Black locust sapling

[NewBowyer]

I cut this black locust today, popped the bark off, and sealed the ends. Wondering how much of the sapwood to remove to get down to what will be the back. Do I remove all the whiter wood, clear down to the dark wood in the center? Or just the softest, outermost layers? I’ll seal the back once I’ve done that but I don’t want to cut too deeply and ruin the back. Is this usually done with a draw knife? It’s around 3-4” diameter. Thanks.

[NewBowyer]

Also, any ideas on uses for the bark? I was thinking maybe a quiver? I Googled it but didn’t get much good info so I figured I’d ask the REAL experts!  Thanks.

[dylanholderman]

you might have to keep some or all of the sapwood with how small diameter your stave is, other guys have more experience with black locust so wait for them.
you can make a quiver from the bark i did with black walnut bark, but put it around a piece of PVC pipe of the right size or something else round until it is dry or else it will curl up like a cinnamon stick.

[Hamish]

Always heavily coat the exposed back with several coats of glue or sealer. Locust loves to check and split when drying.

If the sapwood is healthy you don't need to remove it. You can take off several layers so you will have some heartwood on the belly. You probably wouldn't get a good stave of all heartwood because its a small diameter log.

[Hamish]

You would need to take off 4 rings before you get down to all heartwood. If it was my stave I would take off 2 rings, maybe 3.

I would also split the stave at least into halves, maybe even quarters, to reduce chances of splitting.

[NewBowyer]

I've tried splitting some maple that size and it ALWAYS twists and warps, is there much chance of that with locust? I think it's too small diameter to split into quarters but halves could be possible, I'm just afraid of ending up with 2 twisted & bent staves instead of one straight one. Appreciate all the advice & I'll work down the back & belly and seal the back. Hoping I can see the rings well enough in that wet wood that I can get it down to all one ring on the back.

[Hamish]

There is always a risk with small diameter staves twisting, regardless of the species. Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't. You can get around it by working it into a roughed out stave, and tying it down to a thick plank or beam. You can put blocks under the tips to insure it dries with an even reflex.

[bassman]

With Walnut, and Birch staves that size green  I lay the stave out, and reduce it to floor tiller with an ax,and draw knife, and rasp.I don't split it. Put it on a form,and clamp it down. I let mine dry at around 62 degrees in my basement . After it is dry ,and if your stave is big enough you can chase a ring or two.

[bownarra]

With Walnut, and Birch staves that size green  I lay the stave out, and reduce it to floor tiller with an ax,and draw knife, and rasp.I don't split it. Put it on a form,and clamp it down. I let mine dry at around 62 degrees in my basement . After it is dry ,and if your stave is big enough you can chase a ring or two.

Yes me too.
Trying to split small staves will give you a lot of tomato stakes!
Pick the best side for the back with regarding to how any knots will then angle through the stave.
You do not want any knots going sideways into the stave. Best to position any knots right in the middle of the back or belly eg. going straight through not angling through the future limb profile. For me that is the skill with small staves.
I would remove a couple of layers of sapwood.
Use a drawknife for the first layer, then finer tools like maybe a spokeshave, rasp etc to get close then switch to a scraper.
Seeing as you have only just cut it, don't try and get the back perfect. Wait until it is dry to finish the ring chasing (when the wood is hard).

[NewBowyer]

Well I roughed out the basic shape today but I worked only the belly, planning to remove a ring or 2 from the back after it was starting to dry. Like an idiot, as I was thinning the belly, I completely forgot to account for the thickness of the ring(s) I’d be removing later from the back, so I might have thinned it too much. BUT, it’s still pretty thick, over an inch, so hopefully there’s enough wood left even with whatever I remove from the back. And Hamish mentioned I could even leave the sapwood if it’s healthy, and it seems to be, so I might leave the back as is. One more (likely stupid) question- should I seal just the back and sides, or the belly too? Thanks, all.

[Hamish]

Its  the back and end grain that need to be protected. Not necessary to seal the belly unless there is a large exposed knot. If you are making a stiff handled design with a deep riser you should seal the exposed end grain at the fades/dip.