Sap Gum (American Southern Cherry)

Other Names:
Red Gum, Sweetgum

Uses:
Sweetgum is used mainly for lumber, plywood, and railroad crossties. The lumber goes principally into boxes and crates, furniture, interior trim, and millwork.

Description:
The lumber from sweetgum is usually divided into two classes – sap gum, the light-colored wood from the sapwood, and red gum, the reddish-brown heartwood.

Range:
Sweetgum grows from southwestern Connecticut westward into Missouri and southward to the Gulf. Lumber production is almost entirely from the Southern and South Atlantic states.

Physical Properties:
Sweetgum often has interlocked grain and must be carefully dried. When quartersawn, the interlocked grain produces a ribbon stripe that is desirable for interior finish and furniture. The wood is rated as moderately heavy (36lbs./cu.ft.), and hard, moderately strong, moderately stiff, and moderately high in shock resistance.

Solution:
Ideal substitute of Black Cherry when parts are not longer than 4 foot or used for figure-joint panels.

Filed under: ALTERNATIVE SPECIES