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Main Boards => The Bowyer's Bench => Topic started by: Longcruise on March 08, 2021, 02:59:43 PM

Title: Black Locust
Post by: Longcruise on March 08, 2021, 02:59:43 PM

A non- bowyer friend of mine has alerted me that he will be cutting some black locust.   How would this work for self bows? 

Title: Re: Black Locust
Post by: Roy from Pa on March 08, 2021, 04:20:38 PM

Awesome bow wood, check out Mo_coon-catchers swap bow pictures in the progress thread.

Title: Re: Black Locust
Post by: Pat B on March 08, 2021, 05:00:21 PM

Like Roy said, black locust makes a very good bow although it can be finicky with poor tillering. It can also be beautiful under glass. Black locust also makes good fence posts and split rail fences if the wood isn't bow worthy.  :thumbsup:

Title: Re: Black Locust
Post by: Stagmitis on March 08, 2021, 05:27:18 PM

Makes a terrific lam...

Title: Re: Black Locust
Post by: George Tsoukalas on March 08, 2021, 07:37:49 PM

I cut my bow making teeth on it. Love it. Seal the ends promptly. It functions best with a heartwood back if there is not enough of it to make a bow. Chase a heartwood ring. Jawge

Title: Re: Black Locust
Post by: garyschuler on March 08, 2021, 08:27:47 PM

One of my favorite woods for laminations on laminated bows. Not my favorite to work with. When i lived in N.E. Wash. I would cut Black Locust along the Columbia river. Where it cones out of Canada to Kettle falls Wash.

Title: Re: Black Locust
Post by: Bowjunkie on March 08, 2021, 09:09:35 PM

A friend and I spent the afternoon today grinding quartersawn black locust lams in my shop for a glass bow he's going to make... mostly for carp hunting. They were really nice lams, dark, hard, well aged. He's had them for many years. Everything went well.

Title: Re: Black Locust
Post by: Roy from Pa on March 08, 2021, 09:12:44 PM

Bowjunkie, didn't happen without pictures:)

Title: Re: Black Locust
Post by: Bowjunkie on March 09, 2021, 06:10:53 AM

Didn't take pictures. It was just lam grinding, nothing spectacular  :dunno:

I'm still in love with my hinged aluminum sled though. I guess I could have taken a picture of it in action.

Title: Re: Black Locust
Post by: Roy from Pa on March 09, 2021, 06:15:00 AM

There's a lot of guys here that would love to see the sled and how it was made and used. Share some of that knowledge dude...

Title: Re: Black Locust
Post by: Flem on March 09, 2021, 08:38:37 AM

Heck yeah! I would love to see the custom sled

Title: Re: Black Locust
Post by: Bowjunkie on March 09, 2021, 09:50:36 AM

Ok. I'll post some pics and info soon. Maybe not today. It's my granddaughters birthday.

Title: Re: Black Locust
Post by: Roy from Pa on March 09, 2021, 10:02:53 AM

 :thumbsup:

Happy Birthday to her:)

Title: Re: Black Locust
Post by: Mo_coon-catcher on March 10, 2021, 10:32:59 AM

I love the stuff. In addition to the sapling bow for the bow trade, I just finished one for a buddy that’s a takedown. I like to use a 1 to 1 draw length to limb ratio, make it wide and heat treat until the belly is a deep purple. Makes for thin but snappy limbs. This one is 50# at 25” and throws a 600gr arrow right at 150fps. I feel it’s not bad for a short draw and heavy arrow. I just did a gentle tip flipping when I heat treated. After tillering I decided to cut it down and make a fiberglass takedown sleeve. He wants to put on the handle wrap so I left it as is. He’s going to put on a beaver tail wrap.

Kyle

Title: Re: Black Locust
Post by: Roy from Pa on March 10, 2021, 01:04:06 PM

 :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Title: Re: Black Locust
Post by: Longcruise on March 10, 2021, 01:52:29 PM

Very nice mo moon.

I'm trying to figure out how I can participate in this harvest.   He is seven hours away!  :o