The ravishing Mrs ERJ makes a pretty fair lumberjack.
We dropped 4 Black Locust out of a stand of Norway Spruce. They were suckers from a common stem that had been damaged by deer polishing their antlers some 25 years ago.
Since they were of a common age and identical genetics they were of a similar size. They were 9" in diameter at the butt and 6" diameter at 16'. I was able to get 4 "logs" out of them before they petered out to too small for fence posts.
I expect to get 7-to-9 usable posts out of each stem by splitting the two bottom logs.
Using a dry-density of 50 lb/cubic foot, the four logs have a dry matter content of about 320 pounds. The tops are not extensive but they will be harvested for firewood.
The bottom log has an estimated weight of 200 pounds wet-weight. That means picking up one end requires being able to lift 100 pounds. Manageable but I wouldn't want it to be any heavier. The remaining three logs are about 140, 80 and 40 pounds respectively...assuming 1.5" of taper per 8' log.
I wish I had black locusts for fence posts. U used a variety of other trees, coated the underground portion with roofing tar, and got about 5-6 years out of them.
ReplyDeleteUpgrading to cedar as I replace the rotting ones. However I have a few really thick trunks I'm not looking forward to splitting...
We have a number of different Locusts here on the Balm of Gilead Farm but I think the Black is my favorite if it is the one that has the ultra fragrant cascading white flowers in the spring . This whole hill smells heavenly when those Locusts bloom .
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