Locust Lumber

[bigD]

I have access to a lot of Locust (some 24" or more) does anyone have any pictures of lumber and projects they have done with Locust? 

[Chuck White]

I've sawed some, but for other customers, not myself.

It's a very pretty wood, sorta looks like treated lumber when sawing on the mill, has a pretty green hue to it!

It's very hard when dried.

[bigD]

Thanks Chuck,
Considering trying to make some lap siding to finish a man cave in my basement?

[jrose1970]

That would be some valuable wood. I use it for fence and barn posts. I've actually seen the chain
spark when cutting dried locust with a dull chainsaw.

[jdtuttle]

Makes great outdoor furniture too. Rot resistant.

[Den-Den]

Are we talking about Black Locust or Honey Locust? 

[Tom L]

I've sawed some, made a 5 x 5 post 10 ft long for the front of a friends commercial boat, he bonded it vertical from the hull to outside of the front deck, to secure lines too. the last one he had lasted 30 yrs in a salt water environment.

one thing , it took me 4 logs to get one post that was clear , the rest of the material I made into some boards and 4 x 4's . the lumber is pretty and seems to dry straight. may use it for some projects around the house this summer.

[terrifictimbersllc]

Member alanh made a big deck out of locust I sawed up for him.  Read down in this thread and look for some pictures.

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,55081.msg798357.html#msg798357

[Ron Wenrich]

I've sold some to a guy that built swing sets.  24" boards are rather unusual for black locust.  They're usually rotten or full of shake by the time the tree is that size.  If you use if for paneling, you'll have a nice effect if you turn on a black light. 

[mesquite buckeye]

Here is a piece of black locust, Robinia pseudoacacia , from the Missouri farm used in an art piece frame I made for Darlene. 

 
I think this is pretty typical. The wood was oiled with Watco©, so the color is close to natural. The wood is strong, very hard and quite rot resistant. The only downside I have noted is it has a tendency to chip out when machining, so a bit of a tendency to split. Sharp blades and thin cuts help. As mentioned previously, big black locust trees frequently contain rot. Commonly at some time during the tree's life it will get attacked by locust borers, after which they frequently are attacked by the heart rotting fungus Phellinus robiniae. The presence of the heart rotting fungus is typically evidenced by the presence of conks (shelf fungus) growing on the tree trunk. Trees with big or numerous conks are typically useless for lumber.

Honey locust, Gleditsia triacanthos , is a much larger tree with very different wood. :P ;D :P

[bigD]

I'll get pictures once I get going.  Some trees have lots of thorns others have none or a few on the smaller branches. 
Beings that it gets hard I'm wondering if its best to wait until I have an order or need it before cutting it? 

[Ron Wenrich]

Sounds like honey locust.   Black locust will have some thorns on the branches, especially in the sapling stage.  But, there are no thorns on the bole of the tree.  I've seen those on honey locust boles.

I'm told that they use to plant honey locust along field edges to act as feed for livestock.  That seems to make sense.  I've only sawn honey locust one time.  Some really nice lumber, but it has a tendency to split.  I made a rear rack for my tractor out of honey locust.  Those boards are FAS and 10" wide.  It has a nice reddish hue to it. 

[Tom the Sawyer]

Mills fine, pretty lumber.  This is honey locust.


 

[Verticaltrx]

I mill some black locust for things around the farm, posts, skids, sill boards, etc. If you get some that is in good shape it's basically a direct replacement for treated lumber IMO. As a post it will last 30+ yrs, above ground probably 50+yrs, very rot resistant.

Mill it as soon as possible after cutting, it gets extremely hard when dry.

[bigD]

My cousin is the one that has it all.  if I cut it, saw it and sell it what % should I give him?

[PC-Urban-Sawyer]

A hard time???




Herb

[dgdrls]

Hi Big D,

here is a thread I posted for some locust I sawed a while back.
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,68597.msg1028693.html#msg1028693

I love the stuff, Black is tough as nails and great stuff for decks and deck posts etc.

Best
DGDrls

[jmouton]

    i dont know if its relavent   but when we cut black locust here in mich ,   its a stinky wood  dont know if it stays in the wood when it drys and then you use it in a basement or man cave ,   it did smell pretty bad  when we cut it ,,,just my 2 cents worth


                                                                                                        jim

[hunz]

I have sold approximately 4,000 bd/ft 4/4 material in the last year; black locust that is. It sounds like you may have honey as others have suggested. It can be rather tough sometimes to get clear 8' boards. It only takes one borer or a little bit of heart rot to ruin a log for decent lumber yield. I find that places where a branch connects to the log also often are a hotspot for rot to set in, in most cases it goes deep into the log.

If you do have black locust, be prepared to be VERY busy with orders. I currently have a few for locust, and most customers are willing to wait a few months until I have time. Around here some see it as a commodity.

[bigD]

i'll be out in the morning surveying the potential trees.  I will get some pics and get them on here.
Just lost my job today so I'm hoping it's the man upstairs telling me to go cut wood.

Thanks for all the info and pictures.  You guys got me excited.  I feel bad now that last year I cut about 7 of them up for fire wood.

[FarmingSawyer]

I just got an "order" for locust from a boat builder. It's a standing order for any I can find. I wish I'd know a month ago....3 nice logs slipped through my fingers and a tree service guy sawed them into firewood. I would have doubled his hourly rate to NOT chunk them up!! We don't get that much big locust here, so send up any spares......

[bigD]

Framingsawyer wish I lived closer.  I've been all over the world but never made it to Maine.  I could always use a trip there though. 

[bigD]

hunz i sure hope its black also. 

[mikeb1079]

honeylocust is beautiful furniture wood.  don't be too disappointed if it is.   

[mesquite buckeye]

A particularly nasty honey locust on my MO farm. The spines stop somewhere between 15-20 ft up where the elephants can't reach them. Works pretty well.

 

Black locust stump and logs. More standing trees nearby. 

 


A big old honey locust wolf tree with a 6 ft diameter trunk.