black locust stock ?

[bob in the woods]

Is black locust of any use as a stock wood ?   

[Hungry Horse]

 I think it would be pretty hard to work. they used it in the past to peg the corner logs together on log cabins. It's pretty tough stuff.

   Hungry Horse

[Acer Saccharum]

I never worked the stuff, but I've heard it works OK green, but is tough on tools when dry.

It's not a traditional stockwood for longrifles.

[rich pierce]

I use black locust for bows.  It usually has a lot of internal stress.  When dried, it will twist like a pretzel sometimes.  It is a rare piece that lacks defects.  It is among the heaviest amd hardest American hardwoods and is plain as a plain bagel.  It is incredibly rot resistant when seasoned and makes great fence posts.  I'd consider using it for a musket that would not fire reliably, so it would be a durable club.

[Kermit]

Back in my traditional woodenboat days, I used it for things like cleats, block cheeks, and thole pins. Tough, wear resistant, virtually rot proof. Heavy, and I can't imagine working it up for a stock.

[Herb]

A professor of English at Upper Iowa University who was from West Virginia told me that black locust fence posts would last 40 years.

[bob in the woods]

Thanks everyone. A friend has a bunch of it, and offered it to me, saying that it would make a nice stock !   I haven't seen any of it on my property, and hadn't heard of it used before, except for a buddy of mine who did make a bow from a piece.
Maybe I'll use some for chisel handles, or fence posts for around my chicken house.

[Long John]

I would use locust for bows, tool handles, wagons etc. but not for a rifle stock.  As others have stated it is quite rot resistant but also known for stress checks when dried.  Since I keep my guns inside rot resistance is not something I need in a gun.  The mechanical strength is good but comes at a price of stress checks and warping during drying.

One issue to keep in mind is that all the locust species tend to accumulate silicates in the heart wood.  Silicates are minerals that are very abrasive and dull tools aggressively.  This makes locust very difficult to work because your tools loose their edge so quickly.  Don't us it for ramrods either - it will wear the muzzle crown far more aggressively than other woods.

Best Regards,

John Cholin

[Keb]

AKA: Kentucky Coffee Wood. It makes very good barn lumber, fence posts & fire wood. Most of the old black tobacco barns & fencing around all them pretty horse farms in the blue grass state are creosote treated locust. I burned a bunch of it when I was a young man trying to raise a family down Kentucky way. I'd not ever consider using it for stock wood.

[Scota4570]

Speaking of weird woods, I got a couple of stock blanks of 1/4 sawn Satinwood. I got them from a gun stock merchant.  The wood looks like over the top fiddle back. My research says it is very strong, a bit heavy, stable, tough to work, and expensive.  Anyone know anything about it?

[JV Puleo]

The old New England expression is "lasts 40 years longer than stone." Curiously, my property is covered with it... its a PIA because the immature trees have ferocious thorns. I've just spent a 2 weeks clearing out around 4 of them I have to take down. Finding one large enough to make a stock might be a problem and the stuff is extremely tough and splintery. I believe one of the first steam driven icebreakers was built of it.

[whitebear]

.
Maybe I'll use some for chisel handles, or fence posts for around my chicken house.

If you are going to use it for fence post predrill the nail holes.  When I was younger working on my uncles farm we bought and used black locust for fence post and it is almost impossible to drive a nail into when dried.  It last forever but takes forever to nail.  (The voice of experience speaks)

[rich pierce]

I bent over many a staple running barbed wire fence with black locust posts. Keb, I believe the Kentucky Coffee Bean Tree is not Robinia pseudoacacia.

[Long John]

Satinwood is a golden-colored, tropical hardwood, I believe from the Indian subcontinent, with very fine grain and typically has delightful curl.  It cuts and machines beautifully and will take on a very fine polished surface. It is a highly aromatic wood and the scent of freshly worked satinwood is very sweet and perfumy.  Be careful - satinwood has the reputation for triggering severe allergic reactions in woodworkers.  The dust from sanding has caused severe skin rashes and lung irritation.   I believe OSHA has published warnings in the use of satinwood.

It has been used for very expensive furniture, carvings and musical instruments.  I don't have enough experience with it to comment in its suitability for gunstocks.  Certainly something like pistol grips could be made of it.

Now you know all I know about satinwood.

Best Regards,

John Cholin

[kaintuck]

A professor of English at Upper Iowa University who was from West Virginia told me that black locust fence posts would last 40 years.

TOMTOM had one in his pen as a scratching post, it WAS 12" in dia~ 5 yrs later, it was 5"......he's a very big kitty.....and tough!

[Ky-Flinter]

AKA: Kentucky Coffee Wood......

As Rich correctly pointed out, the Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) and the Kentucky Coffeetree (Gymnocladus dioicus) are not the same tree. 

-Ron

[Keb]

I never thought it'd happen but I must be mistaken. There is a first time for everything, don't you know.

[Old Ford2]

Keb!
If you lived with my wife, she would remind you every day!
Fred

[draken]

In a bygone era black locust when available was preferred for footers in cabin building because of its resistance to rot.  Accordingly, it was said (in jest I hope) that black locust logs lasted two years longer than rocks.   

[Dan'l 1946]

Black locust was once known as "Yankee teak" due to its rot resistance. It's almost as easy to plane as cast iron and will give great practice in tool sharpening.
                                                                Dan

[RobertS]

I was told once by an old codger that a black locust fence post would outlast 3 post holes!

[halfstock]

Sounds as if my blacklocust self bow will last forever. Perhaps it should be at the top of the list on what I leave to my offspring.

[rich pierce]

Black locust bows last forever when used as little skinny fence posts.  Black locust is springy but more susceptible to failure than hickory.
Properties of wood that matter in different applications:

Availability
Weight
Hardness
Rot resistance
Rot resistance in water or soil
Workability
Dimensional stability with moisture variation
"Beauty"
Resistance to splitting or ease of splitting
Impact resistance
Strength with or across the grain
Springiness

I am sure there are others.

For gun stock woods, strength with and across the grain, workability, availability, stability with moisture variation, impact resistance and beauty leave us with the top 3: medium to hard maple, walnut, cherry, with ash and a few others acceptable to our forefathers

Black locust is great for fence posts, sill logs, tool handles, and good for bows. Osage orange is good for much the same. 

Hickory makes the most reliable bows (least likely to blow up) but sucks up moisture.  Nonetheless, northeastern Native Americans preferred it for bows.  Hickory really doesn't care if the grain is "violated" on the back of the bow but great care must be taken with Osage and black locust.

I prefer black locust for bows because I get it for free and it can make a very powerful bow.  Some of them have failed early in the tillering process, though.