While cleaning gutters

[Jimmie in Ky]

I know you have heard me talk of sweetgum during our chats Bill. That is one of hte most worthless trees nature has. Only when the tree is in sapling stages of growth does it even provide decent browse for deer. If it were me I'd cut the sucker!! Hate the blamed things, and they are the most prevalent tree on hte place. Jimmie

[Bills Custom Calls]

Jimmie

They do make good fire wood from what I read on pin oak it gets sometimes confused with the red oak even when cut into boards.I can't believe your telling me to cut these trees when Chris has told me to save them.  I am guessing you don't like me  Chris would give me the thrashing of a life time 

Thanks to all who played along even though I had to be corrected
It is interesting to see how many different names there are for one thing

[HuntnCarve]

Bill that's a "Sweet gum" (Hamamelidaceae Liquidambar styraciflua) .  The leaves will look sort of like a five lobed star.  Not in the Oak family (Quercus).  About the only use for that tree was pulping for paper.

[Jimmie in Ky]

That is hte seed of a sweetgum tree as Huntandcarve said. Chipwood is hte only thing it is good for. Although I have heard of a way of making what they call a log candle that it might be suited for. It burns very slowly unless nearly rotten. Bugs love the crap too.

Pin oak is a member of the red oak family and Has an acorn not mu8ch bigger than a pencil eraser. One of the first to drop in fall. Deer do make good use of pin2 oak. And it is fine firewood when yuou can 0find them of any size. Jimmie

[vvarmitr]

I've often thought, what I call Pin Oak, would make an awesome Knotty Oak paneling. 

[Crawdad]

We call them gum ball's here, They are from the sweet gum tree & are not even close to a pin oak tree.