LOCUST

[gggGary]

Honey locust very aggressive about sending up shoots from the roots! Two years dead shoots still coming up everywhere. This cultivar, no pods or thorns, lacy leaves, light shade, makes a great yard tree. I have a nice 20 footer from a transplanted "root shoot" and several more coming along.

 

[Lightning Performance]

Ours cuts good with bark or without, just gotta tune your chain for it, small chips are just fine.

You have obviously never cut river logs. They have about the same amount of sand on them. The wood is never a problem. Two tanks on chain is about it. Chip is always tiny on dry logs. I think people cry about black locust because they don't have a really sharp chain or have the depth gauges too high.

 

[leaf]

People cry all the time about quite a few things. Personally, I don't blame most of them. (There just are a few things around and about regarding which a person might well cry.) AND I might submit that much depends upon the particular locust in hand in a particular case. Even within a particular locust species, and trees that have grown right next to each other, a person can have a knotty / dirty / sandy / cracked / twisted mess full of (a few kinds of) bugs, on the one hand, and straight sticks with straight grain that can be sliced to beautiful effect in quarter, on the other. Locust be predictably a bit unpredictable. (Until examined and sorted, of course.) And yet with locust there is about twice the chance that even after an observant sort, there will come a surprise when saw tooth comes to wood.
Yes as to really / correctly sharp chain or mill saw blade (band or circular). Yes as to "not-greedy" tooth geometry.

 

[chipper1]

You have obviously never cut river logs. They have about the same amount of sand on them. The wood is never a problem. Two tanks on chain is about it. Chip is always tiny on dry logs. I think people cry about black locust because they don't have a really sharp chain or have the depth gauges too high.

I have, also swamp wood that was drug thru the muck. Narrow chains with the rakers low work well. The dirty maple I cut today I touched my chain up after one tank, gotta do what you gotta do. I don't mill, so I have no experience or advice about that.
Most people have no idea how to sharpen a chain. I went thru a couple new files and one used this morningn as said above, gotta do what you gotta do. Had nice chips today, unlike cutting black locust.

 

[djg james]

Many years ago, I answered an ad in CL in a neighboring town for free firewood. I don't remember if they mentioned BL and I don't have the setup I do now. I got there and found 20-30 BL trees cut down and lying there. The lady asked me how much I wanted. I said all of it. She was surprised. Told her I'd have it out in a week and she agreed. No problems cutting that I remember and I still have a small pile stashed in the garage. Best firewood I've ever had.

 

[alanbaker]

Anyone ever cut locust into boards? I have quite a few large locusts that need to be removed. I know they make good posts. My grandfather introduced them to his property for that reason. He said it was the biggest mistake he's ever made. Lol. I have numerous trees that are 16 to 20" in diameter. Long and straight. They look like they would make a nice looking board.

https://blacklocustwood.com/
This sawmill specializes in black locust. They are in upstate NY an hour and half to two hours NW of Albany, NY. They should be able to answer your questions. Wish I had a stand of black locust. Fixing fence that had black locust post, you brought a drill with you and at that point in time, it was a hand drill.

 

[Lightning Performance]

I have, also swap wood that was drug thru the muck. Narrow chains with the rakers low work well. The dirty maple I cut today I touched my chain up after one tank, gotta do what you gotta do. I don't mill, so I have no experience or advice about that.
Most people have no idea how to sharpen a chain. I went thru a couple new files and one used this morningn as said above, gotta do what you gotta do. Had nice chips today, unlike cutting black locust.

Tldr.

I'm liking these chains coming off the CBN wheel. Sliced my finger open yesterday handing one to Pete so he could try a 28 bar with full comp on his stock 461 at the wood pile. He gave me a nice little pu load of hardwood chunks while I was there. He was cleaning tote cages of leftover bl, red oak, shagbark and some ash. Definitely a chicken dinner!

I think having less hook, more bite and less face angle helps a bunch on dirty anything especially that nasty muddy stuff. Only place I cut dirt or mud is at Pete's place before processing the stuff on the splitters. Plunge cuts definitely help me get two tanks out of a loop. That one change makes for much better bucking experience. This past months it's been wet there and the tracked mini gets the fat logs dirty. Mostly tree companies dumped hardwoods. We get all shapes and sizes. One crew paints the metal monsters. They get attacked with a 20" bar most times by me or we push them off to rot with old maples.

Tried carbide once on dirty red oak and mineralized wood. Not worth the cost to me or the time to get one sharpened on the diamond wheel. It was good for cutting up old wood stick frame buildings and not much else. Fine sand and silt is just unavoidable here near farms and hedgerows. This place is a sandbox.

 

[chipper1]

Tldr.

I'm liking these chains coming off the CBN wheel. Sliced my finger open yesterday handing one to Pete so he could try a 28 bar with full comp on his stock 461 at the wood pile. He gave me a nice little pu load of hardwood chunks while I was there. He was cleaning tote cages of leftover bl, red oak, shagbark and some ash. Definitely a chicken dinner!

I think having less hook, more bite and less face angle helps a bunch on dirty anything especially that nasty muddy stuff. Only place I cut dirt or mud is at Pete's place before processing the stuff on the splitters. Plunge cuts definitely help me get two tanks out of a loop. That one change makes for much better bucking experience. This past months it's been wet there and the tracked mini gets the fat logs dirty. Mostly tree companies dumped hardwoods. We get all shapes and sizes. One crew paints the metal monsters. They get attacked with a 20" bar most times by me or we push them off to rot with old maples.

Tried carbide once on dirty red oak and mineralized wood. Not worth the cost to me or the time to get one sharpened on the diamond wheel. It was good for cutting up old wood stick frame buildings and not much else. Fine sand and silt is just unavoidable here near farms and hedgerows. This place is a sandbox.

TLDR, as in too long didn't read, then writes a book .

 

[Bill G]

Locust is one of the best there is. I would trade all other firewood for it. As for lumber it is great too.