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.

 

[jonyyuma]

Well. down here cedar has lasted nicely , i cut it off rocky ground i own..Don't have any black locust to cut. Last bodock I cut, i saw sparks coming from chainsaw? I see where you mean, but do what you gotta do..Crossties last twice as long with metal covers...

 

[rekees4300]

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.

Here is the life expectancy (in years) of some wood fence posts, from the Virginia Cooperative Extension:

Black locust, 20 to 25

Hickory, 5 to 7

Honeylocust, 3 to 7

Osage orange, 20 to 25

Red cedar, 15 to 20

Red oak, 5

Southern pine, 3 to 7

Sweetgum, 3 to 6

White oak, 10

Yellow-poplar (Tulip tree), 3 to 7

 

[jbooth]

Don't know much about the durability of black locust, but can attest to Osage Orange/bodock/hedge. I graduated from High School in 1960. The summer prior to graduation, I built some fence for eventual FIL. I don't know if anyone else has experienced this situation, but have you ever noticed how much smaller a tree looks when it is standing as opposed to when it is made into a post. Anyway I selected a good straight Osage orange tree for a post but when I got it down and cut to 8' length, I couldn't even lift one end. I set it with a winch truck. An elderly gentleman came by and told me "kid, don't you know anything, the ants will eat that post because you cut it in summer and it is still green". My only reply was "those ants had better bring a lot of help". Went by that same post a while back and it still has some of the bark on. The wire (new in 1959) looks worse than my posts. I believe that adds up to 50 - 52 yrs in the ground with no sign of giving out. I believe the only thing that will ruin this post in the next 50 yrs will be fire. This has nothing to do with the subject but I love to tell "sea stories".

 

[MarkV]

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.

Unless you are as rural as I am and suppliers are almost non existent, I would move to another supplier that was not going to try and lie to me. At the very least we would have a talk and there would be no question that future materials delivered would be as contracted. Boy that gets me going when someone tries to slip something by after you make a deal and agree on price.

MarkV

 

[mstraebel]

I chose him because he was one of the few supplier nearby that had black locust. We put 50% down and I would like him to make good on the deal and be done with him. I will do no further business with him. I am a female, and I don't believe he would have attempted this dishonest transaction with a male. Perhaps I am over-reacting, but I shook his hand and he clearly tried to pull the wool over my eyes.

 

[arrow]

I chose him because he was one of the few supplier nearby that had black locust. We put 50% down and I would like him to make good on the deal and be done with him. I will do no further business with him. I am a female, and I don't believe he would have attempted this dishonest transaction with a male. Perhaps I am over-reacting, but I shook his hand and he clearly tried to pull the wool over my eyes.

Could happen to any one of us. Dishonesty is not exclusive as I would wager that most people on this board have been shystered or at least the attempt made at some point. That is why as a cyber family, we are always trying to help each other to at least mitigate the predatory aspects of some members of our species.

 

[mkane09]

Last year, a fella on Craigslist near Crossville, TN advertised locust posts for sale. I e-mailed him and ordered 150. A few weeks later the big flood hit Nashville and he e-mailed back and said the flood put him behind a few weeks. No problem. Then, his wife was pregnant with their first child. A few more weeks. Then, something else.....yup, a few more weeks. Then one day, lo and behold, his WIFE e-mailed me and said he would never have the posts, that something had "come up". Strange...

But what caught my eye was your comment about shaking hands. What has happened in this country when your handshake means nothing? Isn't a man's (or woman's) word worth anything any more? This disgusts me no end......

mkane09

 

[whistlepig]

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.

Osage is what we call Hedge Apple here. And they grow very well here.

 

[shane]

They say around here that a bodock post will outlast three post holes.

 

[LarryD]

There are dishonest people every where, and they will scam whomever they can.

I had a project to laydown 2 miles of waterline with about 30 service connections. Since this was a govt. project everything had to be made in America. All the pipe was delivered as well as the valves. I was checking the materials for contract compliance and noticed all the valves were made in China. The sub-contractor apologized and said they must have made a mistake in the yard, those were for another job. Strange how the counts and sizes were the same as our project.