# Sweet Gum Bowl



## Rangertrek (Feb 4, 2011)

Since it was snowing in Bossier City today  left work early and headed to the shop.  Decided to work on a bowl.  Sweet Gum, about 7" dia. x 3" tall.
Finish is BLO + paste wax mixed together and applied while sanding.


----------



## Parson (Feb 4, 2011)

Really nice work. I'm going to get back into bowl making experiments as soon as it warms up. I'm no bowl turner, that's for sure. I really need lessons from someone.


----------



## wizard (Feb 4, 2011)

Beautiful !!! Thanks for showing. Regards, Doc


----------



## SGM Retired (Feb 4, 2011)

John, Nice looking bowl!!!  I have plenty of sweet gum trees here in Alabama that I'm going to cut down.  Have been burning but now I might turn a bowl.  How long did you wait before turning that bowl?  Can you turn them green?  I would think there is plenty of water in them.  Gary


----------



## holmqer (Feb 4, 2011)

SGM Retired said:


> John, Nice looking bowl!!!  I have plenty of sweet gum trees here in Alabama that I'm going to cut down.  Have been burning but now I might turn a bowl.  How long did you wait before turning that bowl?  Can you turn them green?  I would think there is plenty of water in them.  Gary



I turn all my Sweet Gum bowls green then return them months later. Unfortunately it is not a local tree for me so I have to buy the stuff, but it is well worth it for the fantastic look.


----------



## Rangertrek (Feb 4, 2011)

You can turn them green, they actually throw water off the lathe the wood is so wet!  That one dried about 6 months before it found its way to the lathe for final turning.


----------



## David Keller (Feb 4, 2011)

Nice looking bowl!  I love turning that stuff...  Sweet curls and nice color!


----------



## jskeen (Feb 4, 2011)

If you turn sweet gum green and plan on finishing it out when it gets dry, you better leave about 30 to 50 percent more thickness than you would with most hardwoods.  The stuff warps like crazy and tends to crack more than most woods too.  But the ones that survive like that one are really pretty.  Good Job!!


----------



## SGM Retired (Feb 4, 2011)

I must say Eric, I have plenty of sweet gum and would love to give it away.  If there is anyone in the northern alabama area that would like to take down a 80-90 footer drop me a line and I think I can find you one.  Those little balls are hard on the feet.  Gary


----------



## Fred (Feb 5, 2011)

Rangertrek ... Very nice bowl you have made and I like the finish too.

SGM ... Yep those little balls are definitely hard on bare feet, but, have you ever been hit in the back of the head by one that was thrown at you by the 'enemy' using a slingshot?

Danged things are deadly and will actually stick in you.

I found a use for them years after the above battle ... and that use is in a chipper/shredder. They actually make very durable ground cover for under shrubs, etc. The trouble is that it takes millions of them to grind up into a usable quantity. Otherwise, they are decent fire making material when dry.


----------



## ctubbs (Feb 5, 2011)

I envy all you brave bowl turners.  I tried one and am still looking for that darn chunk of wood!
Seriously John, you have one beautiful bowl there.  The shape, the timber and the finish is very good.  As far as those lovely little balls go, I grew up living right next to a sweet gum tree 6'+ across.  The only tree in our yard.  Loved that tree, not!  It did tech me how to chase my sisters on tip toes.
Charles


----------



## SGM Retired (Feb 5, 2011)

WOW, it looks like Sweet Gum trees are pretty low on the pen/bowl turners world.  I going to try a bowl soon and see for myself how they are.  Maybe I can sale them as pen blanks for $10 a blank?  We all agree they are a very special wood or maybe the balls as pen blanks.  If pinecones can be turned why not sweet gum balls?


----------



## jskeen (Feb 5, 2011)

SGM Retired said:


> WOW, it looks like Sweet Gum trees are pretty low on the pen/bowl turners world.  I going to try a bowl soon and see for myself how they are.  Maybe I can sale them as pen blanks for $10 a blank?  We all agree they are a very special wood or maybe the balls as pen blanks.  If pinecones can be turned why not sweet gum balls?



what kind of nutjob would try to turn sweetgum balls into a pen?  :bulgy-eyes:


----------



## Jgrden (Feb 5, 2011)

jskeen said:


> SGM Retired said:
> 
> 
> > WOW, it looks like Sweet Gum trees are pretty low on the pen/bowl turners world.  I going to try a bowl soon and see for myself how they are.  Maybe I can sale them as pen blanks for $10 a blank?  We all agree they are a very special wood or maybe the balls as pen blanks.  If pinecones can be turned why not sweet gum balls?
> ...


:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: I have a bag full of those balls to send you. In fact I have a whole tree I'd like to send to you.


----------



## jskeen (Feb 8, 2011)

I've actually got about half a trash bag full of the balls from hurricane Ike, I like them for casting because they got knocked down green, before they opened up when the seeds got ripe, so they turn to a tighter pattern and seem to have less of a tendency to pop out flecks of resin from the pockets.  As for the trees, I've got tons of them around here.  Most aren't worth bringing into the yard to burn.  If you catch cut pieces that have been on the ground just the right time, you can get really cool spalting and colors, but a little too early and they are bland as wallpaper paste, and too late, and it's punky and too soft to turn without using a ton of CA.  

I do have one big chunk of sweetgum trunk about 20 inches in diameter that I'm saving to do something with.  It's from the tree that landed on top of my shop back in '09 and did about $14,000 worth of damage to the roof and frame (according to the insurance adjuster anyway)  Good thing I can frame myself, and know some roofers that work cheap.  I figure any tree that makes me almost 10k in cash profit deserves to be made into something, plain looking or not!


----------

