What’s everyone’s opinion on sycamore? I’ve never cut any but have Plenty around to cut. Is it worth fooling with or should I pass?
I burn a fair amount and like it. Good shoulder wood, medium BTU"s. Very hard to split by hand, especially when they're bigger trees.
There are so many better woods out there to spend your time on. You'll spend the same amount of time on that sycamore that you'd spend on a good wood that'll give you twice the BTU's. But, if it's really easy to get to and haul out, then go for it. Just don't go out of your way for it...unless you're helping a friend/neighbor out, then it's a little different. It ranks up with pine, fir and silver maple. Dries in 12 months. So if you're in need, go for it.
Gives off some kind of pollen when you cut it. Irritates you nose and eyes. I burnquitea bit of it. I'd say slit while wet. When itdriesitkinda chunks apart.
What TurboDiesel said. You will spend a lot of time splitting for the worth. Alot more stringy than sweet gum, about like really twisted elm. Leaves alot of Ash like gum, very little coals, I'd much rather burn tulip poplar for shoulder wood.
I just got a PU load from Craigslist. I never had any before but from btu charts it looks about middle of the road. I split it using a hydraulic splitter and I could tell it it would have been a bear if I had been using an ax. It was very stringy. It was very green and when freshly split the wood had a reddish almost blood like look to it. But after I had it split and stacked and looked at it 24 hours later it had changed to a golden brown color —kind of like french fries. I’ll have to let it season to find out how it burns.
It sure is! Saved my shoulders from getting all tore up. It was only the third time I used my new splitter and I was lovin it! Great tool to have for stringy, senewy green wood. I never would have been able to do it without the splitter. Made short work of it. Even the knots.
It's my least favorite wood I've ever gotten. Also my first wood scrounge so I didnt know much better. I cringe now when I see all the huge sycamores around town. Burns ok, dries to be super light. Kind of just a funky wood that's miserable to split by hand.
