Uses for Honey Locust

[Greg Cook]

I have a few Honey Locust in the 14" to 16" diameter range, and that's about as big as they seem to get here before dying off.  I'm going to cut them down anyway, but was wondering about the properties of the wood. Is it comparable to Black Locust? It'd be nice to goet something useful from them after fighting those 4" thorns 

Does anyone know of a good book or other resource (besides the Forum) that has information on wood species and their usefulness?

Thanks,
Greg Cook

[Daren]

Greg, I take all the honey locust I can get. Like you mentioned the harvesting can be a pain in the tire, but I don't log just receive. I'm sure there are other uses for the lumber, but I focus on woodworking and it is a very pretty wood, striking grain. It is hard on tools when it is dry but mills/dries pretty easy. The only problem I have run across milling pretty often is punky spots in a sound looking log, usually right smack in the middle of a nice board  >:(. Another is marketing it unless someone is looking for it because they have used/liked it before. I keep a planed board in the shop. Everyone knows cedar/walnut/oak/cherry...but most look at the locust for awhile and ask "What is that, sure is pretty?"
If you are going to cut them down anyway, might as well saw them mostly 4/4 with a little 5/4 and 6 . They should sell well if you can find the market (like all this stuff you know how that goes) I get $5 bft for it clear 8+" wide...but I have motivated buyers. I cannot say if that is high or low, just my price.

[TexasTimbers]

Honey locust is gorgeous. The few I have harvested ar stunning. But you SURE have to remember to seal the ends on that stuff. It will look like this if you don't and these are not end checks, they run the whole length of the cant once they got started.  :'(




It's okay though I have not forgotten to seal any others and I have some biggies now drying like you have. Yoiu're right they start to rot here too after they hit about 20"

[WDH]

It makes nice lumber with good figure and grain.  Just not all that common.  By all means, saw it up and make something nice from it.

[Greg Cook]

Thanks for the info, guys.  Right now most of the ones here on the "farm" are in the 4" to 7" dia range. I use those as a backstop to push the cedar brush against to await burning. I'm hoping that will kill the honey locust down in the root system, those things are worse than "bodock" (osage orange).

The bigger ones are growing in the edge of the woods and have escaped the bush-hog for several years.

Really nice lookin' cedar you've sawn there Kev.

Greg

[Phorester]

Both honey and black locust wood have the same attributes as far as resistiance to rot, uses, etc.  I emphasize the wood after the tree is cut and processed and not the standing tree.  In my neck of the woods, though, farmers like black locust posts better than honey locust, and black locust firewood better than honey. For one thing, black locust with its short single thorns is much easier to handle than honey locust with those big, multiple thorns.  And for some reason they equate the smooth bark of the honey locust with sumac, which of course is very rot prone. They see the rough bark of the black locust and equate that with this tree being more rot resistant.

But according to my technical manuals there is no difference between the wood of each species.

[thurlow]

There were 2 master carpenters in our little country church.........both long since deceased.  They paneled a fellow's den (in the 50s, when knotty pine paneling was all the rage around here) in honey locust.  Said it was the prettiest stuff you've ever laid eyes on;  every time he thought about it, one of 'em would complain about how hard the stuff was; how fine the sawdust was and how it stopped up their head and lungs.  I think they were still using handsaws at the time. 

I'd rather have it or black locust for firewood than any of the hardwoods I burn.  It also makes some gorgeous turnings...................

[Larry]

Honey locust is a great cabinet wood along with being an excellent choice for the wood stove.  Most wood workers have never seen it but once ya give em a taste there hooked.  I don't think it is even in the same class as black locust for rot resistance.  In olden days...maybe even now...pins for insulators on power/telephone lines were black locust as they last forever.

Few tips...honey locust stump sprouts easy.  If not treated with herbicide you will have a mess on your hands in just a few years.  If you want firewood ring the tree with the chainsaw.  Treat with herbicide and in a couple of years all the small limbs and thorns will fall off.  If you want cabinet wood saw the thorns off where it falls.  Heavy boots, gloves, and chaps help. 

Few pictures in my gallery of honey locust cabinet wood.  If you want real excitement saw the logs with a 180 rotation where ya get the cream colored sap with the nice red heartwood.

https://forestryforum.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=45

Poke around some and ya might find pictures of a the honey locust firewood pile, and pics of black locust for comparsion.

[WDH]

Nice set, Thurlow.  Did you turn them?

[thurlow]

Did you turn them?

My brother did;  I've got a lathe, but my skills are definitely limited...........

[Greg Cook]

Larry, I know too well about those stumps sprouting! I've been worried the Honeys may take over and choke out the cedars! Almost as bad as Kudzu, ain't it?

Phorester, thanks for looking it up for me. I found a reference book in PDF format last night, "The Wood Handbook" put out by the Forest Service. Any others thay may be helpful to learn the more detailed information on the inhabitants of our forest?

Thurlow, that's a nice set. Beuatiful coloring and patterns.

Thanks, guys,

Greg

[Larry Heinonen]

Greg a good way to differentiate black locust from honey locust is black locust has all those noisome thorns and the tree propagates by The Roots. Honey locust are typically smaller in size and do not have thorns. Just an FYI

[WDH]

Honey locust does have thorns.  Very nasty ones.  At least the native wild honey locusts do.  The horticultural variety that is planted in many towns has been bred to be thornless, and that is probably the honey locust that you are referring to. 

[DPatton]

Agreed WDH. The honey locust I harvest is typically loaded with thorns. Not just up on the limbs but even down on the main trunk to the point where you wouldn't want to stumble into one for fear of getting multiple punctures.

[Southside]

Our honey locust around here does not have thorns, it has ANTLERS, trophy ones too, the type that would make a game warden shoot one from the middle of the road, at night, in August!!!  I have several on the farm that would easily score Boone and Crocket.   ;D