I have a small gum tree in my yard that I am going to take down. I split all of my firewood the old fashioned way by hand (no log splitter). I heard gum trees are tough to split. The tree is not that large and I thought it would be worth the effort to keep the rounds and split them by hand but I wanted to make sure I wasn't taking on too much. It will give me an excuse to be outside! Any insight on how gum tree burns and if it is worth the extra effort to split is greatly appreciated
The gum log will laugh at your axe. Unless you can burn it without splitting it, I sure wouldn't waste the time and effort. If you do split by hand, please include lots of pictures though!
My experience with one tree about the same size. I cut down the live tree as it was encroaching on a driveway. Bucked into 16" rounds the same day it was dropped and attempted to split with a hydraulic splitter. The wood just tears and is a mess to deal with. I let the rounds sit off the ground for about 8 months. When I attempted to split again it split nice, but was starting to get punky. So there is a sweet spot somewhere. I didn't have the rounds on my property so I wasn't able to do any spot checks to see when the wood started break down. So you can go noodling right away or let it sit, but if you let it sit get the splits under cover so they do not start to rot.
I only hand split. A 24" rock elm died in my back yard of dutch elm disease and I 100% noodled the whole thing. The time and cost of noodling was less than the cost of transporting firewood from other places. I have no regrets and would do it again but there are no other rock elms in my home woods. My only claim to "fame": not many folks have c/s/s a 24" rock elm. Rock elm is a top tier firewood but is THE toughest wood to split, fibrous and dense.
It's in your yard. Burn it! If you can get the rounds in your stove keep it and dry and burn. Not as much BTUs as oak but would be similar to soft maple. You probably won't be able to split with ax or maul but you can always noodle the biggest ones with your saw if they're slightly too large. Sent from my moto g(7) using Tapatalk
I’m burning it right now. Burns great. Doesn’t last too long. Coals out ok. Take it. Driess in a year
I would not do it. Hand splitter here as well. Scored a mystery log last Fall that FHC members IDed as gum. Didnt go back for the rest. Bucked it to 16" lengths and hand split it. A memorable experience as it was hell to split and a forgettable one for the same reason. I split it just so i could see what its about and say that ive split gum by hand. Posted this thread about it. It Takes a Lot of GUMption to Hand Split Tupelo! I would cut 4" cookies and split in half or noodle the same length if you insist on burning it. I enjoy hand splitting, just hate killing myself in the process. Elm, gum and sycamore are on my taboo wood list. Good luck if you do and post pics/video if you do.
As others have mentioned Gum is extremely difficult to split by hand. Cut one round and give it a few whacks...... you will have your answer soon enough about whether or not it is worth your effort.... just be ready on that first strike for your maul to bounce back at your head! That said if you can get it split it makes ok shoulder season wood... or mix it in the stove with some oak (as I’m doing right now) Good luck!
Do ya know anyone with a splitter you can borrow? I’d never get rid of wood that’s in my own yard. That’s good firewood. Maybe rent one for an hour from Home Depot?
I'd cut it into rounds and noodle it. take one round and try to hand split it. You will be well "educated" at that point.
I've found it easier to split after I've stacked it in round form for a year or so. Hand splitter here as well.
Don’t waste your time, but if you do... take vids please. Someone told me it burns like paper. And I’ve had it on a splitter. Complete sh1t show.
