Smaller tooth and narrower kerf on the .325 makes for a bit slower cutting. I like it on my 50cc saws. I run the .375 on my over 60cc saws. On my under 50cc saws I run the 3/8 picco or low profile. I try and match chain size to saw size to get maximum speed. Of course this means more files and stuff.
Couldnt hit the score yesterday with too much going on and snow. 3-4" snow cover today and i wasnt going there til its dry again. I did buck the lengths i had from Friday, split them and added to the pile going to my friends. I also cut up the green stuff from my roadside scrounge a couple weeks ago and split those. First pic, mound of split from Fridays haul Splits from prior score. Ill probably end up with a separate stack for green, dunno yet. Depends how much of this i hoard. Also have a pile of nuggets (not pictured) growing. My friend wants some for next Winter. Put these aside for him.
Moved all the splits from yesterday to the stack at my friends this afternoon. Forgot to take a pic of the stacks when i left. Between the nuggets and stacks id say a cord. Have another half cord of locust there from my Fall scores. A lot more to be cut at site two which ive been working. May go this weekend and cut some.
Was busy with work last week and wanted to hit the quest this weekend. Rain yesterday. Went later this afternoon and it had dried enough. The back area was a bit too wet yet so i started on the front tree. Never bought a new machete so i took my Fiskars hedge clippers and hacked my way in. Mostly skinnies in this load. Bark came right off and i dropped them on the pavement to get the dirt off. Worked great. Half hour cut. Came home and split what needed it. Not much but i got my fix! As i left it. Ash limb on the ground thats still good. Ill take that too. The hill gets gets steep where i left off.
For sure. Hedge clippers worked great. I chuckle as i never thought id be taking the wood as i drive by there quite often. I saw the trees down right after the May 2018 tornado. They had landed on the chain link fence and the little building. Of course, now knowing its BL im there.
Moved the BL from yesterday to my friends this morning. Stack is slowly growing. Started the third row with it. Moving the mound of poplar back here. Dont know when the quest will continue, but stay tuned! The stacks are temporary until more room is made for the locust. I wanna keep it all together.
I switched my newest 550 to .375. Dealer tried to talk me out of it. Lose power yah yah yah. I like it. Wouldn’t try it on a homeowner saw but on a 550 and 261 should be no problem. I like the wider kerf of cut. Generally speaking a power robber, slower cut but the benefits outway the cons unless your a sawhorse racer. Less bar binding as you play Jedi Warrior. Always had that issue with Oregon .325. Stihl was better, wider kerf but the .375 is better yet. ok favorite part is I don’t have to change the wheel in my grinder
Great scores! Envious! Winter is the best time to hoard it, in the summer if it still has bark and has been down a while it smells like a rotting corpse and the flys and maggots become a problem. I just found some that fell behind my stacks and have been in ground contact for at least a year if not 4 with no rot at all. The cliche it’s like burning coal is literally how it burns. Very hard to get started then just leave it alone and it’ll go for hours and hours.
Ive never cut or scored any until October. Never knew of it either. FHC has given me a great education! Im not a fan of wood thats been down and bark falling off, but have found a new love in BL either cut fresh or long dead/down.
It’s definitely neat stuff. I’ve had to sharpen the chain every other tank when cutting the barkless stuff, sparks and all, the chain gets so dull chips become dust because it’s so hard. The fence posts behind my parents were old when I was little and are still standing not much worse for the wear. I need to make another woodshed and I’m going to start looking for mills that sell it rough cut because it’ll outlast the pressure treated junk long enough to make it a good buy and will support a local family business. Unless I can make a Lowe’s score like you have pulled off in the past.
My father in law and i had access to what some people said, would be 500 cords of locus. The local farmers had planted it, for a wind break around their fields. It was all about 16-18'' on the butt. All the lady asked was for a cord of wood, for every 3 cords cut. We gave her one for one each time, toward the end, we had all the wood we needed at that time, the owner told us she'd gotten 4 or 5 cords of wood, that was it. Talk about taking advantage of a person, and a whale of a deal, 95% of the people who cut the wood, did just that.
Winston, FHC member JB Sawman mills a lot of locust. He is in Pennsylvania. Dont know if he sells it, but may be able to help you out/advise. I did find locust stock online, decking, trim boards, but it was VERY expensive. Rough sawn may be cheaper.
WOW! They're around here, just not that common and in groves/groups it seems. Im always looking at trees and my ride to work this morning took me a different route. Didnt see a single one that i could confirm. 20 minute ride in back roads and state highways.
Winston rough cut locust is 2.25 a bd ft for # 2 lumber that is green #1 is 3.30 finished locust kiln dried and planed would be twice that I only deal in green lumber the kiln I use does not like planing locust they will do it but it is expensive Locust lumber is really expensive compared to pressure treated a 8ft 2x6 is 18.00 a 8ft pressure treated 2x6 is about 5.50 a lot of people use locust for raised beds I sell a lot for that hope this helps you out JB also if you have the logs you could get it sawn at a mill and you could get it a lot cheaper some of the mills charge by bdft to saw and you could make out real well
Thanks for the info! Your right about it being expensive. I’m going to scrounge some pressure treated.
The quest was back on today. Been busy with work and have had serious locust on the brain. So much so im looking for locust trees as im driving in different areas. Not that common around here. Hit the score for over an hour and decided to finish the front tree closest to the road. First pic how it was left last time. Logs on a rather steep hill. Used the hedge clippers for several minutes to clear the way. Lower left log was an ash top. Took that in case Woodwhore was in the area! I know how much he likes ash! When i left. I was able to get to the rootball. Turns out it snapped at the ground and took out another little locust. Released rather easily to my liking. Flipped the section down the hill to buck. As i was working my way up i "discovered" another rootball with few feet of good trunk buried under the tangle of brush and vines. If you look carefully you can see the trunk going to the right under the tangle. Locust roots are not as rot resistant. They were punky. When i cut it free i discovered more logs sections laying nearby. Of course on the hill and in a tangle. Gonna have to work it again for more. There is more sections buried under the mess. Looks like they cleared the tree and just tossed it aside. My best load of the quest so far. Just over an hour to hack, cut and load. Couldve taken more but didnt wanna press my luck. Locust stack before today And after. Split and stacked all of todays load. I may hit the score again later this week. Gonna pull the stuff i found today. The quest goes on!
The quest keeps revealing more to quest for, like a never-ending quest. That embankment is going to look amazing once you're done with it. The stack is very imposing, especially since it's all barkless. Locust bark takes up a lot of space in a stack.
