Locusts ?

[Steve bellinger]

Has anyone of ya'll ever turned locusts? I picked some up at my brothers in PA this past week. Have never turned it. so not sure what to expect.Put a piece on the lathe this am, and it all most looks like mesquite, and turns like what i remember turning mesquite.So i guess what i'm looking for is, does it stay as stable as the mesquite or does it have a tendency to warp and crack? Also how does it finish out? Don't really want to twice turn as i do know how hard it gets when it dries. Thanks for any help ya can give.

[Scott Hackler]

We have locust around here. It's the variety with the 5" double barbed, gonna get you, nastys on the tree! I always thought ours was "honey locust" but I am not for sure. Either way ITS HARD! I have only turned a couple things from it and decided I didn't really care for it. Hedge (osage orange) is hard enough, the locust seemed a lot harder to me. I don't think it had a lot of movement.

[Jim Burr]

I'm hoping you didn't unleash a plauge!! Other than that...you have a huge artist streak...so have a lash at it!!!

[Jamie Donaldson]

Scott, you do indeed have honey locust, as black locust has thorns more like a rose. Both varieties make good turning wood, assuming you have good sharp tools and can turn fairly thin to reduce cracking. BTW, black locust makes better fence posts than honey locust, but honey locust is prettier for turning!

[Scott Hackler]

That makes sense. Now that I think about it, I should probably try it again. When I had tried it before I was pretty new to turning and thinking back....my gouge was likely as sharp as a butter knife!


Now to find a suit of armour to get close enough to the tree to cut it down without impaling myself with thorns!

[Jamie Donaldson]

01-09.jpgI have found many creative uses for Honey Locust thorns over the years, and this series of "Flowers with Attitude" is an example. After you put such a thorn thru a tractor tire you realize how strong they can be, and then you have to plug the tire! I've had many horror stories about thorns related to me at shows, and the largest I've found on the property was 15" tall, and it also became a flower stem.

[Steve bellinger]

Jamie that's cool.Does this warp a lot or is is stable? Going thin ain't a problem, but i don't really like the looks of a piece that was warped.

[Chuck Jones]

Steve,
I think black locust is like every species; lots of variation from tree to tree. So take this for what it's worth. I have a bunch of it lying around, but it's all from the same tree. I've turned a few pieces from it, including a couple natural edge bowls that look pretty nice, but I'm not terribly excited about it. I turned the bowls from rough to finish. I've had some grain separation, but not much warping as I recall. I consider it a lot like mulberry and osage orange. Rot resistant, hard as the devil, some interesting colors, some chip out, etc., but just not especially pretty wood.

[Steve bellinger]

Steve,
I think black locust is like every species; lots of variation from tree to tree. So take this for what it's worth. I have a bunch of it lying around, but it's all from the same tree. I've turned a few pieces from it, including a couple natural edge bowls that look pretty nice, but I'm not terribly excited about it. I turned the bowls from rough to finish. I've had some grain separation, but not much warping as I recall. I consider it a lot like mulberry and osage orange. Rot resistant, hard as the devil, some interesting colors, some chip out, etc., but just not especially pretty wood.

Thanks Chuck that's he kind of stuff i'm looking for.

[Scott Lux]

A quick test to tell if it's black locust or honeylocust requires only a black light. Black locust fluoresces under UV. I agree with Jamie, both turn well, but honeylocust is prettier.