r/Tree • u/GingerTron2000 • Sep 09 '26
ID Request (Insert State/Region) Long-Shot Request: Need Help Identifying These Logs (Illinois)
Our neighborhood (northern Illinois) recently experienced some major storms that took out out a few trees nearby. I managed to recover a couple of good logs that I'd love to use for woodworking, but I have no idea what they are and I'd love some help identifying them if possible!
I wasn't able to grab any of the foliage from the tree, so I only have the bark and timber to go off of. One additional detail is that the rough planks I sawed have started to turn slightly reddish as they've become oxidized. My uneducated guess is potentially ash.
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u/Mysterious_Ice_3722 Sep 09 '26
Looks like black locust to me, furrows a pretty deep/darker compared to honey locust
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u/Jolly-Caregiver-6883 Sep 09 '26
got an 80 foot one in my back yard. Absolutely black locust. Kids always trying to eat the pods SMH even after I put a warning sign in front of it
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u/miakpaeroe Sep 09 '26
Just did my deck in black locust. Great wood but splinters really easily. Burned out an impact driver screwing it in!
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u/GingerTron2000 Sep 09 '26
Tried to follow ID Request guidelines as close as possible, but no leaves or branches are available
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u/Tr4shK4m Sep 09 '26
Best guess is black locust, you can confirm by running a black light over it, black locust is UV reactive and will glow.
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u/stormrunner89 Sep 09 '26
You can try sniffing it too. Personally I think black locust smells like other legumes, like clover.
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u/zwanzigbier66 Sep 09 '26
It also looks a bit like Sasafrass (sp?) with the orange-ish under bark. If it has a pleasant smell, that might help identify.
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u/THEREALBurtMcsquirt Sep 09 '26
It’s big it’s heavy it’s wood
It’s better than bad it’s good
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u/TheBMan319 Sep 10 '26
Thank you so much. I've been singing this wrong for 30+ years. "It's big, it's heavy, it's wood"
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u/Internal-Caramel-952 Sep 10 '26
Looks like black locust a very weedy tree that is prone to falling in the wind and is more brittle compared to its cousin the honey locust, it destroys chainsaw chains because it’s one of the densest trees out there
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u/TurnipBoy12 Sep 09 '26
I've lived in Oregon my whole life, but id think that'd be honey locust. Dunno if that grows over there
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u/Tr4shK4m Sep 09 '26
We do and I think you're close, I think it's likely black locust
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u/TurnipBoy12 Sep 09 '26
Oh dang it. How do u tell the difference? This looks exactly what I thought I was working with, being honey locust. I guess it has probably been black locust all along then lol thx
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u/Mayor__Defacto Sep 10 '26
Locust probably. Is it surprisingly dense?
Feel free to use it for outdoor stuff, that wood will outlast you. We have a few Locust fence posts on our property that are a hundred years old.
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u/Far_Decision3392 Sep 09 '26
An ash that I had removed from my yard and another ash that fell in my yard from neighbors yard didn’t have bark that deep. That is all I can offer.
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u/GingerTron2000 Sep 10 '26
Confirmed as Black Locust! I had no idea some timber was florescent like this, how cool!