# Is Sycamore wood good for building with?



## Valiantone (Oct 9, 2008)

Hi All,

I have several sycamore trees that I need to cut down. I have heard of people hiring portable saw mills and such to make boardwood and the like. 

This spring I want to build some chicken tractors, and maybe a shed. Would sycamore wood be worth it? Or should I just turn it into fire wood? 

Thanks for any thoughts,

Chris


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## just_sawing (Jan 15, 2006)

Sycamore has it uses. It has low acid which means that it is a good choice under roofing because it doesn't rust nails.
Quarter sawn it is a beutiful furniture wood. It does warp and is not rot resistant.


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## Wildcrofthollow (Apr 20, 2005)

Just to add to what just sawing wrote, sycamore does rot quickly in contact with soil, or if it stays wet. It would, therefore, be a poor choice for a chicken tractor. It may work for the shed, but only in places where it will not get wet. eg. above the sill. All in all, it will be fairly useless for the applications you have described. It does make a beautiful furniture wood.


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## Valiantone (Oct 9, 2008)

That is great info. Thank you! 

Funny, I was thinking of using some of the thicker branches to make a rustic sort of bed frame, with debarked pieces of log for the four posts. At least I don't have to rent a portable mill for that sort of thing. 

I'll just split up and burn the rest for camp fires and the like. 

Thanks again!

Chris


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

I wouldn't use it for structural supports. It can be fragile and brittle. This was the only thing I could find on google

http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Sawing_and_Drying_Sycamore.html


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## Baba (Aug 7, 2008)

If you didn't live so far from me I would have you send a chunk to my hubby for turning.
Makes great furniture. I have seen some beautiful pieces.


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## ldc (Oct 11, 2006)

OP, the "old" name for sycamore in the American colonies was Buttonwood. That's what it's great for! ldc


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## quietstar (Dec 11, 2002)

Chris:
Sycamore has a unique grain that really resists spliting and makes large, solid rounds that are ideal for butcher tables or blocks. Betcha' they would sell well in the right shops...Glen


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## Quint (Nov 12, 2004)

I friend of mine had a big sycamore countertop/peninsula in his kitchen. It was extremely attractive I thought. He also made his fireplace mantle out of it.

I remember the tree they got it from was simply huge. It was terribly butchered/topped and of course the tree struggled after that and the owner had it cut and my friend got the wood. Tree was probably a good 50 - 60 years old at least.

I'm planning on planting some in my timber. It is a species I don't have far as I know and I'd like to have a nice little grove of them. I think they're quite attractive and the leaves are so impressive. The little seed balls make dandy .22 targets too. We use to gather buckets of those up and use them as targets when I was a kid.


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## toomb68 (Mar 16, 2006)

how big are they? personally i would have it quarter sawn and build furniture etc with it. if you're not a woodworker, sell it and use the money towards framing lumber.......


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## sugarbush (Jul 15, 2007)

It is great for furnature or any other indoor use like cabinet fronts. It does not hold up well to the weather.

It gets a nice blue/purple color to it when it air dries. Also makes good turning blanks for wood turners.


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## newman_maple (Mar 17, 2008)

In southern Ohio, sycamore was once a common wood in barn building. It is always used inside, but is very durable. I have some boards my great uncle milled 50+ years ago and they are still in excellent condition. 

To raise sycamore, you need a very moist area. They only grow naturally in wet areas or areas where an area drains. 

I have a few and the largest are about 50" in diameter near the base.


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## coup (Feb 28, 2007)

they use to be considered a waste tree here....,many were cut down because they said they collected dust.....most trees won't grow when planted in woods as there is to much shade. saw a hippy back in the late 70 plant 500 walnut trees he bought in the woods....not a one grew to mature.....


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## pheasantplucker (Feb 20, 2007)

Unless you have access to a monster hydraulic splitter,I'd say ferget sycamore as a firewood. I split a lot of wood by hand, and it has to be the orneriest stuff to try to split. Don't know how it might act under the saw at the mill.


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## English Oliver (Jul 2, 2008)

Years back I built upholstered chair and sofa frames for a big chair company. I never had any problems but the one time I bought a truck load of sycamore lumber, she-doggie was that a mess. We built frames all week and when we came in the following Monday morning most of the stacks of frames had fallen over, hell even some of the chairs were warped so bad they would fall over by themselves. Sycamore is a beautiful tree but the wood is a *****.

"O"


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