And I'm on more Black Locust!!!

[scoooter]

So I have been scrounging along where the power company has cut along the power lines and came across 4 Black Locust tree's that they had cut down. Unfortunately, two of them have really thick (forearm thick) of ivy of some type growing up them. I don't know what type and I don't want to risk cutting it up if it's poison ivy. So I stayed away from those 2 and concentrated on the others. While I was out cutting the owner of the house it backs up to came out and asked if I wanted to take down any of the other Locust trees that were there. I said sure, and he pointed out a few I can come back and cut down for him. Here is one of the trailer loads I've gotten so far. The best part is that it's only like 2 miles from my house Most of it is about 16" in length, by that stuff is HEAVY!


Scott

This is black Locust right?

 

[katwillny]

Very nice score. Black Locust burns really nice. I just ran out of seasoned BL for this year but earlier this year i came across some nice BL at my job. You are right about it being very heavy.

 

[WellSeasoned]

That is a fine load, and better yet free. Black locust is by far the best burning wood I have come across. You got a lot there.

 

[bogydave]

Great score.
Close to home, great BTU wood, & you made a new friend

 

[ScotO]

the ivy is more than likely poison ivy. If you decide to get the logs with that on them, take some throwaway gloves with you, remove it all, and it will be fine to use. Very nice load of BL. That, honey locust, and white oak are by far my FAVES

 

[Backwoods Savage]

If it is grape vines, they will not be attached to the tree. If you have poison ivy you will notice that it grows right onto the tree. Most times if I cut some with much poison ivy I'll take an axe and strip the ivy off the logs. I'll see if I can find any pictures.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

(broken image removed)

The above tree has poison ivy on it. This one is quite large for PI at least for on our place. We find a lot that is about little finger size and some even smaller. If the tree is old though it can have some really big vines.

The grape vines do tend to get a pretty good size but at the low levels you won't see any leaf.

I'll try to get some closer pictures of the ivy and post them for you.

 

[BobUrban]

x2 on the dirty PI ID. It will most likely look fuzzy or hairy along the vine but not necessarily. It pretty much grows on everything around here so either I learn to deal with it or go without any firewood. Just pull it off before you cut up the tree. With gloves of course and do your best to not touch it with anything but the gloves. Then set those gloves aside and use another set for working because it is the oil in the plant and can last years on the gloves. Once on the gloves it's on the saw and everything else you touch. Once home wash your hands in warm water with the gloves on and once dry they will be fine. If you are near a creek or water source and you touch the devil weed just rinse off asap and you should be fine. water, if used quickly, will remove the oil. Even some of your bottled water you brought along to keep refreshed. I promise you, a thirsty day of cutting beats the heck out of a nasty, itchy, week of the dirty PI.

 

[SolarAndWood]

Sweet score. That caliber wood that close to home is a nice return on your time and effort.

 

[Woody Stover]

came across 4 Black Locust tree's that they had cut down. Unfortunately, two of them have really thick (forearm thick) of ivy of some type growing up them. I don't know what type and I don't want to risk cutting it up if it's poison ivy...the owner of the house it backs up to came out and asked if I wanted to take down any of the other Locust trees that were there....that stuff is HEAVY!
This is black Locust right?

That most certainly is BL. And yes that green-looking stuff weighs a ton! When you go back over there, look around on the ground for BL that has fallen and the bark is off of. I grabbed some smaller grounders of BL the other day and they are in the stove right now...15-16% MC. The wood on the dry ones looks brown not green when you cut it, and you will notice that it's a bit lighter.
As far as the Ivy, generally it won't get to wrist-sized, like Dennis said, but it can. As Bob Urban said, pull it off the tree, don't cut through it and smear the oil all over. Look for the fine fuzzy-hair roots along the vine, like he said. If it has leaves or thicker roots, I don't think it's PI. I'm not hyper-sensitive to it, but I'll get a bad case if I'm not careful. It certainly won't stop me from grabbing good wood!

 

[ewdudley]

that stuff is HEAVY!

And the best part is that BL runs about 4 parts water to 10 parts wood when it's green, whereas most other wood is 7-10 parts water to 10 parts wood, which means you're spending a lot less effort lifting water and hauling it around.

--ewd

 

[krex1010]

Hairy vines = pi, wear throw away gloves and shirt an wash up with fels naphtha soap afterwards and u should be fine. Black locust is awesome fuel, seasons quickly and burns great, lots of heat. Funny you say it's heavy, I always found locust to be on the light side, which is another reason I love it.

 

[Woody Stover]

Funny you say it's heavy, I always found locust to be on the light side

Your muscles must be huge! I may have to start calling you TRex. :lol: For mere mortals, BL es muy heavy, even when dry. Like Shagbark Hickory.

 

[scoooter]

I will have to go back and take a picture of it but looking online, it is poison ivy! I might leave it alone since I get it really bad! It's not worth the risk for me.

I will be back there, hopefully Saturday, so we shall see how brave i feel


Scott

 

[krex1010]

Funny you say it's heavy, I always found locust to be on the light side

Your muscles must be huge! I may have to start calling you TRex. :lol: For mere mortals, BL es muy heavy, even when dry. Like Shagbark Hickory.

In my experience bl is waaaaay lighter than hickory, oak, and that stuff. It always seemed similar in weight to ash to me.

 

[Woody Stover]

Funny you say it's heavy, I always found locust to be on the light side

Your muscles must be huge! I may have to start calling you TRex. :lol: For mere mortals, BL es muy heavy, even when dry. Like Shagbark Hickory.

In my experience bl is waaaaay lighter than hickory, oak, and that stuff. It always seemed similar in weight to ash to me.

I was grabbing BL and White Ash last week. BL definitely quite a bit heavier. Even the drier BL was heavier than the same size of green White Ash. I would like to see some pics of your BL; Something is not adding up here. If both the Ash and the BL are dry, you should be able to feel a big difference.

 

[loon]

Nice scoop Scooter ;-)

Grabbed this Locust in the summer and it sure doesnt take it long to season...

loon

 

[oldspark]

Funny you say it's heavy, I always found locust to be on the light side

Your muscles must be huge! I may have to start calling you TRex. :lol: For mere mortals, BL es muy heavy, even when dry. Like Shagbark Hickory.

In my experience bl is waaaaay lighter than hickory, oak, and that stuff. It always seemed similar in weight to ash to me.

I dont think you have BL .

 

[mecreature]

Wow, nice loon.

I only have a bit left for this year. It is good stuff.

 

[krex1010]

I have black locust trust me, I have a forestry degree and I worked for a tree service for 10 years, Bl is one of the easiest to Id species, and actually I posted pics of the some of my bl on here, nobody said I didn't have bl at that time. Bl is dense but is also a low moisture content wood, which is why it dries quickly. It definitely weighs less per volume than hickory and oak. I'm not saying bl is poplar light, but of the species most consider to be the primo burning woods, bl is one of the lighter ones.

 

[loon]

Wow, nice loon.

I only have a bit left for this year. It is good stuff.

Thanks..i have never burned it before but what you said and from the gang here on the board..nice to know its a good firewood ;-)

loon

 

[bluedogz]

Hairy vines = pi, wear throw away gloves and shirt an wash up with fels naphtha soap afterwards and u should be fine. Black locust is awesome fuel, seasons quickly and burns great, lots of heat. Funny you say it's heavy, I always found locust to be on the light side, which is another reason I love it.

My dad came up with some old school knowledge while helping me fell some BLs in my yard...

We had PI running up about half the trees, maybe 5 or 6 of them. He took the saw and cut the 3" thick PI vines all the way through, then made a second cut 6" up the vine, removing a segment. We then cut down those trees that didn't have PI on them.

A year later, the PI was stone dead. We cut those trees, and in most cases the PI just fell away.

 

[ScotO]

virginia creeper is really similar to poison ivy. That, too, grows on the black locusts around here. It must be the bark that the ivy likes so much, almost everywhere I cut BL I find either VC or PI. the real difference is when the leaves are on, VC has 5 pointed leaves instead of the three, and VC, and it is quite easy to confuse the two. The second picture has a virginia creeper leaflet on the left, and a poison ivy leaflet on the right. So during this time of the year, when there are no leaves on the plant, it's a crapshoot!! I'm leary of touching it every time I see it out in the woods! :blank:

 

[krex1010]

Hairy vines = pi, wear throw away gloves and shirt an wash up with fels naphtha soap afterwards and u should be fine. Black locust is awesome fuel, seasons quickly and burns great, lots of heat. Funny you say it's heavy, I always found locust to be on the light side, which is another reason I love it.

My dad came up with some old school knowledge while helping me fell some BLs in my yard...

We had PI running up about half the trees, maybe 5 or 6 of them. He took the saw and cut the 3" thick PI vines all the way through, then made a second cut 6" up the vine, removing a segment. We then cut down those trees that didn't have PI on them.

A year later, the PI was stone dead. We cut those trees, and in most cases the PI just fell away.

The oils in pi that cause the rash are still present long after the plant is dead, you still have to be careful. Vines that have been dead for many years can still cause you to break out. But yeah dead vines are easier to remove .

 

[smokinj]

I got 5-1/2 cords of mulberry and another 5-7 to go! bl mulberry whats the differance? :cheese: