locust

[jim carter]

anybody ever turn locust. i have access to few logs and the end grain looks interesting.

[George Guadiane]

Both honey and black locust are beautiful. I like turning them wet.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Got some honey locust off e-bay, turned a winged bowl. Interesting wood. Nice color and grain, but it's all the same color, more or less. Not a lot of color variation. Kinda reminded me of oak, open grained, but very easy to turn. No tear out problems. Hard wood. Really hard wood. Keep it. Turn it. It's nice wood.

[alex carey]

good stuff, go for it.

[Steve Frederick]

I turn a lot of it. It's a common weed in my area.
I turn it wet. Sometimes I go right to wet-sand and allow to dry.
When rough turning and waiting, the wood hardens up like iron, so sharp tools are a great benefit when taking it to finish.
The grain can get very interesting. Stuff here can have radial streaks and a sort of fiddle back.
Color can vary from olive/brown to a light yellow.

[Burt Alcantara]

Go to the AAW site and look up Ed Koenig. He turns a lot of locust and his work is breath taking.

[curtis rosche]

it is very very hard when dry. the pith can crack. but the peices i have made the cracks are just visible, less than 1/32 of seperation

[Bernie Weishapl]

Jim I have turned a bunch of honey locust and black locust. Turns really well when wet but black locust is like put concrete on the lathe it is that hard. Sharp, Sharp tools when finish turning dry. It is some pretty stuff when done.

[Jim Underwood]

I roughed out one bowl of Black Locust last year. It like to beat me to death... :p

I'm looking forward to the finished product though. I've made several spindle projects (including a tool handle) out of the stuff, and it's a beautiful yellow/brown color. And hard. Man it's hard.

Get it. turn it. Enjoy it.

[jim carter]

thanks for the input. the piece i starter turning was from a branch that broke off of the main tree. about 6" diameter. i stuck a log on the lathe and found out that is was bone dry. after many sharpenings, i put it on a shelf for awhile. i will cut a green branch from that tree and try it.

[Dick Strauss]

Jim,
We have honey locust all over the place here in NW OH. The local heartwood has a nice range of colors from orange to salmon while the sapwood has a pale yellow tint to it.

It is really hard when it is dry. Try to turn the majority of it while it is wet if possible.

[Scott Conners]

These are both locust - black I think. Standing deadwood, about 8" around at the biggest, and it has thicker bark. The wood wasn't completely dry, but i turned both to finish. The thick bowl got a very small crack in the inside bottom over time, the other is very thin and didn't move at all. It's a very hard dulling wood but takes a natural oil finish very well and is really pretty.
Locust, Watco natural and buffed followed by Renaissance wax. 4"Wx1.5"T
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/picture.php?albumid=153&pictureid=1563
Locust, Watco natural and buffed followed by Renaissance wax. 4"Wx1.5"TLocust Bowl, Watco natural and buffed ~6"
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/picture.php?albumid=153&pictureid=1505