American Red Gum Veneer
American
Red Gum is the heartwood of the Sweetgum tree, which grows in the south central
United States and is also known in the UK as Satin Walnut.
The heartwood (or red gum) is much more colourful than the creamy white sapwood, ranging in colour from pinkish brown to a deep full-bodied red. Streaks of black may also be present and the heartwood frequently has darker streaks of pigment figure called figured red gum.
The grain of American Red Gum veneer is usually interlocked and irregular and this irregularity gives quartered material an interesting ribbon-stripe figure and a limited amount of American Red Gum has an unusual grain pattern, usually referred to as 'flame grain'. The wood has a fine, even, and uniform texture and the wood surface exhibit a satiny lustre. There is no characteristic odour.
