Youre right. A very good point i didnt think of. I wonder what percentage is bark in, say a half cord of locust splits with bark versus one that is barkless. Any guesses FHC? I cant remember what the diameter of the logs i scored in October were and how thick the bark was. Hafta check my pics. Is a lot of your locust scored barkless? The tornado toppled trees domino style. Evidently when cleared they tossed the chunks into the thicket and it has two seasons of growth to conceal it all. Theres a tree top (maple i think) with all the branches on the locust trunk. In back theres a couple decent trees down a ways in the woods. Im tempted to buck rounds and stage them behind the building. Bring the wheelbarrow to get them to the front easier otherwise a long walk one at a time. Grass patch maybe 3-4' wide around the chain link fence. The tangle isnt as bad either.
Im glad it didnt smell like onions! Ive been told on here that it wreaks something terrible when starting to decay and the bark separates in the warm weather. Ill take everyones word for it. Ill only take green if i find any in the warm weather. I did sniff a couple when i was splitting and it had a hint of sassafras to my nose. Did you notice any smell Mike when working yours?
Granted, the temps were in the mid-20's, but I detected no odor. The bl I was dealing with was a mix of green, barks falling off, bark totally off. The only odor I've ever detected with bl, is in the burning of it. Now, poplar. That stuff has a real sour smell, once the bark starts to release. Give me the smell of red oak anyday, which I don't mind. *EDIT. I just read the other thread that mentions an odor. I took that comment as it relates to the animal carcass remains, near your bl.
If you're good at math, you could figure it out. Say the bark is an average of one inch thick on rounds averaging 10 inches. So if those rounds are stacked, 10% of the stack volume is bark? Does the same math work for splits? Most of my locust was fresh cut, so it had bark. I removed some with a hammer and chisel, and some came off by hand after sitting uncovered for a year. All that I have in my stacks is now barkless, except for some skinny branch wood. Fresh cut smell reminds me of licorice. The worst it gets is in the summer, when the bark is wet and rotting on the ground.
I guess growing up with dad cutting locust and splitting cords of it the smell doesn't bother me. I think it smells like BTU's. I keep all the bark that falls off for fire starter/kindling.
Back to the quest today. Been dying to get there again. Serious locust on the brain. I opted to cut in back rather than hack my way through the jungle in front digging sections of logs tossed aside when they cleared. The growth is so thick i can barely see logs from a couple feet away. Took the hedge clippers and cleared a good path to the second rootball. Another couple partial limbs on top of it. I sectioned the smalls and moved to the grass. Bucked the trunk all the way to the rootball, halved with the X27 and carried those to the truck. Maybe 100' walk. I started bringing the smalls in length to the front and pulled the loose bark. Debated on whether to cut and take or let dry for next time. DPW truck went by so i left quick. Hour and a half's work and took my time. Uncut lengths in foreground. Only a few inches of decay up the trunk affected the first bucked round only. No ants found. Biggest locust of the little ive ever bucked. Only used 16" bar on 261. Still cant get over the bizarre shape of locusts lower trunks. Havent used the little Husky since the Summer so i let it in on the fun. Cleared brush and bucked the smalls with it. Most of the bark stayed on these. Moved the barked splits to start a fourth pile. Split todays batch and stacked. Four rows of locust now. With all the smalls staged close to the road, i may go buck and load those tomorrow. Another top right next to the trunk i finished today. There are four good sized trees blown over farther back from where im cutting. Not sure if ill get those, but maybe three more small loads here to get. The quest goes on.
Yeah locust grows in some crazy shapes thats why its tough to make decent boards I get a lot of waste wood out of logs from the mill but on the good side I always have plenty for the stove JB
Good to see your still getting the locust. I’m looking forward to burning some next year, hope we have a cold winter next year!!
It's pretty neat that all that locust was nearly invisible. Like pulling rabbits out of a hat. That was a big grove that got knocked over by the hurricane.
tornado in May of 2018. Not a big one like you see in the midwest, but with so much tree cover they suffer the most. One of the other areas ive yet to cut locust was hit by the same one. One town West of me has vast amounts of oak toppled. Couple state parks nearby had lots of pine downed as well. A building (a pumping station i believe) there and ive pulled most of the wood from behind it. Not visible from the road. The mass tangle is in front.
The quest was on again. When i left last weekend several skinny rounds were left behind. Most i had debarked and the rain cleaned them up rather well. I went in back and pulled more skinny rounds and rather than buck there i loaded the PU. Moved them to the truck and loaded the other ihad moved to the front. I dug out more sections of logs they had tossed when tree was cleared. Well buried under the brush and weeds. Bucked another log off one very well buried trunk near where i was working. Will work it next time. Spent maybe an hour there. Took it to my friends and processed it all. Only stacked some splits. Let the next rain clean them up a bit. First pic stack before today Im guessing two more similar sized loads to get. A little farther up in back fromwhere ive worked there are four more decent sized trees to get. No rangles, just buck ans walk them out Hmmmm, should i get them now or wait til next year...maybe debark them? Still have site number three to work. Same conditions.
todays locust scrounge was not supposed to be part of the quest, but it got stacked with it. A surprise addition. Few rounds amongst others from today. All was processed. First pic, stack prior, second pic after. Barked stack growing.
Not a bad idea to debark them and leave them in the weather. They won't rot, and once the vines grow up in front of them, the wood may be invisible.
The trees in back are not seen from the road and i have no concern over someone taking them. Building blocks view of them too. Its state property i think. They are in a wooded area so overgrowth will be minimal unlike the front. Id just have to hack a path to them. I think most of them are elevated so debarking is a good idea. I could do it next Fall. As much as id like to get them now as it would bug me knowing they are still there i do have two other sources for locust that take president
jo191145 , the logs in the first pics here were sitting roadside for 4-5 years untouched. You had asked about this in the other thread. The logs i saw from "mission impossible" were mostly buried with leaves and smaller diameter. It wasnt a whole lot, but its locust. They were all frozen up with stuff on Sunday morning otherwise i mightve taken them. Maybe a weekend morning trip before Spring??? If the stuff doesnt rot then i can go later.
