several acres of black locust

[res48]

Hi,
I am new to the forum, just found it last night.
I have a farm and plan on doing some additional fencing. I have been cutting  hedge posts this winter. Those familiar with hedge understand how much of a tangled mess this can be. Anyhow, a neighbor has several acres of black locusts  Just walked it and it may have 5000 posts. Very hard for me to judge but that seems like a decent guess. He is wanting to clear the trees to build a lake. I can use about 1000 posts. I am not in the timber business and don't have related equipment, just tractor and small bobcat. He said if I cut he wants them cut high enough that he can hook the stump with a track hoe. Getting the posts or logs out would be a major problem for me plus more of a project than I want. What would be a fair arrangement to make with this fellow. He will probably be fairly easy to deal with since he sees the locusts as more of a problem than asset.

Any suggestions? Also, my idea of a suitable posts has enough size, 6 inch diameter and one straight side. I am not a post purist!

Thanks for reading this and I appreciate any comments.

[Magicman]

First, Welcome to The Forestry Forum.  IMO, Black Locust is the best fence post that you could use.  That being said,  I am referring to heart wood.  The outside white sapwood will rot leaving the post loose in the ground.  We always stacked them to cure/dry until the bark fell off.  Others report having good luck using green post with the sapwood removed.

Watching you remove them should be pay enough...... ;D

[bill m]

res48 Welcome to the forum Where are you located? If it's anywhere near western  Mass. I would be interested in the job or posts. As for leaving the stumps high who will be pulling them? All machine operators I know do not need a high stump to get them out of the ground. It also makes for a bigger mess to get ride of. That was something they did years past when all they had was a farm tractor to remove them.

[stonebroke]

Just don't charge him too much. Seriously around here he would not charge you in that you are getting the trees on the ground and taking some of them away, less for him to clean up. If he had to pay someone to clear the land he would be paying several thousand dollars a acre. Also the land clearer would probably do a better job cleaning up than you would.( chipping tops)

Stonebroke

[Magicman]

Black Locust are a very shallow rooted tree, and prefer loose soil.  Normally you can just push them one way and then the other, and up they come.  Generally one good sized root holding it.

[Cedarman]

To debark your posts quickly, lay them out side by side about 2 posts deep.  Do this the day they are cut.  Then drive your tractor or loader over them.  Go back and forth 4 or 5 times.  Now you should be able to pull the bark off quick if any is left.  A screw driver  will do wonders.   Then build a fire about 8 feet long and about 3 feet wide.  Put a fresh wet log next to the fire.  Now stick the butts of the locust in the fire until they start to char just a little.  Rotate once.  Then out of the fire.  Now even the sapwood at ground level will last a long time.  We did 700 a few years ago and it went well.

[dad2nine]

Quartered Black Locust makes nice looking outdoor furniture...

[Cedarman]

 That's the pinkest locust I've ever seen.  Very beautiful. 8) 8)

[res48]

Bill M I am in south central Illinois so that is a pretty good drive from Mass....  Would it be easier if I got a dozer in and got everything down and then cut the posts out? It seems like it is going to be a problem getting them out through all the debris.

[Meadows Miller]

Gday

Gday and welcome to the forum Res48  ;) ;D ;D ;D 8) 8) Locust is like our Ironbark here Bloody tough stuff Mate  ;) :D ;D ;D 8) 8) 6' 4 to 6" dia posts down here go for abut $22 ea and what we call splits just cut up the center with a chainsaw  in 7 to 9" go for about the same strainers in 8 to 12 dia for end assemblys got for about $44 ea to give you a rough guide  ;)

with removal just hook the chain up to the tractor about 7' up and pull them over if there all reasonably small then cut and trim them up would mostlikely be the easyst way to do it and then you wont have to worry about driving around stumps with the debarking we use either the back of an axe or a barking bar its abit like a crow bar but with tube welded to a solid end piece about 2' long  to make it alittle lighter  ;) it would be afew weeks work but well worth the effort Mate  ;)

Regards Chris

[dad2nine]

That's the pinkest locust I've ever seen.  Very beautiful. 8) 8)

Well the drawer is eastern red cedar - keeps the bugs out of your drawers  :D

[Ironwood]

I would NOT doze them, that would be a mess IMHO. Get them to cut as low as possible and then GET THEM out-o-there before the heavy euipment shows up. Your product would be best moved out of the area before the BIG toys get there.

Ironwood

[4genlgr]

 don't just bulldoze them it makes an impossible mess  abour 2 hr.s to @#$%$^# i'm outta here   i worked with a guy that wanted to make a pasture, didn't want allthe little broken branches to deal with when you drag and crunch brush or dig stumps we pushed over every tree with his contractor  backhoe tractor took awhile but he was happy and not in a hurry