Black Locust

[ricochet]

howdy ya'll i have just recently purchased a black locust stave off of e-bay last night. what i want to know is this wood difficult to work with and do i need to back it with boo,sinew.rawhide,or anything else.can this wood be used for a good hunting bow without backing?should the bow be short or long and should the limbs be wide? i have not broke out my books yet to read on it so thats next. thanks ya'll
                                                     Brian

[ricktrojanowski]

Black locust is a great bow wood.  I would chase a ring as if making an osage bow.  It dosn't need a backing as long as you don't violate the growth ring.  Follow the dimensions for an 'sage bow but a bit wider is my suggestion.  Keeping it on the longer side. 

[Pappy]

What Rick said is what I have found right. I have about 3 and they are good performers.
   Pappy

[DanaM]

Haven't worked it yet but from what I've heard its not as forgiving as osage and will fret fairly easily so my advice is start long and wide,
and always make sure the limbs are bending egually and evenly. Once the everything is bending evenly the width and length can be reduced as needed
during the final tillering.

[Hillbilly]

What everybody else said. If you're going with a stiff-handled bow, about 1 5/8" is a pretty good width. I have found if I make the limbs too wide and therefore thin with locust, it's easier to wind up with a hinging spot that wants to chrysal. Locust make a great long, narrow, D-bow also.

[Stringman]

I just completed a nice flat bow with Locust. I found it to be almost identical with hedge, but still like Hedge better. Chasin the ring seems to be a little more difficult. But it accepted the dimensions I gave it and turned out around 52# @ 67" long with a 28 1/2" DL. In fact I found it to be one of my sweetest shooters and eneded up using it for the majority of deer huntin season. Very pleasent little bow

[ricochet]

thanks for the feedback guys, now i'm just waiting for the stave to get here, i just hope its not too green.i'm kinda impatient and want to get started soon. i do have to finish my "exotic wood" ELB first. thank again and if anyone else has feedback please drop a line.

[robbsbass]

Be careful not to get your limbs to thin to quick and really check the tiller constantly to make sure your not getting any hinges or crystaling.

   Robb

[PeteDavis]

If I were to cut out some locust staves, what is an acceptable drying time for them?

PD

[sailordad]

i am not sure,as i have yet to cut my own.however i have aheard one year dry time for every inch of thickness.
you can take the stave down to ruff bow demensions and clamp  it to a 2x4 to keep it straight untill dry,that is  supposed to be quicker.

[robbsbass]

I asked the wood specialty shop where I buy my staves, and they told me that you can make a bow from a black locust stave after 1 year as long as it is kept completely dry. I keep mine ine the house after the bark is off to make sure their are no bugs.

[richpierce]

I get rid of the bark and glue the ends and the back of the split staves and let it dry outside under cover for at least 3 months.  Then I'll bring it inside (unheated "mud room") for a month or so.  Then I'll remove sapwood and get it to near bow dimensions with the hatchet.  Then re-seal it and let it sit a month.  At this point it is safe to make it into a bow and not get much visible checking.  Stave should "ring" when you thump the end down on concrete.  I hurried one and got longitudinal splits but no worries, it is holding up fine.

[George Tsoukalas]

The ends should be sealed and if you remove the bark seal the back too. I'd use poly. Jawge

[servicebeary]

I started one a while back and had a really tough time distinguishing between rings, but osage with thin rings I found easy.  go figure, I even tried wetting it.  Maybe it was the poor lighting in my shop...good luck, I may have chased rings to the point of no return on mine, but it's all over S. Idaho like a weed:)  so I need to get those rings figured out..

[Hillbilly]

The drying time depends more on the dimensions and where you're drying it than any specific amount of time. A big stave sitting in a damp shed may not be dry after five years, but a roughed-out bow brought into the heated house or kept in a hotbox may be ready in two or three months (or less). Like others have said, locust is really bad to check, so seal the back and ends. Cheap wood glue or Elmer's works well.