Few locust q's

[PEARL DRUMS]

I cut some black locust in October. It was split and ends sealed that day. Today I took one down to a clean back and sealed it up. Its a thin stave about 2" wide tapering to 1 1/2" wide, about 2" deep now. How long does locust generally take to dry to a workable stave? More than whitewood and less than osage right  ? Dry heat later or steam bath now?


Thanks one and all experienced locust folks!

[Eric Garza]

A good rule of thumb that i've heard is one year for every inch of thickness in the smallest dimension. So if your stave is up to 2 inches wide, that would mean about 2 years of seasoning before it's time to use it. But black locust is an oilier wood so it will release its moisture more slowly, so if it were mine I'd probably wait at least 3 or 4 years. But that's just me.

[Buckeye Guy]

Pearl
I vote for a steam bath now it will speed up the drying!
Don't forget to shellac it first !
Guy

[PEARL DRUMS]

Your official vote has been recorded Guy.........even if you are stinkin'  BUCKEYE !!!!. I have never touched locust before now. It was very "osagey" smelling and feeling when I worked the back down with my drawknife. This is all new to me.

[George Tsoukalas]

It takes as long as it takes. Depends on where you love, PD. I cut some a year ago but left the bark on. It was at 12%. You have a mc meter? Jawge

[Buckeye Guy]

Watch it there Pearly !
I resemble that remark ! ( a worthless nut )
And I know how to find Ya ! LOL
Guy

[MWirwicki]

Drums:  Yep, Black Locust is like Osage.  I believe that they're in the same family, genus, species...well you know.  Pretty good bow wood.  If I had tons of wood, I would wait at least a year before working it.  If not, I would reduce it a little at a time. 

What works for me is to debark, de-sap and establish a growth ring.  Seal the back (not the belly) and wait a couple-three weeks.  After that, draw out the bow profile then cut it out but leave 1/4 to 1/2-inch outside of your bow dimensions.  Do not cut into the handle section.  Seal the sides that you cut and again, not the belly.  Set it aside again for a couple weeks.  After that time has passed, cut closer to your bow dimension lines but leave about 1/8-inch and again, don't cut out the handle, trim a bit off of the belly, reseal the new sides.  Set aside another couple of weeks.   Sealing the sides after reducing the bow wood seems to allow the moisture to only leave the wood through the belly (unsealed) surface.  The idea being sealing those areas prevents the side checks as well as the back checks.  After that couple of weeks, I would then attempt to cut out the handle, reduce the belly some more and reseal the handle.  Finally, I then further reduce the belly to a floor tillerable bend, seal the entire stave then steam and clamp to a form.  I don't have a moisture meter and this slow methodical reduction worked well for me. 

[okie64]

You're gonna love that locust PD. Built my first bl bow a couple months ago. I had a couple of huge logs that I roughed a couple of staves out of and let them sit for a couple of years in the shop. The sapwood is like osage and will check everywhere if not removed. I've heard some say that if bl isnt seasoned well it will develop frets badly. If you got other wood to work with I would let the locust sit for a year or two.

[PEARL DRUMS]

Thanks all, very good info. I have plenty of wood, but no black locust dry enough. I have plenty of it so I may try Matts method on this one. Matt has built 2 or 3 bows so it must work sometimes.....right Matt? You know what Im working on at Martys in January!

okie I plan on letting the rest of the stash stay put for a good while, just a BL hankering took over and Im trynt to feed it!

George I do not have any meters. Most staves are close enough I can tell the minute my ferriers rasp touches it if its good to go or not.

[crooketarrow]

  My first 2 bows were BL sinew backed from fence posts. And have made a few since then. BL is a cousin to OSAGE  I waited about year and a half on one 2 to 5 on others. The year and a half bow turner out nice.
  I say taken down and sealed but where it's warm a year would make a bow. Ahot box would be faster. But becarefull if you but it in a hot box. LEAVEING TO LOT WILL MAKE IT BRITTLE.

[PEARL DRUMS]

No hot box, but I do keep all my staves indoors where its 70 degrees year round.

[Hrothgar]

Pearl, I had one bad experience with borers in BL. Probably the sooner you debark your staves and seal them the better. Love working with BL.

[Pat B]

I cut my bow building teeth on locust over 20 years ago. I could buy fence rails for about $5 when I started. I probably ruined 50 good BL staves(fence rails) before I gave up on it. A few years ago I went back to give locust a try with better results. I think I had matured as a bowyer by then. 
  Start out long and wide like you would with whitewood. BL takes well to heat treating also.
  The bores that I have noticed on locust attack the live tree. Not the same bug as with osage.
  If you get your stave down to floor tiller stage it should dry relatively fast inside your house. It won't be the same wood as well seasoned locust but should make a pretty good bow anyway. I built a locust Eastern Woodland style(donated to the Tenn Classic last year) bow and that style worked very well with locust. Before being forced to Oklahoma the Cherokee preferred locust for their bows.

[druid]

Eric, that rule has no sence.
With kitchen scale we know when our wood is dry.
Pearl, I work a lot with bl. Split it, reduce to near bow dimensions and do not remove bark. If core is in that stave it will probably crack to the core if drying too fast. If core is removed then it is safe to dry, in 99% percents. Slowly, for a month or so you will have dry wood. I dried that way wood for my 125# flatbow, it is totaly OK.
P.S. I think that mulberry is osage's cousin, not locust.

[mikekeswick]

I 2nd what Druid says - spot on.
There is no difference between quick dried wood and wood that has been left for years. If it's at the same mc it will react EXACTLY the same. Wood doesn't know that it's been sat around for years....it's inanimate....! Mc level is all that matters. Anyway a log could sit around for 10 years but be in high humidty and still not be dry enough.