What is this one......

[TexasTimbers]

Maybe I'm able to post pics again. If this works, I think I know what this tree is but none of my books show it having a bark that looks anything like this. Don't want to give any pre-concieved ideas so I'll hold my tongue on my opinion.......

[Dale Hatfield]

Kinda looks like Honey Locust here in the east.That or an ornamental Locust
Ive spent some time in the Piney woods cant seam to recall anything else.
who knows i might be way out in left field.

Dale

[TexasTimbers]

No tou are in the right ballpark. It has locust leaves lying about it I just didn't know if it is Honey or Black. Now you throw in "ornamental" I have to go back tho the book 

[Norm]

It's honey locust, some on our place have thorns all over the trunk and others none. Didn't know they were in your area but my understanding is the way they got here was through people planting them as an ornamental.

[TexasTimbers]

IOW I need to introduce this 80ish' tall tree to my mill.  It does not even have a crown. Just one tall sawlog! Thanks.

[Norm]

You won't be disappointed, honey locust is very pretty wood. I'd cut more of it but the thorns really make it a pain to work with. Ones with the thorns growing on the trunk thick have a birdseye type look to the slabs cut just underneath the bark.

[TexasTimbers]

Thanks y'all. I have a sweetgum that I don't want to cut, based on the advice of someone on this forum (I need to do a search to re-read that htread anyway) who said I could avoid alot of the problems asscoiated with dryuing that species by letting it stay in log form for a while (I believe that was the advice).
So what about honey locust? I want to cut it pretty soon because my wife and I looked at some pictures online and that stuff is gorgeous. We want to use it in our home somewhere if it turns out to be as pretty as some of the pics we've seen.
So should I go ahead and open it up and start the pre-drying or wait a little while to relieve the stress like sweetgum?

[Norm]

Saw it right away, bugs love the sapwood of honey locust. I've never sawn sweetgum but have yet to see any logs benefit from sitting to relieve tension.

[TexasTimbers]

Thanks Norm.  I've been hearing that alot recently and have been taking action!

[Minnesota_boy]

Norm,
You need to saw some quaking aspen.  It does relieve some tension by sitting, but it also loses some strength.  When sawing aspen, necver slip your fingers under the slab to help keep it off the blade.  They can pinch very hard. 

[Norm]

I guess it looked like I was saying it doesn't work to let logs lay to relieve tension. I'd have done better to say that the hardwoods I saw have not shown any differences to tension whether they are fresh or not. Black locust is a good example, it can lift itself a good six inches as you cut the board. I've got some in my junk log pile I'll tackle that have been there a year or so. Made no difference they still have tons of stress in them.

MB I always get a funny mental picture when someone talks about quaking aspen... how the heck did they come up with a name like that.

[beenthere]

MN_boy
Can't directly say it doesn't relieve tension and reduce strength, but am sure wondering how one could make such a determination of either claim.  There is no way to saw the same log 'both ways' to prove it. 
But if it 'feels better', then one doesn't need any proof.     Loss of strength maybe comes from the wood in the log beginning to decay, which also may relieve some stresses. Who wants to saw rotted wood?

I think Norm_F has the accepted idea.   Mean no offense to Mn_boy's ideas. 

Norm_F  Just watching the leaves 'quake' in the breeze will pinpoint the name for quaking aspen. 

[Minnesota_boy]

They could have called it trembling aspen instead of quaking aspen, but it is named for the quirk that the leaves begin trembling in the slightest breeze. 

If one were to saw hundreds of logs of fresh aspen and hundreds of logs of aspen that has layed a year, one would quickly get the sense that leaving them lay does indeed reduce the stress.  Notice the word reduce.  Some boards will wander even after 2 or 3 years of waiting, but the number will be less.  In only 1 year (at least in this area) there will be no discernable decay present.

[SwampDonkey]

They could have called it trembling aspen instead of quaking aspen

It has been, only it takes awhile for it to catch on across boundaries.

[TexasTimbers]

'If she wants to play lumberjack, she's going to have to learn to handle her end of the log.'
Dirty Harry

"What do you run the 40 yard dash in?"

"Don't concern yourself Inspector ....." 

Minn I have adopted a Boot Camp motto and changed  one word to suit us sawyer types ..

"Cut 'em if ya got 'um."

[Minnesota_boy]

Boundaries, eh?   Is there a boundary between us? 

[SwampDonkey]

Some type of artificial line with folks toten side arms on one side, and on the other side folks running from those toten side arms.