Locust 6x6

[bulldozerjoe]

Any recommendations for milling 6x6 posts for my garage that I'm going to build... from the milling to the setting in the ground... plus will they twist... my plan was milling, sticking, then banding and letting them dry... or possibly putting them in a kiln.. thanks

[DesertHobo]

Do you have the logs on hand? If so, what's the diameter? Twist, warp, etc will be determined not just by how they're dried; how they grew and how they're sawn is the rest of the equation.
As far as putting in the ground, check your frost line. That'll help determine how deep the 6x6s need to be in the ground.
Edit: looks like you're somewhere round my neck of the woods, New York frost line is at least 36", better if you can do 48"

I'm sure you'll get a lot of quality answers from more experienced sawyers, contractors etc. Happy sawing/building.

[moodnacreek]

In most cases you want young healthy logs just big enough to square up 6x6.  As to the drying, just air them as long as you have time for as you won't be able to control them. 

[Don P]

Can I click that like button twice  :D
I've then dropped them in a dip tank of borate solution. It turns the water yellow, I've wondered if it would make a dye.

[WV Sawmiller]

   I have used a number of them for pole barns and woodsheds and such and just sawed (in some cases skip sawed) 1, 2, 3 or 4 sides as appropriate so I could use a level to get them plumb and had a flat surface to nail too. I nailed them up green and let the framing hold them in place. 

[Skip]

I sawed a bunch for a hoop barn (or whatever you call em) told the guy to cut twice as many trees as needed and we might get enough for the posts because of carpenter ants , heart rot ,punk etc . He protested >:( until he saw the first ten logs I sawed   . ended up at almost twice like I said  : . Luckily he had about 150 acres with a lot of locust .

[Tom the Sawyer]

Don P, not sure about locust but I had a local art school come out to pick up Osage Orange (hedge, bois d'arc, bodark) sawdust for a class session on making your own primitive textile dyes.  They apparently had most of the materials they needed for other colors but had not been able to find hedge sawdust.

[JBlain]

I saw and use green locust all the time.  Just finished picnic tables, benches and a 40x20 pavilion at a river lot we have that will hopefully last my lifetime.   I have a large amount of nice straight 18 to 20in diameter trees that grew up in a stand that have little rot and defect.  Most places the larger older black locust gets rot and mushrooms growing on it.  

[leeroyjd]

In most cases you want young healthy logs just big enough to square up 6x6.  As to the drying, just air them as long as you have time for as you won't be able to control them.

Same with all species? (But specifically White Pine)

[moodnacreek]

White pine is a pine you can do almost anything with. The down side is blue stain and it is heavy wood in the winter when it is supposed to be sawn.  Boxing the heart on most any wood will produce a lot of cracking and twisting and so it is. In a perfect world you would saw 6x6 w.p. from logs big enough to get 4 6x6 with the heart sawn out on each one. This is called free of heart center [FOHC]  Done this way produces a little sweep but is far superior lumber. On locust the rot and wind cracks are so bad that they could not be sawn this way.  The way I saw squares from locust is totally wrong because I take no jacket boards and get my lumber from the outside to stay away from the bad heart.