It all started with a hurricane…
In October of 2016, Hurricane Matthew brought Category 1-2-force winds to Central Florida. Our 140′ tall Sweet Gum Tree was a casualty.
Thankfully, the Sweet Gum fell south, away from our pool and home. The south quarter-acre of our property sits along a stream, which flows into the Great Lake Apopka, and for many years the tree straddled the stream into the neighboring property.
I couldn’t bare the thought of our beautiful tree wasting away in a landfill.
I wanted to use the tree to make live edge furniture.
My lovely wife suggested a dinning room table to sit our extensive, and continuously growing family.
Oldest son atop the SweetGum,
and our neighbor standing in front of roots for sizing.
After two years, the sweetgum was dry enough to cut. but even after another two years, there was still so much more to cut by chain-saw.
After working for years under a fabric canopy, I built myself a wooden covering.
I’ve also built a Solar-Powered Kiln out of reclaimed wood and paneling.
My Sweet Gum-turned live-edge slabs have sat in the Kiln.
And now you can find them in my shop, the ones that aren’t set aside for that dinning room table I promised my wife.
