black locust

[tyb525]

Yes they are Honey Locust. I thought that's what Engineer was talking about.

[Engineer]

Nope, I got Black Locust.  There's thorns, just not too big.  1/4" to 3/4" long.

[Polly]

around here we got black locust that are used for fence post , yellow locust that get soft in the center good only for fire wood and honey locustwith the long thorns they are death on tractor tires seems like someone on the forum said it makes pretty lumber  i got 4or 5 black locust logs that fell several years ago that were not laying on the ground i strted last saw last fall but had trouble with the saw  ie band wheel belts worn out i got all new belts and am fixing to try again hope i have better luck this time

[tyb525]

What I milled was Honey locust, and I'll see if I can get a picture. It has swirly grain on some peices and has pretty shades of orange and red.

[Enchanted Forester]

Polly,  Woodmizer came out with a 4 degree hook angle bandsaw blade that cuts beautifully through seasoned black locust.  Mind you may only get around 400 board feet cut before you have to change blades, but it cuts true and no waviness.

[Polly]

 thanks for the info i bought a new box of blades from woodmizer but i dont know what kind they are i will have to look  kinda looks to show what i know about sawing when i dont know what kind of blades i am using 

[tyb525]

When they're still green the regular 9 degree blade should do fine, at least it did for me, and I only have 10 horses  .

[wconklin]

D S, same in our area.  Building inspector's around here are just getting updated info on locust as an a much more durable and stronger alternative than pt. 

Black locust, along with Eastern Red Cedar are in the massachusetts state building code book as alternatives to PT

[Dave Shepard]

Hello wconklin! Will I be at your house raising tomorrow, or is that a different wconklin?

[dutchman]

I've got a customer that uses black locust for Adorondeck chairs.
Buys mostly clear 1"x6"x 5',help get rid of shorts.

[climbncut]

Look for conks on locust! If they are present, you can almost guarantee there will be internal decay.

[Ironwood]

I love locust. It is said " would be the most valueable N.A. timber if not for the bark borer voids and scars".

 Shows you what some are taught, "invasive", yeah right. How about indiginous.

 Ironwood

[SwampDonkey]

They have planted some around towns up here. It may seed in vacant lots adjacent to it. But, on old home sites I find grown in with native local woods, the black locust is confined to where it was planted. If over grown with spruce and maple forest it's had it. Often time old farms will grow up in white spruce around here.

[Engineer]

I love locust. It is said " would be the most valuable N.A. timber if not for the bark borer voids and scars".

Shows you what some are taught, "invasive", yeah right. How about indigenous.

Ironwood

If black locust is an invasive species, then I would like it to invade my entire property.  I have had a dozen or so BL's seed themselves on disturbed hillsides around the house since it was built.  I take great care in making sure I don't damage them, and I have already pruned a couple for clean upright growth.  One is in a perfect location to thrive, a southern hillside open to the sun, and the tree is three years old and already 15 feet tall.  By the time I'm 60, I might have some fence posts.   

[stonebroke]

If you wait until you are 60 you will have pole barn poles.

Stonebroke

[Ironwood]

I have patch here doing the same w/.

Ironwood

[Den Socling]

A few years ago, they were repairing the James Madison mansion and I was asked to dry the window sills. After 22 days, which is a long time in a vacuum kiln, I decided that they were as dry as the original sills. Not dry at all.  But this is to be expected. The wood is good outside because it is impenetrable. It won't dry for the same reason. A 6" x 6" square is mighty heavy and it stays that way.

[stonebroke]

Naw, locust dries ,it just takes ten or twenty years, which considering the life of the posts isn't much.

Stonebroke

[Magicman]

It's so "shallow rooted" that it will never stand up 60 years.....at least not in our soil.

[Engineer]

There's a lot of BIG black locusts around here.  Some have been there a lot more than 60 years, I'll bet.  Got a few that are 30" + dbh, usually roadside trees.  My own clump of BL's are over 40 years old.  I have a clay and silt loam over bedrock and they are definitely NOT shallow rooted here.