Black locust and other woods uses...

[Matt Follett]

So not to highjack Froggys post I thought I'd start anew...
Thanks OR for that clarification... I can see the wood being used for ships, seems very strong and light,

I've heard to that it is very root resistant, so I wonder why we see it so decayed around here, (there's lots of them) generaly insect damaged though, as opposed to punky from fugal activity, so perhaps that's the answer...

Anybody have any other neat wood uses besides the usual...

 

[trimmmed]

Yup, it turns great!

 

[Stumper]

It is a popular wood for selfbows-considered by some as second only to Osage. Also well liked as fencepost material in many areas.

 

[ORclimber]

What is a selfbow and how does yew wood fit into that equation?

I know a sawyer who has received orders for cottonwood fenceposts because horses won't chew on them. Eastern larch roots are the preferred material for standing knees(corner braces) in wooden boatbuilding. Rotten maple can be infused with resin and turned. Wide slabs including crotchwood have value for the grain pattern.

The thing that boggles my mind about wood is that the potential uses are only limited by ones imagination. Arborists throw or give it away every day. Somewhere out there is a swingblade mill with my name on it.

 

[Stumper]

A selfbow is a bow (Archer's implement) made of a single piece of wood. Spliced billets still qualify. The distinction is to indicate that the bow is not laminated or otherwise reinforced to enhance performance. Rawhide and cloth backings technically make a wooden bow a "reinforced bow". But in common parlance selfbow is an acceptable term until the reinforcement becomes a performance enhancing factor.(Things like sinew or fiberglass backings.)

Re: Yew. It is a matter of opinion. Some consider Yew the very best bow wood others prefer hardwoods.Yew is certainly a fine, historic bow wood. Black locust was a traditional bow wood of the Cherokees. Its performance closely parrallels Osage-being of similar density and properties.

 

[Matt Follett]

The waste of wood baffles me too...

We purcased our hiab so we could claim millable wood, now I have piles upon piles of wood I can't seem to find anybody to take!

I wish I could add a mill in to the business, but it's not in the budget right now..

Softwood, nobody seems to want it, and the hardwood just seems to turn into firewood...

Log buyers drive me mad, they seem worse then Arborists for showing up when they say, them hum and haw, and never give me an answer. I can't grade lumber, and I don't plan to, so give me what's fair and take it, or tell me it's worth nothing and I'll turn it into firewood, don't beat around the proverbial bush, tell me your sending another guy who won't show up, and then never call again. (sound bitter?, me? no, not at all)

If anybody has any thoughts on marketing small quantities, please give me some insight.

 

[ORclimber]

Treemachine has posted that he makes money by hiring someone with a portable sawmill and selling the lumber. You may be able to find a sawyer near you or some marketing ideas on forestryforum (.com). There are different ways that the portable millers may accept payment. Some cut by the hour, others by the board foot, or some will accept a share of the lumber. Your local sawyers should have ideas on what will sell. Unless things are different in Canada, you can hire a grader after the lumber is cut. Here only lumber used in construction needs to be graded.