Help! Black locusts posts delivered but are they locust?

[cowski]

fence post need to be cut in the winter ,when the sap is down.they last longer.i use 3 kinds bodock,ceder and black locust.i prefer ceder .bodock and ceder last the longest.i would not put up a fence with black locust cut in the summer.fences cost too much to build not to use good post.good ceder and bodock will outlast treated post.i defiantly would not use any oak or honey locust.but i would use black locust if it was cut with the sap down.

 

[Ken45101]

fence post need to be cut in the winter ,when the sap is down.they last longer.i use 3 kinds bodock,ceder and black locust.i prefer ceder .bodock and ceder last the longest.i would not put up a fence with black locust cut in the summer.fences cost too much to build not to use good post.good ceder and bodock will outlast treated post.i defiantly would not use any oak or honey locust.but i would use black locust if it was cut with the sap down.

I don't know, I've had some cedar posts deteriorate in a few years just laying on the ground. Why? I don't know.

The "lore" on black locust: "How do you know when to worry about a black locust post deteriorating? When you install it, you put a rock on the top. Check the rock every year. When the rock has deteriorated, you start worrying about the locust post"

Ken

 

[jonyyuma]

The rock idea sounds good, if it stays there? Will the post last longer with a metal cap? Ie aluminum sheet metal? I like cedar myself.

 

[arrow]

The rock idea sounds good, if it stays there? Will the post last longer with a metal cap? Ie aluminum sheet metal? I like cedar myself.

There is no comparison to black locust with cedar. Black locust will last over a hundred years as a fence post.

 

[mstraebel]

Thanks, everyone. I'm going to try to take some pictures today to post. I'll also try to see if the cross sections have those medullary rays. That's interesting!

 

[PapaPerk]

We're building a horse pasture fence of about 6 acres. Had initial order of black locust posts delivered today--about 120 of the 330 we've ordered. A carpenter friend was helping me. He said many of the posts looked very much like red oak to him. Now I am starting to worry. The order was specifically for black locust. I have a call into the supplier/lumberman, but is there any way I can verify for myself that I'm getting what I paid for which is black locust--not red oak.

Thanks for any advice.

Post a pic and we'll answer your question!

 

[cowski]

arrow are you sure that the hundred year old post was not bodock ,did you cut into it bodock is yellow? nothing will outlast bodock.i have averaged building a half mile of fence every year since i was a kid.i have used all three extensively along with cresote posts .i am nearly 50 years old i am having to replace cresote and black locust that i put in but not ceder and bodock ,they are still good.ceder varies in quality ,the best ceder comes from poor rocky slopes it will be red almost all the way through, with very little white around it.down south we have so much humidity that post do not last as long as up north.bodock is also known as osage orange.it is very hard wood.

 

[arrow]

arrow are you sure that the hundred year old post was not bodock ,did you cut into it bodock is yellow? nothing will outlast bodock.i have averaged building a half mile of fence every year since i was a kid.i have used all three extensively along with cresote posts .i am nearly 50 years old i am having to replace cresote and black locust that i put in but not ceder and bodock ,they are still good.ceder varies in quality ,the best ceder comes from poor rocky slopes it will be red almost all the way through, with very little white around it.down south we have so much humidity that post do not last as long as up north.bodock is also known as osage orange.it is very hard wood.

I am quite sure it was not Osage for a couple of reasons. Primarily, this is a flora of the Great Plains and first found in Texas. This fence of which I found a post of had to date back before 1888 or before RI's great fire which burned almost half the state. It was charred so it was in the fire. I found this post about 20 years ago and it had no rot once I pulled it out and examined it. Also, Osage burns like crap but black locust burns about as good as you would want a piece of wood to burn. Osage (if it grew here) would have exploded itself in this fire. New England was full of black locust. They used it for posting, fuel and even rr ties. Any cedar fencing I have put in was shot after 25 years. Black locust is a legend in these parts as the 100 year post. The only variables I can think of is that perhaps it is honey locust you are using or differentiated soil conditions and micro organisms attack certain woods more readily than others depending on the part of the country. After I found this post, I did bring it to the local library as the towns historian resided there. This gentleman was 88 years old at the time and gave me the complete history of the entire area as well as a nature lesson. This guy was hopping through my woods as if he was a 20 year old an found 2 more posts which he clearly identified as black locust. He died at a 102 but what a resource he was. I am puzzled why you are not getting the longevity purported to be inherent of black locust.

 

[Jeff Lary]

In my Opinion they are definety Black Locust .We have them by the millions anlog side the interstate here in central Maine.
I have cut thousands for the chipper they were planted at the request of lady bird Johnson when the interstate was first built. They chose them because of the slope stabilization they provided. They presented several choices to the wife of our president all of which would preform the task well and she choose these. Also she choose sumac not the poisionous kind.

 

[mstraebel]

Well, the supplier (or at least his office manager) has admitted that about 50% of what they sent was red oak, not black locust. The contract calls for black locust. The owner is on a week's vacation and out of cell phone reach. I'll be talking to him next week. Very disappointing to have this happen. It does not seem like an oversight. I think he was hoping we would not notice the difference.