthy sycamore has a clean almost sweet smell. And no sparks.

 

[2treeornot2tree]

Heavy when green, light when seasoned. Like others said it is hard to split. If you keep your stacks covered it will keep awhile, but keep in contact with moisture it will get punky quick.

There was just a logging company last week around here,pulling sycamore out of a river bottom for saw logs. I have no idea what they make with the lumber? never seen it cut that way before

If you quarter saw it, it makes beautiful wood for high end furniture.

Sycamore is one of the wettest wood I have ever seen. It takes a long time to season. It also has a tendicy to draw termites.

 

[AIM]

Sycamore can be very difficult to split if you want big pieces. If small pieces are good then maybe 357 will come flick a wrist for ya.

Burns ok. Nothin to brag about just OK.

 

[woodchuck357]

Sycamore when green sinks like a rock

but split it in spring or early summer and it will be ready to burn that winter. One of the wettest woods, true but also one of the fastest drying, once split. Makes nice furniture, was used for gun stocks for military rifles, light and strong makes good boxes and shipping containers. Cutting boards, wooden kitchen utensils, come to think it would be a waste to use it for firewood, use oak, walnut, and birdseye maple instead.:msp_biggrin:

 

[TeeMan]

I really appreciate everyone’s feedback. This is what I was looking for!

It seems the consensus is a “split,” no pun intended that the wood is worth trying to split and use for free firewood vs. just letting it be hauled away and not messing with it. My neighbor is a good friend of mine, but is really specific about his yard, so this is something I would have to get right away (hopefully with the help of my cousin) and split with a vertical splitter vs. it laying down for long. The tree is very straight so the sections will be straight. If it works out and my cousin and I are available that day (I’m not taking off work for it) then we will try to keep some of it. If it does not work out, no big loss.

Thanks again, y’all have been very helpful!

 

[TeeMan]

Well, my neighbor found another Arborist that could do this job tomorrow. The entire tree will be ran through the chipper and hauled away. He is not going to be home during this time nor is my cousin available tomorrow anyway. Guess this tree was just not in the cards for me to use as firewood. As much as I hate to see "free" wood go to waste, that's just the way this tree will be done.

 

[2treeornot2tree]

I drought the whole tree us gonna go threw the chipper. That would have to be a chipper towed by a tractor trailer.

I am guessing all the limbs will be going threw the chipper and the trunk will be hauled off.

 

[TeeMan]

I drought the whole tree us gonna go threw the chipper. That would have to be a chipper towed by a tractor trailer.

I am guessing all the limbs will be going threw the chipper and the trunk will be hauled off.

That's what he was told and passed the word along to me...I agree that has to be one stout chipper if so!