Can these black locust poles last at least 10 years?

Hi. I want to use them as poles for a small vineyard. I removed the bark with an hatchet and now i want to let them dry until summer at least. Can they last 10 years even if don't remove the sapwood? Will sapwood dry? I can't do it with an hatchet and poles would become too small i think.

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Hi Simon,

The [img][/img] BB Code only works for the image not the page address. Try using this - I got the link by right clicking on the image and selecting 'copy image address'.

[img]https://i.imgur.com/Uu19RG7.jpeg[/img]

Some of the image sharing sites won't let you share the image directly, they make their money by people visiting the page the image is on and then serving up adverts. That's not the case for imgur fortunately.

And welcome to Permies!

Great question. I'm sure someone will be along soon to help.

In the meantime, you might want to check this post:

https://permies.com/t/42310/Black-Locust-fence-posts

There's some good suggestions on extending the life of fence posts

Thank you for your replies.
I also tried to use 'attachments' but it doesn't seem to work.

These are Simo’s poles

oh yeah, and then some. i have locust fence posts that are smaller than that and weren’t even debarked that have been in the ground for at least 12 years, probably longer.

Thanks now everyone can see them.

I had to cut those trees anyway to clean the area, so i decided to try to use them.
Old people from my place only use chestnut trees to craft poles, so i don't know very much about black locust, even if they are everywhere.
Sapwood is quite thick, i hope it will dry with time.

I will soon sharpen them and when they will be ready i want to burn the part that goes underground. Maybe the'll last longer

Howdy

Locust is one of those hardwoods that has its own oily preservative grown into it. The pieces I have worked with in carving didn't need any oil to shine them up, you just keep rubbing it. I would love to have a floor made of locust.

Locust has been used for in ground posts for centuries, by different cultures. Never will understand why people want to use toxic treated wood products. When I am "planting" wood post, I like to remove bark and sapwood for anything that will be below ground. I see so little on the poles you have peeled, you would probably not have a problem with rotting. Some posts will outlive us. Because of the natural oils in locust, I wouldn't burn them. You could always experiment, and burn a few, etc... to see if there is any difference.

Like Greg said,
"i have locust fence posts that are smaller than that and weren’t even debarked that have been in the ground for at least 12 years, probably longer."

Ok cool.
I'll have no problem replacing them when they'll begin to rot, because there is plenty of trees. But with a chainsaw and an hatchet is hard work and requires a lot of time. So if they could last some time would be great.
And i only need 16 of them, 4 rows of 4, they won't have to sustain a lot of weight.

I have locust fenceposts that my father put in around 60 years ago that are still strong enough to hold wire (if I wanted to put a fence line back). Some of these are in damp locations, too. Locust will probably outlive you. I wouldn't worry about removing sapwood; it may rot below ground, but that won't affect the heartwood from my experience.

Great, so it seems that i made the right choice.

I want to use wood instead of concrete or iron, wood is natural and free. And my project is quite small too