Locust pole shed?

osagebow said:

Anybody ever cobble together a woodshed using locust poles? I have some long, straight, skinny 4-5" or so tops I was thinking of using as posts for a semi-permanent woodshed - have drawknives but was thinking of not even bothering as they might be fine for several years with the bark-on. Boys will be able to build me a biggun' by then...

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my buddy built his chicken coop out of locust poles, all smaller trees he thinned off of the top of a hill behind his place. He did skin off the bark, as much as he could (being it's springtime the sap will be running and that bark should be a little easier to slip off). He built that coop around 10 years ago and those posts are still in excellent condition. So I would say it should be fine, at least for 10 years or more......

You'll be fine for several decades, at least that's what they say around here. Assuming you are talking about black locust.

Just build it like a pole shed, leave the poles long and chop them off with the chainsaw after you attach the framing.

I would use locust in a heartbeat. I would however take off the bark. It will surely fall off in a year or two. Locust has been used for years in fences and such for hundreds of years. should last 30 yrs in well drained soil.

My grandfather owned mountain land solely for the locust he could cut for fence posts for the farm. Should hold up real well for a woodshed, I would think.

Skin the bark where the post will be burried below grade and don't just "cobble" it togther. It (the locust) will last for decades! Build it with a design that you can add to later! Caution: use (nailing) it "green" I learned the hard way trying to put fence staples onto dried locust posts.

Old farmer around here told me once to get the best black locust poles/posts is to cut them during a day time moon... we have cut them any ole time and the hold up great, have a sun shad for the horse made form them, and a deer blind to.Strip the bark off and have at it... I think the father in-laws summer project for me is a cabin built from black locust.

19FarmHand78
Nathan

One of my dad's barns is build from locust posts. It will probably outlast both of us.

Be prepared to pre-drill some holes when driving in nails. That is some hard stuff.