I am going to build a set of 6 outdoor patio chairs and a friend recommended Black Locust as the “new hardwood” .
I can get custom sawed dimensions (12/4, 6/4, 5/4) and kiln dried for about the same price as cypress.
The mill also has some air dried 14% at $2.00 bf.
Does anybody have any feelings about the locust and any comments about using the air dried?
Thanks,
stevo
Replies
Stevo, black locust has outstanding decay resistance and is an exceptionally good choice for exterior projects...Just be prepared to sweat a little working with it. It's heavy, hard and a real workout to shape with hand tools. Also, plan on drilling pilot holes for any fasteners you intend to use.
As for using air dried stock, 14% sounds like it isn't quite fully seasoned (10% to 12% would be better)...but for exterior use, you don't need kiln dried stock.
I Use a lot of black locust and it is very good for outside. Machines very good but it is often with wild grain. Indeed you have to predrill before you screw it (soap the screws). I leave it in its natural state and in spring treat it with a hard brush and soft soap. The algae and dirt are gone and there is a nice grey patina on the furniture.
It is very pretty wood. It tends to splinter a bit.
Is it any good for deck work? I hear it moves alot. I am building a house and would like to avoid PT wood. Would you use 5/4 for a deck?
Frank
I haven't seen it yet, but it was used for a bridge near a thai pavilion shipped to a park near where I live. They only use the best, and I am told it's beautiful. The reason they chose it was to avoid the PT. So it seems like a great choice.
I have made a deck from it (5jears ago Dutch climate) 19 mm thick with rounded corners, screwed every 40 cm to the ribs and it behaves good. What is PT wood?
Ruud Joling The Netherlands
Edited 4/10/2002 5:04:03 PM ET by Dutchy
Dutchy, PT is Yankee shorthand for "pressure treated."
Frank, black locust is a relatively stable wood. It's average volumetric shrinkage, green to ovendry, is only 10.2%. That's better than either cherry or walnut. It also has a very low tendency to distort, in that it's T/R ratio is a comfortably low 1.57 : 1.
After reading these posts, I an now really surprised that I don't see it used more locally. There is a lot of black locust growing locally. I always just guessed that there was something very wrong with it for woodworking or building purposes. Now I'd swear that I saw black locust used for flooring at the Thomas Edison birthplace, in NW Ohio.
If you put a Black Locust post in the ground, the heart wood will still be there 30 years later. Also it is the most heat efficient firewood. But, it has to cure at least 2 years before burning else it will deposite cresote badly. As a kid, my dad planted acres of Black Locust. Got the seedlings free from the USDA. About 10 years later he started using them as fence posts. If you didn't drive the staple into the heartwood they would come loose in a couple of years. Guess who's job it was to walk the fence line and re-staple!
My place up in OKLA had dozens of them up to 16" diameter.
PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy
PlaneWood
In my mind, there's not many better choices for exterior furniture. It is both extremely decay resistant (more so than cypress, cedars, redwood) , but also has the benefit of being a hardwood. In fact it is very hard - as mentioned in other posts - having an average specific gravity similar to white oak.
Black locust has a sparkly flash that is very attractive (this "flash" is also the cause for its decay resistance). When I hand plane black locust, I get alot of tearout. The grain direction seems to change alot.
Years ago I made my daughter a 6 ft bookcase with black locust. It has alwys occupied a central position and has always drawn praise for the beauty of the wood.
Locust sometimes produces deeply furrowed logs. Even after slabbing of the bark the first boards may have bark inclusions clear through the board. I used these in the uprights and with the thin white sapwood it adds interest to the piece.
BJGardening, cooking and woodworking in Southern Maryland
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled