Is this black locust?

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Boy you guys were right - honey locust is a very difficult wood to split... having a hard time and thinking I will pass on it next time! Any suggestions? I've tried the iron wedge but has no effect.
Hydraulically splitter.
Another thing you can do is "noodle" the rounds with your saw instead of splitting them.
 
What do you mean by noodle the rounds?
Cut the rounds in half, then quarters or whatever size you want them to be. Set the bar/chain down on the bark, while standing facing the end of the round, not like milling where you cut in from the end.
It produces long chips that we call noodles.
 
The locust around here is almost 100% rot-proof.
During a BIG ice storm on Superbowl Sunday, 1979,, the ice took down almost all the large locusts.
I bought a property with wooded land about 4 years later,, then about 1986, I was cutting that locust for firewood.

The wood was 100% solid even after being down that long,,
AND ,, my neighbor was going NUTS because I was not using the wood for fence posts!!

That wood burned like anthracite coal,, with a pretty blue flame,,

I did try some for fence posts,, I could not drive a staple in that wood.
If I would have had a cordless drill, maybe I could have pre-drilled holes for the staples??
In my experience, the only way to use locust for fence posts is to cut it when the sap is down, put it in the ground, put fence up. Staples drive easily. Laying for 4+ years, it becomes concrete and destroys chains.
The only wood harder around here is hedge apple. It destroys chains when it's green. :cool: jmho OT
 
Some looks to be, I've cut lots of Black locust, some honey.
Honey.
View attachment 964841
The piles on the left are primarily Black Locust.
View attachment 964842

When they are at my house, they are all, the Black's Locust ;).


Cutting a little Black Locust, easy to see the difference in the bark.

1646827813661.png
Prick you hand on one of the spines and you will be sore for a week or more. Nature does odd things to protect these trees. They are hell on tractor tires too! When I am clearing land, I always have a tire plug kit in the tool box. Just saying. :cool: OT
 
Cut the rounds in half, then quarters or whatever size you want them to be. Set the bar/chain down on the bark, while standing facing the end of the round, not like milling where you cut in from the end.
It produces long chips that we call noodles.
He might get noodles if it were green. Been laying 4+ years. I think all he'll get is chips. Hope he has a lot of chains too. lol jmho :cool: OT
 
View attachment 971585
Prick you hand on one of the spines and you will be sore for a week or more. Nature does odd things to protect these trees. They are hell on tractor tires too! When I am clearing land, I always have a tire plug kit in the tool box. Just saying. :cool: OT
Maybe you do lol. My wife makes an echinacea tincture with a vodka base, it takes out all the itchy/soreness instantly :happy: . Handling quite a bit of black locust I use it often.
Fortunately most of the honey locust around here is of the thornless type so it's not a big problem for tires, but I have heard many a story about them tearing up tires on every type of vehicle :rare2:.
He might get noodles if it were green. Been laying 4+ years. I think all he'll get is chips. Hope he has a lot of chains too. lol jmho :cool: OT
It looks freshly cut in the pictures, so it should produce some noodles, but it's also just the term we use regardless of whether it produces noodles or not. Green it isn't so bad on chains, but the chips are much smaller than other species, but yes, when it's seasoned :cry:.
 
Back in the day I cut hundreds of black locust fence posts. (Loved it for firewood too.) Kept costs down on a bunch of leased places where I ran cattle, and I used them at home too. But yeah, once they were no longer green it was mostly impossible to drive a staple into.

And hedge, my god, that stuff was a total biotch. Great firewood, and I made plenty of posts from it too. But let it dry and you'd never put a staple into it.
 
Maybe you do lol. My wife makes an echinacea tincture with a vodka base, it takes out all the itchy/soreness instantly :happy: . Handling quite a bit of black locust I use it often.
Fortunately most of the honey locust around here is of the thornless type so it's not a big problem for tires, but I have heard many a story about them tearing up tires on every type of vehicle :rare2:.

It looks freshly cut in the pictures, so it should produce some noodles, but it's also just the term we use regardless of whether it produces noodles or not. Green it isn't so bad on chains, but the chips are much smaller than other species, but yes, when it's seasoned :cry:.
Ha Ha! I've never heard of the echinacea vodka mixture. I'll have to try that. I'll probably just wind up drinking the vodka though. :cool: Might get the same results? Bang head. lol :cool: OT
 
I let honey locust rounds sit for 2 years before splitting. Then they split quite easily. I also have no problem sawing it or hedge apple. But it does seem that honey locust thorns have a magnetic attraction for tractor tires.
 
View attachment 971585
Prick you hand on one of the spines and you will be sore for a week or more. Nature does odd things to protect these trees. They are hell on tractor tires too! When I am clearing land, I always have a tire plug kit in the tool box. Just saying. :cool: OT
When my mare was still young and really dumb (as opposed to just sort of a wench that she is now...), I always held my breath riding down my road, because I have never seen locust with the kind of - and number of - spikes that the ones right in "ramming into" distance along the road have.
 
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