Black locust for planes / handles?

[Ben Fleis]

I have a local guy that sells black locust semi-green and cheap, and I was debating buying a few 4x4s and 2" thick pieces to pre-cut into lengths for future wood planes and handles, and start drying now. I have not worked with locust, but read about it's durability, strength and edge-destruction properties. So my thinking is that it may be a nuisance to shape and perfect, but hold up very well over time.

Anybody made tools from locust? Any thoughts on whether locust makes sense here? I have a couple small pieces of it, and my only concern is the open-grain factor. It doesn't seem to be any worse than red oak, and Finck himself made several planes from red oak (old growth though -- so may be tighter grain).

If locust isn't my best choice, suggestions for second best?

To provide some context, I just finished reading David Finck's hand planes book, hence the belief that I should just precut bodies for a whole set and give them the whole summer to dry. Then, I will be starting the 9 month program at the CFC in Maine, so I will have the time and motivation to make a whole set.

-b

[Michael Faurot]

I have not worked with locust, but read about it's durability, strength and edge-destruction properties. So my thinking is that it may be a nuisance to shape and perfect, but hold up very well over time.


I've not worked with locust either. If locust does turn out to be difficult or tedious to work, but is really hard and durable . . . Instead of making the whole plane body out of locust you could use it for just the sole and make the body out of something else.

[Don C Peterson]

I haven't worked with Locust before, but we have quite a bit in our area so I looked into it a while ago. Apparently Locust is pretty dense and kind of a pain to work, particularly with hand tools. It also shrinks quite a bit in drying so checking can be a problem. However, once it's dry it is pretty stable. Also it is tough stuff, so if you can get your hands on a piece it seems like it might be pretty good for a plane body. I've been thinking about doing the same thing.

[Dave Anderson NH]

I've turned any number of handles for tols out of Black Locust. It is hard and very durable, but produces very crisp and clean turnings if your tools are sharp. It is often the wood of choice for boatbuilders because of its resistance to rot and was the traditional New England wood for use as fence posts in the days before pressure treated was available. In fact the old joke used to be that one Black Locust fence post would outlast 6 post holes. As long as it is fully dried you should be just fine. Again, very sharp tools.

[Ben Fleis]

So long as I keep my blades sharp, it should work out, eh? I think I will have to pick up a few pieces and cut and stack... I will report back with results (planes) once they dry. Thanks.

-b

[John Shuk]

I saw a workbench made of Black Locust a few years back. It was amazing. Heavy would be an understatement.

[Tom Sontag]

I doubt that air drying alone will have those chunks ready to work by the end of the summer. Find a way to accelerate the drying but be careful since black locust prefers to dry slowly. Faster, but not too fast if you get my drift. Even then, I doubt the 4x4 will be ready for your purpose.

[Kevin Lucas]

I have never used locust in wood working but we used a lot for palings or fence posts for barbed wire fence. Its a wood that really holds up to weather and rotting from water when buried in the ground. My guess is it would make really nice parts and should look nice.

[Chuck Hamman]

It is often the wood of choice for boatbuilders because of its resistance to rot and was the traditional New England wood for use as fence posts in the days before pressure treated was available. In fact the old joke used to be that one Black Locust fence post would outlast 6 post holes. As long as it is fully dried you should be just fine. Again, very sharp tools.


We used it a lot on the farm for fence posts.
It's also very good for building forts. It was more years ago than I care to remember that I used a drawknife to debark about a hundred black locust logs for the first rebuild of the Hanna's Town fort.

http://www.starofthewest.org/html/hanna.html

Actually it was the second rebuild. The first rebuild came a couple of hundred years ago after the Indians burned it down. :eek:
B/L is very common in these parts, but I've never seen anybody build anything with it.

-Chuck