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Black Locust

B

Ben-Jammin

Oct 29, 2008
18
0
#1
An old neighbor of mine is a wood turner and got his hands on a pile of black locust when they were building a new street here about 10 years ago. His clients don't like the wood because it turns a "funny" color so he'd be willing to give it to me -- has anyone used this for a bass? If so for what? Neck, fretboard?... the stuff is hard as rock so my first impression is that it would be ideal.

Let me know,
Ben
 
#2
Hey Ben-J

I've also just got a hold of some "honey" locust and have been wanting to build a fretless bass of it. It's heavy stuff and I presume it should have great sustain qualities. I too am wondering if there's a luthier out there that has worked with this heavy/hard wood. I managed to get a couple of pieces with a quilt/flame type pattern that has been air drying for around 20 years.
 
#4
I've got a bit of it drying, the only problem I see with the wood I have is it's full of knot like defects from where thorns were. It has heartwood that is pink which is kinda cool. The stuff I have has been drying a couple of years and has not moved much at all so my guess would be it's fairly stable. If you have a section that is clear enough for a neck blank or for stringers it would probably work well. I smoked a table saw blade cutting mine down, that stuff is hard!
 
#5
It's excellent firewood! Seriously...it's really fibrous, dense and will burn forever. As for instruments, I've heard people using it to make bows but never for an electric bass body. Could be interesting...
 
#6
black locust has excellent rot resistant properties and is used for fence posts etc. It may be a good substitute for dense exotic woods. A whole bass might be heavy but a finger board or neck might be cool. I read that the wood may have toxic properties so do some research before you start milling and sanding it.
 
#7
Great firewood yes. Once you get it split - that fiborosity makes it a pain to split. I've got a ton of Honey Locust in the yard and it loves to drop dead branches, and there's a good size one that I am going to take down soon to get better light on my garden.

I would like to know about the difference between Honey and Black Locust too.
 
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#8
roberthelpus said:
Great firewood yes. Once you get it split - that fiborosity makes it a pain to split. I've got a ton of Honey Locust in the yard and it loves to drop dead branches, and there's a good size one that I am going to take down soon to get better light on my garden.

I would like to know about the difference between Honey and Black Locust too.
Click to expand...

That's what the hydraulic splitter is for! :D

As for the wood's toxic properties, it's not toxic. The thorns will give ya a hell of a prick and it may itch, but I've never had any adverse reactions from it and have never heard anything of the like, 20+ years helping out on a farm where black locust grows rampant.
 
#10
Black locust (Robinia psuedoacacia) "false acacia", leaves are pinnate. Honey Locust (Gleditisia triacanthos), leaves are bipinnate. The most striking difference between the two is the fact that black locust tree has short thorns, similar to a rose bush. Honey locust has very long, straight thorns, some use to use them as nails.
 
#15
roberthelpus said:
http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Black_locust_uses.html

Hmm, that could be good or bad for a bass, but I'm definitely making me some claves anyway.
Click to expand...

Xylophones are often made of rosewood, so it may indicate that locust has similar qualities. Other dense woods used in bass making are commonly used for xylophones and marimbas as well, like wenge and padauk, so good percussion wood seems to mean good bass wood (a huge generalization obviously).
 
#16
I got a mug made out of honey locust at the Michigan Ren fair. According the the guy who made it, the wood is excessively hard. He had resharpen his tools several times to finish a few mugs. Also, it was his preferred material for making hammers. Hope this info is useful.
 
#20
I'd make a bass(or guitar) out of it in a heartbeat. IMHO, I don't think there's a hardwood out there( nor most soft woods, like pine, cedar, spruce, etc) that I wouldn't try. As long as it's seasoned well, it's fair game. MHO. If it's heavy, chambers can be used.
I have been reading a couple of discussions on possible domestic(North American) fingerboard woods. Black locust, according to some, is a contender. At the very least, i'd try it out for that.
 

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