Fumed Acacia

[Neil Farrer]

I have a lot of Acacia, or as it should more properly be called False Acacia or Black Locust through my local council taking down some 150 year old trees, I thought I ought to be a responsible citizen and offer to remove it for free! The wife is about as fed up as a woodturning wife can be of the five tons of the stuff in piles under canvas in the back garden!

However, aware that False Acacia is high in tannin I fumed this piece as it was due to be a bowl of magnificent proportions that succumbed to be ever decreased in size until I had turned out the faults. One can still be seen in the centre of the bowl, a dead knot that fell out as I put it in the fuming cupboard (posh name for a see through plastic box from Staples!) So it ended up as an unimaginative soup plate style bowl destined for a fuming experiment.

One of the down sides of ebonising spray is that however fine the spray, it is still a paint and covers up the detail. I have included a few photos for your deliberation and discussion. I think its great how the detailing of the wood is preserved. This piece was sanded to 800 and then fumed for three days with 25% solution. Boy it stunk when I took it out of the box!!!

 

[12345Peter]

That looks good, I have an identification book that says False Acacia is very similar to and often mistaken for Laburnum, does the untreated heartwood have the colouring of Laburnam or is it fairly pale?

Regards
Peter

 

[Neil Farrer]

Peter,

Absolutley identical, very difficult to spot! An interesting book!



Please forgive my rather bizarre sense of humour but I am always rather suspicious, having been in the wood trade for thirty years, of any one who makes comparisons like that between two woods to try and identify each one. As we all know Laburnum darkens with age, as do most woods, the pepperpot here is from a piece of laburnum cut about ten years ago, the Black Locust was felled two years ago but there is a vast difference. I'll post another comparison that is alot closer in a few minutes.

 

[Neil Farrer]

The significant difference is the fleck which appears on each side of a piece of turned laburnum, it is quite clearly visible on the right of the blank underneath the Salt mill which is of Black Locust. Laburnum as we alll know is green and Black Locust is yellow, the two as sawn timber could be confused if the laburnum was pale and the black locust dark, but once seen never confused!

 

[KimG]

The main similarity between them is the grain pattern which is peculiar to all the pea family timbers (check it against Iroko or Gorse which are also legumes, especially the appearance of the end grain) colour wise though I have always found Acacia to be a lot more golden looking that Laburnum even when freshly cut.

 

[12345Peter]

I think I confused matters, the book is for identifying trees rather than the wood. Laburnum and False Acacia do look very similar in tree form, buy I have never seen False Acacia wood hence my question. I also didn't realise that laburnum darkens with age. It's the only wood I get offered that I never turn down regardless off quantity.

Regards
Peter

 

[Neil Farrer]

Hi Peter,

Interesting book, I cannot believe that the Laburnum tree could be confused with the False Acacia tree. The bark is very different, laburnum very smooth, waxy and in comparion the false acacia very crviced if that is the right word with a thick ridged bark, powdery almost, corky in texture, The heights,? Laburnum will struggle to get over five metres whereas False Acacia is a tall tree fully grown but even when young, as it grows very fast in the first thirty years, it is very upright with relatively little low growth. The flowers - Laburnum bright yellow hence the name of golden chain whereas the False Acacia has bright almost luminous like lime green leaves.

Hmmmm?