new wood, well to me anyway!!

[badcars2]

went today to cut up some locust (spelling). alot of the farmers buy it in logs 20 ft by 10 to 20 inches , split them in fours, cut them to length and make the never go away fence posts.
well anyhow i digress. took both of my sons with me since mom was working, (see mistake in dictionary)
too cold for them wind blowing and well to be honest it was slow cuting, so not enough action to keep hem interested.
took my 026 (before anyone gets started this saw came from a dumpster last year, so free is good), it totes a 20 inch bar, too long i know for the power but for cleaning up a felled tree the length is very nice on the back.
anyway this wood had been sitting for over two years in its log lengths. i must say my saw dissapointed me at first, but ater a few friends showed up with their toys i realized it wasnt just me, this stuff was like cutting stone
finally into 16 inch lengths, i must admit the wood was so hard splitting was easy, this stuff goes off and splits even where you dont hit it, (see wear eye protection).
Anyhow to the regular man heating with wood, dont be afraid of locust. thsi is by far the hottest wood i have ever burned. get it started, tuen the drafts down and let it eat.
and one other thing please , quit beating up on the 026 type saws, for the four to five cord man, they are afforable and seem to be fairly tough saws.'
Longwinded i know, but i love typing on my computer while warming by my wood stove. which is now slowly burning my new favorite wood.
Later
badcars2

 

[aandabooks]

I cut some standing locust off a guy at works fence row. Easy to cut when it is alive. Splits very stringy. Great burning wood when seasoned.

Matt

 

[ciscoguy01]

Nice

Great post dude. Locust is better than oak BTU wise and is one of the best burning woods around. If you've got a chincy stove I've seen them burn out with Locust as it burns so hot. Great find you have there buddy. Take all you can get. I cut 3 or 4 around 30" on the butt end this year, AWESOME find for me. Sadly, most people don't know that its better than oak and they don't want it... 26 is a great saw dude.. My father in law runs one for asplundh for around 12 hrs a day and has been running the same one for over 2 yrs now w/out a hitch. He clears anywhere from 1/2 to 2 miles of trees a day under the power lines for right of way... Not alot of other saws can do that. He works with about 40 or 50 other guys, about 1/2 run the 026 and they have VERY few problems. On the other hand, the huskys are always breaking down he says, and they pick on those guys incessantly till they buy a stihl. I'd like to give'em my 5100 for a day and see what he thinks...

eh?

 

[turnkey4099]

Locust - the king of wood. Love that stuff! Best to cut it green - not as hard on saws then. Best to split it dry, it will, as you said, almost fall apart when fully dry. I lucked out a a bunch of it that blew down in a storm back in '93 or 96' (one was wind, the other ice). Huge trees that my 24" bar on a Pull on something or other didn't really like. Green, I couldn't get a wedge started in some of the rounds, had to make a small saw kerf to start one otherwise they would just start in and bounce back out.

I still have about 10 cord of that on my 'old age' reserve stack when I get to where I can't cut anymore (not too far in the future any more).

I also made fence posts out of some back in '76. Not too bad green, start a wedge in one end and chase the split down the log with other wedges.

Harry K