# Anyone ever milled much Sycamore? (I may have already asked this.)



## Yellowbeard (Jun 27, 2018)

Got the opportunity to mill a big sycamore and finally ready to mill a big walnut I was working on last summer. I'll post pics.

Anyone got any experience with sycamore? Especially southern sycamore (Arkansas)? I was told that it wasn't worth milling by someone I don't necessarily believe. Was also told bugs would be a huge problem.

I made the cut shown and then it's going to get pulled down with a track hoe (for extra awesome, it's also going to get loaded for me with said hoe. And I now have an F-250 6.0 Diesel with which to haul giant stuff like this. Yay!). Plan to mill it along the wide direction where the two trunks are joined. Should gets some pretty good stuff about 8-10'X4' or so with a crotch on one end. Interested in what the grain of the conjoined parts will look like.

As always, any advice very appreciated.

Thank in advance!


----------



## abbott295 (Jun 28, 2018)

Sawyer Rob recently posted some pictures of milled sycamore toward the bottom of page 55 of the "firewood tractors " thread in Firewood, heating and so on forum. He is in Missouri. It looks worthwhile.


----------



## Yellowbeard (Jun 28, 2018)

Thanks!


----------



## Brian72 (Jun 28, 2018)

Here's some Sycamore we milled at my buddy's. Nice looking wood in my opinion. Ended up quarter sawing it for a customer.


















Sent from my Moto E (4) using Tapatalk


----------



## andy at clover (Jun 28, 2018)

Can't complain with that. Looks nice.


----------



## Brian72 (Jun 28, 2018)

andy at clover said:


> Can't complain with that. Looks nice.


The guy is planning to build a dining table with it. Hope he shares pics if he gets it done.

Sent from my Moto E (4) using Tapatalk


----------



## Yellowbeard (Jun 28, 2018)

andy at clover said:


> Can't complain with that. Looks nice.



Wow. That stuff is beautiful. Is that quarter sawn or just plain sawn? Looks like it migh tbe the plain sawn cut near the heart or something so it's getting a kind of quarter sawn effect.


----------



## Yellowbeard (Jun 28, 2018)

Also what's the trick to getting the spalting? I saw someone else say they let theirs sit and spalt before cutting. Wondering if I should consider that. 

I'll post some pics of the tree now that it's down soon. Going to get 9-10 feet of 42" wide stuff it looks like. If I go to 10 feet I'll be milling a crotch at one end which I may go ahead and do.


----------



## Brian72 (Jun 28, 2018)

Yellowbeard said:


> Wow. That stuff is beautiful. Is that quarter sawn or just plain sawn? Looks like it migh tbe the plain sawn cut near the heart or something so it's getting a kind of quarter sawn effect.


To be honest, I don't really remember. I do know the Sycamore we usually get tend to be pretty big so we got some nice wide ones. As far as the spalting, the guy brought them to the mill about a year ago. We were waiting for him to come help saw. Those logs were real bears! Here's a better pic to give you a better idea of the size.





Sent from my Moto E (4) using Tapatalk


----------



## Woody912 (Jun 28, 2018)

Somewhere on YouTube there is a video of guys in England sawing it for cabinet making, they call it planetree over there and prize it for cabinet making. They cut to highlight the ray fleck pattern and it looks pretty nice. Sorry I cannot give you a direct link. Bury your log in horses*&t for about 3 months and check for spalting, repeat as needed


----------



## Bmac (Jun 29, 2018)

It's my understanding that quartersawing is the way to go with sycamore. It more stable and you get that great look that Brian72 showed in the last 2 photos.


----------



## buzz sawyer (Jun 29, 2018)

Some of the Victorian homes in my area have quarter-sawn Sycamore in some of the interior trim. A friend built some Adirondack chairs from some plain sawn. It looked very similar to Cherry and worked about the same.


----------



## Woody912 (Jun 29, 2018)




----------



## Brian72 (Jun 29, 2018)

I'm no expert and I don't have a lot of milling experience. Just a casual helper at my buddy's mill and I have my own chainsaw mill. Also dabble in some small woodworking projects. I don't really believe that any particular species qualifies as "junk" wood. I've seen real nice logs of all species. Of course, some are better suited for particular uses but I'd never count anything out. 

Sent from my Moto E (4) using Tapatalk


----------



## rarefish383 (Jul 1, 2018)

Yellowbeard said:


> Also what's the trick to getting the spalting? I saw someone else say they let theirs sit and spalt before cutting. Wondering if I should consider that.
> 
> I'll post some pics of the tree now that it's down soon. Going to get 9-10 feet of 42" wide stuff it looks like. If I go to 10 feet I'll be milling a crotch at one end which I may go ahead and do.


Spalting is caused by Fungi. So, conditions that favor fungal growth are needed. I know some guys that lay Maple logs in the woods and cover them with leaves. The trick is not to leave them there too long and have them start rotting. The wood needs to be at a 20% moisture content, out of direct sunlight, and kept moist. Check "Wiki", they have a pretty good description of the 3 types of spalting, "Pigmentation", White Rot', and "Zone Lines". I have some beautiful White Birch slabs that I stacked standing up, while I made room else where for them. Buy the time I got back to them they they started to mildew where they were touching and had really nice "Zone Lines" running through them. I got them stickered and stacked and the spalting seems to have stopped as they dried out.


----------



## Yellowbeard (Jul 1, 2018)

abbott295 said:


> Sawyer Rob recently posted some pictures of milled sycamore toward the bottom of page 55 of the "firewood tractors " thread in Firewood, heating and so on forum. He is in Missouri. It looks worthwhile.





Woody912 said:


>




Beautiful. I am hoping to slab at least some of this (maybe all) and. if so, I expect I'll get a couple of true full width quarter sawn slabs near the heart. I _might_ try to do some true quarter sawing in some of the other parts of the wood but all I have at my disposal is my chainsaw mill so I can't do anything as cool as in that video, unfortunately.


----------



## Yellowbeard (Jul 1, 2018)

As promised, here are some images. I like the look of the stump but am running out of space to store stuff so have to be choosy. I am taking the main trunk section (well, it was ONE of the main trunk sections, and the largest) to mill. Impact driver for scale on the one I am keeping.


----------



## Brian72 (Jul 1, 2018)

Yellowbeard said:


> As promised, here are some images. I like the look of the stump but am running out of space to store stuff so have to be choosy. I am taking the main trunk section (well, it was ONE of the main trunk sections, and the largest) to mill. Impact driver for scale on the one I am keeping.
> 
> View attachment 660711
> View attachment 660712
> ...


Wow! Looking forward to seeing your progress!

Sent from my Moto E (4) using Tapatalk


----------



## Yellowbeard (Jul 1, 2018)

BTW, that's the F-250 in the background I bought at city auction so I could haul all this wood around. 17k tow capacity.


----------



## Yellowbeard (Jul 6, 2018)

Update: Cut some cookies today from what had been left on site. Here are some photos.

This isn't something I've done much of (cookies). Would LOVE any advice people have on drying them so they don't just fall to pieces.

Thanks in advance.


----------



## abbott295 (Jul 7, 2018)

I don't know about keeping those from falling apart, but try looking up a thread, I don't know if it was in here or Firewood, about a "drinking stump." It looks like this could be a candidate for that treatment.

I am searching and not finding it, maybe someone else can help.


----------



## Yellowbeard (Jul 13, 2018)

Made some cuts today.


----------



## andy at clover (Jul 13, 2018)

Wow beautiful stuff... lucky guy!


----------



## Yellowbeard (Jul 13, 2018)

andy at clover said:


> Wow beautiful stuff... lucky guy!



Thanks! I thought so too.


----------



## Brian72 (Jul 13, 2018)

Very nice! Those are some great slabs!

Sent from my Moto E (4) using Tapatalk


----------



## greyghost (Jul 16, 2018)

Nah it’s trash just sends it all my way I’ll be sure and burn or fer ya lol


----------



## Yellowbeard (Jul 17, 2018)

Wow. Beautiful!


----------



## abbott295 (Jul 17, 2018)

This will be the thread we refer people to in the future when someone wonders about sycamore.


----------



## greyghost (Jul 17, 2018)

abbott295 said:


> This will be the thread we refer people to in the future when someone wonders about sycamore.



It’s spalts fairly easily as in it’s hard to over do it too quick lol....I’m in south Louisiana and I can get good spalting roughly about 4-6” into a log....so I’ll usually keep them about a foot wide and rotate them here and there. The spalting process helps relieve some stresses as well. 

Sycamore gives up its water decently easily as well. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


----------



## tomsteve (Jul 19, 2018)

thats some of the nicest lookin junk wood ive ever seen!


----------



## burtle (Jul 29, 2018)

I like it!


----------

