Splitting Cured Locust

[danrclem]

I know that some species of wood split different when cured. I've got quite a bit of locust to get and really don't want to split it right now since I've got over 2 years worth of wood in the barn. If I let it sit until next year will the cured locust be harder to split. I've got a splitter. Same question for an elm tree.

If it will make a big difference I'll go ahead and split them now.

This year has been a wood bonanza for me.

 

[aandabooks]

The longer you get from green with locust, the more it comes to resemble a concrete block when you go to split it.

In other words, split now and tarp it.

 

[LTREES]

locust rot?

 

[mga]

The longer you get from green with locust, the more it comes to resemble a concrete block when you go to split it.

In other words, split now and tarp it.

you don't think it's easier to split when dry?

 

[Wood Doctor]

The longer you get from green with locust, the more it comes to resemble a concrete block when you go to split it.

In other words, split now and tarp it.

I tend to agree. Last year I let a bunch of locust dry for about four months in the round. That 20-ton powered logsplitter kept asking me, "Where on earth did you find this stuff? Mercy!"

The snarly mulberry sitting next to it split fine, but the locust was tough as nails. Pearwood does the same thing or worse. Wait until it's dry as a bone and it spllits in one burst like a cherry bomb and shakes the whole I-Beam assembly.

 

[Mike Van]

If the elm was dead, it won't matter. Fresh cut though, it'll split a lot easier next year.

 

[motoroilmccall]

locust rot?

I've personally never seen Locust rot unless bugs or fungus get to it, not saying it won't happen, just doesn't happen around here if you store it right.

Split it now, otherwise you'll be begging for dynamite to split it later.

 

[danrclem]

It looks like the consensus is to split it now. I just wanted to make sure because I've never split any dry locust before.

I guess it's time to go and get some more of it and split it this weekend. I wanted to be lazy but I guess I'll be glad next year because it'll already be split.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[LTREES]

Once I cut locust in the early fall and let it sit over the winter. I split it about 10 months later, it was very stringy. It just wouldn't let go of its self. I never split green locust, I will at least try it next time. My neighbor has 8 of them for free !!! LOL I like my neighbor, and he's a relative.

 

[stihlaficionado]

The longer you get from green with locust, the more it comes to resemble a concrete block when you go to split it.

In other words, split now and tarp it.

:jawdrop:

This doesn't bode well for the 1/2 cord unsplit sitting in the garage.

 

[danrclem]

Once I cut locust in the early fall and let it sit over the winter. I split it about 10 months later, it was very stringy. It just wouldn't let go of its self. I never split green locust, I will at least try it next time. My neighbor has 8 of them for free !!! LOL I like my neighbor, and he's a relative.

It's somewhat stringy when green but it really isn't bad, if you have a splitter that is.

 

[aandabooks]

I've cut and split it green and it is much easier. A few years ago, I cut several locusts off a fence row. The couple that were dead standing in the bunch caused my splitter to bog way down more than once. The green split well but it does have some stringyness to it. But nothing like elm.

 

[Wood Doctor]

I've cut and split it green and it is much easier. A few years ago, I cut several locusts off a fence row. The couple that were dead standing in the bunch caused my splitter to bog way down more than once. The green split well but it does have some stringyness to it. But nothing like elm.

:agree2: Well, it all adds up. The drier locust gets, the harder it gets. The harder it gets, the tougher it gets. Perhaps that's why it makes excellent fence posts and hammer/mallet heads. The tougher it gets, the more force it will take to split it.

Some woods split easier after they dry. Locust doesn't. Pearwood doesn't, and we should compile a list. Finding information on different species like this is virtually impossible.

 

[turnkey4099]

Been over 10 years since I split any dry...well except for a few dead side stems I got this year. I recalled it as rather easy to split but memory tends to distort. The stuff does check badly as it dries. Splitting it green is no problem - I did my 4 cord manually except for about a dozen knots/crotches that either when through the splitter or got sawn apart.

Splitting green I don't find it 'stringy', usually a few strands might not want to let go but a whack on the back of the maul with the sledge brings them to heel.

Rot - not that I have seen except in the trees. Common to find some rot (not much) and usually in pockets when working up a tree.

Harry K

Harry K

 

[woodcutter69]

what about spliiting hedge, should I split it now while I am still taking the tree down or wait till it drys.

 

[coog]

I split a few chunks I found in the wood (must have fallen off the previous owners truck).I bet they were cut 10 to 20 years ago.It split just like a piece of granite, right down a fault line.Zero rot and hard as heck.I can't wait to try a piece in the stove.

 

[danrclem]

:agree2:

It would be good to learn from other people's experiences.

I have read about some wood that people say is tough to split. I have split some of the same wood thirty years ago with a maul and it didn't seem so bad. Maybe I was young and my memory has faded.

 

[KsWoodsMan]

:agree2:

It would be good to learn from other people's experiences.

I have read about some wood that people say is tough to split. I have split some of the same wood thirty years ago with a maul and it didn't seem so bad. Maybe I was young and my memory has faded.

I take a lot of Hackberry it is simple as it can get to split, usually. I worked a big one down earlier this summer and I got a workout on it like it was Elm. Someone mentioned "wind shake" making some easier woods hard to split. If it stands by itself expect it to be tough to split. If it is grwing in a stand they each shelter the others and ends up easier to split.

Red (Slippery) Elm splits fairly easily for me. I picked up some chunks I thought was Red Elm, it turned out to be Cedar Elm. Sure glad I didn't get more of that stuff. The curlies from it does make good tree mulch though.