Black locust

[koan]

serviceb. wipe the back with a damp cloth, this helps make the seperate growth rings visable....Brian

[Hillbilly]

Chasing a ring is done as much by feel and hearing as by sight. After fooling with it awhile, you can easily tell the difference between the spongy/crunchy early growth and the harder late growth. What tools are you using?

[servicebeary]

I'm using primarily my draw knife for this part, but scraping a little with my pocket knife as well, I've blown past a couple heart wood rings and am getting close to ruining the stave.  oh well, it's free BL, tons of it around Idaho, and I've got 2 serviceberry staves and a yew to work with anyhow.  I'm think that my drawknife might be a little dull since I'm not able to get very small shavings at all.  Or is that just this hard BL?  thanks again hillbilly

[Hillbilly]

BL is really hard wood. Plus a slightly dull drawknife is better for chasing rings than a really sharp one. Be sure to use the drawknife with the bevel down. If you use it with the flat side down it'll dig in.