Is sycamore really that hard to chop?

I've chopped enough sweet gum to know how bad it is. After the great noodle fest of 2020 I swore to myself I would never take it as firewood again. How difficult is sycamore to chop compared to sweet gum? Thanks

 

Very similar, next to impossible and not worth the effort. Just my .2

 

Sold

 

Save your shoulders and back my friend-“It’s a trap”…

 

RUN! Run away as fast as you can!
Gum, sycamore and elm are on my dont take list for the non split factor even with hydro. Im starting to warm up to dead elm though.
Couldve had this sycamore three years ago when Asplundh came through the area.
It may be close by, but im NOT taking it!

 

I’ve only processed it once but I have a hydraulic splitter. It was very stringy—reminded me of elm. It was a weird wood. It was a blood reddish color when freshly split which turned to a deep golden tan shade within a few days. It would be a bear to split much with an ax. Burned ok. Lots of ash. Kept us warm.

 

Buck it up and let it set a year. It gets brittle and will pop open with hydraulics.

 

As I was reading the comments, I thought similar to you because I found some at the dump last year that was 'naturally seasoned' for awhile and it split easily, I figured it was just a few months felled. I was using my log splitter.

 

Yeah, i hate that unnaturally seasoned wood myself!

 

Sawmill material? Maybe.

Don't know much about it myself.

 

I certainly don't find it easy to split but I wouldn't put in the same category as gum.

 

Treat it like elm and let it set for a year. It’ll split alright after that.

 

I burned about a cord of it last year. Don’t get much heat out of it and stove fills up with ash so fast.

 

I burn mine when it's 2''- 4'' around , no splitting needed , I have thousands of them along my waterfront . gum and popular gets the same . it grows back in a few years and I cut it again , truly a renewable fuel.

 

If not for the ash factor I’d probably consider hoarding some for shoulder wood if the opportunity came up. BUT excess ash buildup is a deal breaker for me.

 

I like ash , it's free fertilizer for my lawn and garden , the grass is greener where applied . I sift out any coals , crush them and add to the hen house to suppress odor. I cut and burn trash trees to thin the forest as they grow so fast.

 

Three year old thread & pics. That was on Old Clintonville Rd. Someone has posted pics of sycamore milled and it made nice stock. Mightve been quartersawn IIRC.