Black Locust Score (Pics)

[VTHC]

My buddy just bought some land that borders a high voltage transmission line right of way. The owners of the power line went through a few years ago and cut down a ton of fairly large black locust near the lines and left it to rot. So we started pulling the trees out today... There is probably 3-4 cords laying on the ground ON my friend's property.

Stuff is tough on the saws! Can't wait to burn some of this next season!
Cell phone pics (but came out pretty good)

 

[peterc38]

Looks good, congratulations on the BTU's!! I got into some black locust this summer that looked like that, all the bark off for the most part but no rot and still solid as a rock, stuff lasts practically forever.

 

[Dune]

Yep, thats why locust is better than oak. Oak would be punky by now.

 

[VTHC]

Pretty psyched about this score!
Getting to some of the trees is rough... the younger trees have wicked nasty thorns. Luckily, the trees down are mostly trunks (ranging from 1 to 2.5 ft at the base) without too many branches. Free high BTU wood is worth the trouble!

How does this stuff split with a maul/Fiskars? grain looks pretty straight.

 

[SolarAndWood]

Sweet score, most of my primo stash is locust. The straight stuff splits fairly easily by hand if you split it fairly soon after you buck it. Crotches and twisties can suck even with hydraulics.

 

[raybonz]

Nice score! Black locust won't rot too fast in fact I believe they make pier pilings and fence posts out of it for that reason.. Loads of btu's there..

Ray

 

[wood spliter]

Great score! Nice that rthe bark is off. Nice and clean splitting and less ash when you burn.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Another great score.

 

[oldspark]

Yep, thats why locust is better than oak. Oak would be punky by now.

Not here not mine, cut oak that has been on the ground for years and only punky on the very out side, I could take a picture if you dont believe me.

 

[VTHC]

Yep, thats why locust is better than oak. Oak would be punky by now.

Not here not mine, cut oak that has been on the ground for years and only punky on the very out side, I could take a picture if you dont believe me.

We just dug out an oak that is about 3' across that was cut 8-10 years ago and left because it was too big to deal with (we had to cut it into 6-7' lengths and drag it out with a tractor). It was in a low spot on the tree line of a cow pasture. Thing was in pretty rough shape on the outside, but when we started bucking it up most of the inside was in fine shape. Maybe a couple inches of punk around the outside (better and worse in certain spots). There was some crazy mushrooms and moss/etc. growing on the bark, but it was solid in the middle!

These locust are in much better shape, but they haven't been down quite as long. Bark is off, or easily falls off, and the wood is primo - not one sign of punk/rot. These trees are on the side of a ravine that has southern exposure - so maybe not as wet/damp as the Oak location, but they were buried in growths of Japanese Knotweed (evil stuff!).

Cut/split/burned oak before, but never the mystical - fast seasoning black locust. %-P Think i may be able to toss some tops into the stove now!?

 

[chinkapin_oak]

Yep, thats why locust is better than oak. Oak would be punky by now.

Not here. I just pulled a burr oak log off a floodplain that had been sitting on the forest floor for 30 years. Absolutely no rot in the heartwood.

 

[Dune]

White oak and I am sure some other oaks are not too bad. Red oak is a different story. One time I pliled up about five years worth of wood. By the time I got to the bottom of the pile 5 or 6 years later, the oak was all gone, rotted. The locust was pristine, hard, dry and barkless. I am not talking about cut, split and stacked off the ground, just piled and unprocessed.

 

[ChrisNJ]

Great score there, I love splitting rounds like that, tons of fun, bet you can burn it right away as well.