(Pre-Built) Sweet Gum Live Edge Tabletop #PB184 156" x 42" - 49" x 1.9" — overhead view — Oak City Customs

(Pre-Built) Sweet Gum Live Edge Tabletop #PB184 156" x 42" - 49" x 1.9" — detail 1 — Oak City Customs

(Pre-Built) Sweet Gum Live Edge Tabletop #PB184 156" x 42" - 49" x 1.9" — detail 2 — Oak City Customs

(Pre-Built) Sweet Gum Live Edge Tabletop #PB184 156" x 42" - 49" x 1.9" — staged 1 — Oak City Customs

(Pre-Built) Sweet Gum Live Edge Tabletop #PB184 156" x 42" - 49" x 1.9" — staged 2 — Oak City Customs

(Pre-Built) Sweet Gum Live Edge Tabletop #PB184 156" x 42" - 49" x 1.9"

$2,205.00

Species: Sweet Gum
Cut / Edge: Live Edge
Length: 156"
Width: 42" - 49"
Thickness: 1.9"
Board Feet: 88.5
Surface Finish: Planed
Live Edge Character: Medium
Figure: Wavy
Kiln Dried: Yes
Approx. Weight: 273 lbs
Slab ID: PB184

Sweet Gum shows two woods in one slab: wide sapwood in white to light pink or tan, sold as sap gum, and heartwood in gray to reddish brown, sold as red gum, sometimes with darker black streaks. Grain is interlocked with a very fine, uniform texture and good natural luster, which earned it the old trade name satin walnut. Interlocked grain means planing can tear out, so the surface gets finished with the sander, and it warps hard in its first drying, which is why ours goes through the kiln before flattening. It stains and finishes well. It suits dining tops, desks and benches indoors, with the heartwood-to-sapwood shift as the character. Ours is kiln dried in Zebulon, NC.

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About the wood

Sweet Gum

Liquidambar styraciflua

Two woods in one slab: pale sap gum and reddish brown red gum, with a satin sheen that once sold it as satin walnut. Only older mature trees carry the darker heartwood.

Read about Sweet Gum All Sweet Gum in stock (7)

Janka: 850 lbf
Origin: Southeastern United States
IUCN Red List: Least Concern

Working & finishing

Generally easy to work, but planing can tear out on the interlocked grain, so the flattening pass is light and the surface is finished on the drum sander. Turns, glues, stains and finishes well and steam bends moderately well. Sweet gum warps and distorts badly in its first drying and still moves appreciably in service, so it is flattened only after the kiln. A hardwax oil brings up the satin luster; a film finish suits a top that needs spill protection.

Care

Wipe spills promptly and clean with a damp cloth. Expect more seasonal width movement than oak or walnut and keep the top on a base that lets it move. Indoor use only; the sapwood is perishable and the heartwood is not decay resistant.