Wood ID

[iod0816]

Is this a locust? Had leaves like locust would, compound, across from one another, small. It also flowered in the beginning of spring.

Thanks!

Ian

 

[Adios Pantalones]

Yup.

 

[Thistle]

Black Locust

 

[smokinj]

Yup.

Double Yup!

 

[Wood Duck]

One more Yup. Black Locust.

 

[iod0816]

Just thought it'd be heavier, like the shagbark and sugar maple I've been working with since its a hard hard wood... But great to know and thanks for the replies!

 

[smokinj]

Just thought it'd be heavier, like the shagbark and sugar maple I've been working with since its a hard hard wood... But great to know and thanks for the replies!

bl doesnt hold much water. Awesome firewood.

 

[lukem]

Black locust really isn't all that heavy...because it's mostly wood...not mostly water...after being cut. Good stuff.

 

[Battenkiller]

+ whatever on the BL, and also agree that it's lots lighter than hickory or hard maple because of the low initial MC. Trust me, it does the job in the stove, and nicely, too. However, given enough drying time, I prefer the other two, or beech and black birch when I can get my hands on them. Best thing about BL is how easy it splits for a super dense wood. Makes me feel like Tarzan with that little Fiskars.

 

[Flatbedford]

Yup. Good stuff.

 

[CTYank]

I'd suggest giving BL as much time as possible to dry fully- it's a good investment. Seems that the fibers are so dense that moisture leaves slowly. Be careful of BL's splinters- they tend to be long & strong & dangerous.

I'd never load a batch of purely BL into a stove; always a piece or two of more volatile wood (ash, maple, oak) to keep it well lit.

The thick, low-density bark may be throwing off the OP's estimate of density.

 

[Battenkiller]

The thick, low-density bark may be throwing off the OP's estimate of density.

I agree. That's one of the things I don't like about BL. Seems up to 10% of a load volume is thick bark, so you don't get the long burn you think you will. Beech and black birch have thin bark, so it's all basically high-test stuff going in the stove.

Last year I got a load of standing dead locust and I was able to easily peel the bark off outside at the processing area (stunk like hell). That made some nice sub-zero loads last January, but I still prefer the black birch, at least in my old stove. BTU charts don't tell the whole tale, how your particular stove digests it makes all the difference.

 

[Flatbedford]

Yup. The bark is thick, but it falls off pretty easily too. One cord of it easily makes a couple yards of bark waste when splitting.