.....a 14 ft trailer full of black locust! We started a big job the other day, two 70-80' tall codominant black locusts, both of which had suffered a lightning strike and one was hung up in a huge leaning white pine (which had to go also). We got the pine and all the locusts down safely, and I took a big load of the locust home today. Saved a load of locust for the homeowner's son and my cutting partner Mikey took a truckload also. Wife's not too crazy about me keeping it but hey, ITS BLACK LOCUST!! I'm a hoarder, I can't let it go!! This will be processed and neatly stacked beside the pizza oven for winter (to try and keep the missus happy) and I'll move it to the main stacks come spring when I've opened up a spot from this year's heating wood.....
Doesnt get much better, unless its been down for a few years and mother nature has weathered the wood nicely. My favorite BL score.
Two of these stems were pretty much stone dead except for a compartmentalized side, I loaded a few 5" diameter rounds that were bone dry into the stove this evening already ..... This job just popped up as an "emergency" as it is on a lot beside the homeowner that they are buying and part of the closing deal was the removal of these hazard trees.....the split and lightning struck leads were leaning over the other neighbors house.. We still have a leaning cherry and a big red maple to drop yet.....and a final cleanup.
Sounds challenging. Work safe my friend. On my bucket list to do a take down with climbing gear. Looked at a huge dead Eastern white pine removal today. 80' tall, long dead and close to 30" dbh. I refused it.
Here's a quick sequence of pics dropping that pine and widowmaker that were tangled together....after climbing the pine (it, too was a twisted nasty codominant) and taking out the "stabber" limbs, and putting a large ratchet strap around the grown together base, I did a borecut and set a trigger on the white pine, and notched/back cut the hanging locust so it all folded together.....
Great work as always Scott. Big plus getting some quality firewood out of it. As others have said, stay safe.
Good work! You should have asked your lovely wife if she would have preferred you bring home the pine!
No, not yet. I may take them down this winter. Though I kind of like knowing I have those in case of an emergency need. I need to find a new score. Im going to poke around my sister's property this winter and see what treasures I can find.
I know the feeling. With my many secret roadside stashes of old BL id hate to deplete them. Seems a couple fresh cut scores seem to come my way over the course of the year. I still like the petrified dead stuff though. How much is left in your woods? Smaller side IIRC?
