Fencing.....

theboman · Aug 12, 2012

So, looks like fence buildin' is happening soon here atop Iron Hill... A good fence needs good corners, good corners means good posts...$17 each for the big boys at TSC... EUREKA!!! Found 3 BIG black locust at the bottom of the hill, and I do believe there are several others! I'm talking 60' plus trees!!! LOTS of nice posts!!

Also, the Iron Hill shed is gettin' an addition to get the future horse out of the weather too. Posts are cut, lookin' around for some rough lumber to make the 16x24 a 16x32 (maybe 16x36 shed).

BUSY!! Real estate is doing pretty good this year and the construction job is AWESOME!!

rswyan · Aug 12, 2012

theboman said:
So, looks like fence buildin' is happening soon here atop Iron Hill... A good fence needs good corners, good corners means good posts...$17 each for the big boys at TSC... EUREKA!!! Found 3 BIG black locust at the bottom of the hill, and I do believe there are several others! I'm talking 60' plus trees!!! LOTS of nice posts!!

Sweet !

I just discovered about a month ago we have black locust growing here as well, including some that are 40' to 60' tall. I eventually would like to have them milled and use them for the lumber to replace/rebuild our deck, but I still have to survey to see if there are enough of them.

They are a "pioneer species", popping up where land has been cleared or disturbed, and very fast growing. I cleared out a little section of woods a few months ago and had several volunteers pop up as a result - they are now almost 2' tall. They spread via both their seeds and via an underground root system.

They can be cultured (grown and harvested repeatedly) by using coppicing:

Coppicing

theboman said:
Also, the Iron Hill shed is gettin' an addition to get the future horse out of the weather too. Posts are cut, lookin' around for some rough lumber to make the 16x24 a 16x32 (maybe 16x36 shed).

BUSY!! Real estate is doing pretty good this year and the construction job is AWESOME!!

LOL .... good to hear.

Sounds like you have your work cut out for ya ....

turnkey4099 · Aug 12, 2012

rswyan said:
Sweet !

I just discovered about a month ago we have black locust growing here as well, including some that are 40' to 60' tall. I eventually would like to have them milled and use them for the lumber to replace/rebuild our deck, but I still have to survey to see if there are enough of them.

They are a "pioneer species", popping up where land has been cleared or disturbed, and very fast growing. I cleared out a little section of woods a few months ago and had several volunteers pop up as a result - they are now almost 2' tall. They spread via both their seeds and via an underground root system.

They can be cultured (grown and harvested repeatedly) by using coppicing:

Coppicing

LOL .... good to hear.

Sounds like you have your work cut out for ya ....

Milled B Locust? I don't think I have ever seen any. The way it checks and cracks as it dries and is very splinter prone I doubt it couild be used for decking.

Out here all the B. Locust non-native, imported by settlers mostly. About 15 years ago the Locus Borer moved in and killed off a lot of it, almosst evey tree still alive shows damage from them. I have been harvesting them for firewood for over 6 years, have around 50 cords split and piled now. Still have 3 trees to do after harvest. Those will probably be my last as I should have enough now to last the rest of my time.

Harry K

theboman · Sep 7, 2012

Back locust one of the stoutest trees in the world with a very tight grain...used as mine poles, etc., Many locust get split, or quartered with a mill of some sort or chainsaw (heck on blades I've been told...). I know some honey locust that's been in the ground my entire life, well, nearly I helped dad work on that fence when I was 12-13.... I'm now 15, oh, 51.

creekbend · Sep 8, 2012

Best wishes in regards to your fencing projects. Do you have many rocks on your place? Our property is not mountainous, only rolling small hills and meadows, but when I put up fencing several years ago, rocks were everywhere. Granite and limestone are the main types. I rented a skid steer and wore out two auger bits. Sincerely hope that you aren't confronted with any digging problems.

Haoleguy · Sep 9, 2012

theboman said:
Back locust one of the stoutest trees in the world with a very tight grain...used as mine poles, etc., Many locust get split, or quartered with a mill of some sort or chainsaw (heck on blades I've been told...). I know some honey locust that's been in the ground my entire life, well, nearly I helped dad work on that fence when I was 12-13.... I'm now 15, oh, 51.

I'm just getting to the dimensioned black locust I purchased last year. It has not moved a bit. No checks or warps. For those thinking of decking the only issue will be the weight and the need to pre-drill the screws. ....Gary