I've been wondering for a long time if I had Osage Orange on my place... Today I finally found it. I took a quick trip up the hill to see if a small grove of trees I've always wondered about could possibly be Osage since I remember them looking different. I never looked at them with leaves present so I always thought they were some kind of mutant black locust since that's what's all around them... Definitely Osage... Maybe 8 or so with one about 18" dbh and the next largest about 6"dbh. The rest are inch and 2" saplings. This late fall and winter I'll be spending allot of time up here collecting fallen/dead black/honey locust, a standing dead sugar maple, couple of live buckeyes (want rid of them) and a grove of TOH Other pics are a "forest" of black locust.
My best friend has a few on his place. He wants them gone and I want them, but always have too much other wood to deal with & sense they are alive I just let them grow, but one of these days at least one is mine.
I've been asked for Osage from a local that wanted it to make bows. Apparently very highly sought after for that reason.
Good stuff! Carry your files with you when you start cutting you'll need them. Especially the limb wood
I think there's one dead, long dead actually, next to the large one. You can't see it in the picture but it's the same diameter but only maybe 8' long. I thought it might have been a dead honey locust at first since it's carcass matches the profile of dead honey locust nearby. Those trees are pretty far up the hill. Just above them is where the hill ramps up sharply and is mostly sugar maple, hickory and ash. I think the mid slope just below these trees might have some more hiding amongst the other trees... Lots of elm, walnut, ash, boxelder, sweet gum, and mulberry... Perfect trees to hide these things. They don't really stand out the way I thought they would... You kind of have to hunt them. Persimmon, cherry and TOH sticks out like a sore thumb and I still run across new ones all the time. I sort of enjoy "locating" certain trees and there's still alot of area to cover. They're out there somewhere...
It's great btu's but it has its drawbacks from an equipment wear and tear standpoint. It seems to always have a twist to the grain, too in my area. Maybe from growing in close quarters in old fence rows. Be careful opening the door of the stove. It really likes to snap, crackle and pop! All things considered, it's AWESOME heat per split.
