Could it be??? Did I find Locust gold???

Ever since seeing the numerous, and I do mean numerous, threads on how good the Black and Honey Locust were I've been on the hunt. Like a hound dog on the prowl, I've been scanning the roads for what I thought was but a mythical creature in these parts....the Locust tree. I was growing tired of the sleepless nights and cold sweats.

Then it happened!!!

Upon driving on a road in the town I work in I saw not one but at least a dozen of these gems on the road.











You can imagine my excitement, as I felt like I'd found the holy grail. Then I realized they were likely locusts, but what good were they? They were in another's possession, and I could only admire them from afar. I drove back wishing they could be mine, when the unthinkable happened. I spotted more of the same laying on the side of the road. I remembered a large tree service company had been in the area over the last few weeks. Upon closer inspection there appears to be about a 10-12" large branch, and several 4-6" branches as well. Im hopping to retrieve them in the next week or so. My work is almost an hour from my house, and its dark before and after work, so it'll have to be a weekend scrounge.

So tell me, is this the elusive Black Locust?

 

I hope they don't disappear on you before you can grab them.

 

They're somewhat in a gully and hard to see. Hopefully they stay. I'd estimate its maybe 1/3rd of a cord. Not a ton, but enough to see if all the praise that's been given is warranted. Now that I know there are some in the area, I'll be keeping a real good look out.

 

I have dead locust on the property. I cut 13 posts out of some of the smaller for the fence in the little valley; they are slow to rot. I need to get in gear and harvest what is left for firewood; it is some really great wood. I think I have honey locust here. I saw sparks when cutting some of it.

 

Is it Black Locust? If so, they look pretty similar to some Ash trees I've seen. I hope I didnt get all excited for nothing.

 

Your first 2 pics appear to be black locust. The third pic of the Y tree does not. Look closely at pic 1 and pic 3. Different bark.

 

Locust

 

yes it looks like black locust.

I must point out though, that black locust and honey locust are not even in the same species family. and while honey locust is rated to have high btu's I personally had some c+s+s on concrete for 3 years before i burned it, and it still barely burned in my owb. it really needed another year of seasoning. also the powder post beetles love honey locust like they do hickory. so the sap wood that is left ends up as mostly dust.

 

Bingo! Ding, ding, ding... Whoop! Whoop! There's gold in that gully... Black Locust. Bark is larger / deeper grooved than Ash. Ash tend to be a little straighter trunk being more shade tolerant than the Black Locust also.

 

Excellent posts everyone. I’m used to Red Oak. It’s in abundance here, and I have a lot of Shagbark Hickory and Rock Maple as well. Assuming all the species are fully seasoned, is there really much of a difference in heat output?

 

Its hard to tell. I want to say yes, but for some reason the bark doesnt seem as deeply furrowed as what ive seen on here and in person. I like you sirbuildalot am seeking to score black locust after all ive heard on here. I have had three small locust scores in the last two months, but only one really worth noting. I did post about them. I know of a couple logs sitting roadside and a major roadside tangle of locust that id like to get permission to cut. Ill get them eventually and will stay tuned for your score update!

 

I’d say it’s locust. Many of our older fences are locust posts and most of the vertical posts in the barns are locust too. Tough as steel (had one fall and hit me in the head a couple months ago. Knocked me out cold and got a few staples in the noggin to boot). Love it as firewood but there isn’t too much left on the farm.

 

All the species you mentioned are great firewood. Once you get into the top 3rd of the chart, it's gonna keep you warm on the cold nights. All the rest work great too, maybe an extra load in the stove now and then. The best firewood is the one that you have in your stacks seasoned and ready to go. Whatever is handy or needs cut is the next to get put in a stack here at our place. It's all good in 3 years. I just had a dead Ash rot at the roots less than 40 yards from the house and it will be next in a wood rack (from 6' up anyway, the punky stuff stays in the woods). Whatever comes up and is available gets CSSed at our place. We have a lot of species in our woods that somehow or another seem to get in the way of the chainsaw and end up falling over, then as MrWhoopee says, I dismember them, take them home, and BURN them.

 

here is some of the ratings based on one chart.
shaggy bark hickory- 25.3 million btu's per cord
black locust 23.2 million btu's per cord
sugar maple 23.2 million btu's per cord
red oak 22.1 million btu's per cord

so they are close... IMHO, however, the biggest difference is the seasoning times. shaggy bark hickory takes 2 years to season. plus you loose much of the sapwood to powder post beetles. black locust takes 6-8 months, sugar maple takes a year. and red oak burns best after 3 years.

so black locust is not only rot and bug resistant, it seasons the fastest (outta this group) and lasts the longest before getting punky. IMHO.

sauce: Sweep's Library - Firewood Heat Value Comparison Charts

 

If youre burning in a cat stove, there's really no difference. In fact, id probably trade my oak for maple. The oak takes longer to burn up the coals.

 

sirbuildalot. First pic is an older locust tree about 40 or 50 years old second pic is a locust tree about 25 or 30 years old. Hope this helps with you search for the elusive locust.

 

Good to see someone else who also isn't crazy about honey locust. I've had the same experience as you with it. Those beetles make an absolute mess out of it, and no matter how much you knock the splits together, the dust just seems to endlessly dump out. I've had similar experience with black locust but definitely not as bad.

 

Yeah sure look like it and Farmer Steve showing the bark ages between those years showing the difference in a young tree and slightly older helps compare. Most trees here do the same as their sprouts aren’t very old if they are up to a foot or so in DBH, ridges in the bark being more close together as well.

This wood seems to be fabled in song and story somewhat. Really burns hot, if you’re able to leave it alone for years and years, it’s a hard thing to beat.

 

Did you ever go back and get the logs sirbuildalot ?

 

Looks like locust to me. But take that with a grain of salt because the locusts I mostly cut are bare ash and have no bark