{"id":1308,"date":"2016-03-24T04:00:39","date_gmt":"2016-03-24T08:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.woodturningpens.com\/?p=1308"},"modified":"2016-03-24T04:00:39","modified_gmt":"2016-03-24T08:00:39","slug":"sycamore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.woodturningpens.com\/sycamore\/","title":{"rendered":"Sycamore"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Sycamore, known to botanists by its scientific name of Platanus occidentalis<\/em>, grows in all states east of the Great Plains except Minnesota. Its native range extends from southwestern Maine west to New York, extreme southern Ontario, central Michigan, and southern Wisconsin; south in Iowa and eastern Nebraska to eastern Kansas, Oklahoma, and south-central Texas; east to northwestern Florida and southeastern Georgia. It is also found in the mountains of northeastern Mexico. Sycamore has naturalized in the state of Washington from introduced specimens and is now considered “native” by some authorities, including the United States Department of Agriculture.<\/p>\n Platanus occidentalis <\/em>has been planted as specimen trees, especially for shade purposes, throughout the United States, in parks and on private home sites. It is one of the largest trees native to eastern North America, routinely reaching over 100 feet in height as well as prodigious trunk diameters of over 6 feet.<\/p>\n Sycamore may also be referred to as: American Plane or American Planetree (especially in European markets), buttonwood, and\/or buttonball-tree.<\/p>\n From this point forward, for the sake of simplicity and common understanding, I will refer to Platanus occidentalis<\/em> simply as Sycamore.<\/p>\n Much like the case with Maple, most of the Sycamore wood that is found on the market is sapwood instead of the heartwood. In most species, it is the heartwood, which tends to be more heavily colored, that is the desired portion, but this is reversed in species such as Maple and Sycamore. However, sometimes darker heartwood streaks may be found in some lumber samples. On occasion, it is possible to find entire boards cut from the heartwood, so if the darker coloration is important, it might still be possible to use Sycamore.<\/p>\n The sapwood of the Sycamore is a white to light tan color. The heartwood of Sycamore is a darker reddish brown color.<\/p>\n Sycamore also has very distinct ray flecks present on quartersawn surfaces. This gives the wood a distinctive freckled appearance. Quartersawn lumber tends to be more expensive because of the high degree of waste inherent in cutting timber trees in this manner. And, as always, the higher the degree of figure, the higher the price commanded.<\/p>\n The texture of Sycamore is, again, very similar to Maple in that it is fine and even. However, unlike more Maple, the grain of Sycamore is inherently interlocked.<\/p>\n The end-grain of Sycamore runs to the diffuse and porous type. There are small pores that become less frequent the later the wood. The growth rings are generally distinct.<\/p>\n Sycamore is non-durable or outright perishable in terms of its resistance to rot and decay. Sycamore is also susceptible to attack by insects. For these reasons, it is not an ideal wood for outdoor applications.<\/p>\n To the delight of most wood workers who have had the opportunity to work with Sycamore, the wood works quite easily with both hand and machine powered tools. However, the inherently interlocked grain can create significant troubles with some machining operations, especially plane procedures. This is very common with interlocking grain. The most common solutions are an awareness of the tendency, patience, very sharp tools, and more patience.<\/p>\n Once properly surfaced, Sycamore glues and finishes quite well. Especially relevant to my purposes, Sycamore is known to be an excellent turning wood.<\/p>\n For all of its virtues as a wood, Sycamore is reported to respond poorly to steam bending.<\/p>\n Sycamore displays no specific or characteristic odor when being worked.<\/p>\nGeneral Characteristics<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Working Characteristics<\/strong><\/h2>\n