locust timber

[Keith 66]

At a club working party today i was asked to fell a medium sized locust tree, Otherwise known as false acacia. It had two main trunks about 10" dia, one died last year & the other was dying. The timber is quite sound & hard & heavy with a prounounced greenish tinge.
A lot of the smaller stuff will end up in the stove but i have heard it is very useful timber prized for boatbuilding being extremely durable
Is it any good for turning? any tips on seasoning the stuff?

 

[KimG]

Excellent for turning, it is very rare here in the west (somewhat mortified that you will be setting any of it aflame!!) so we don't get any for turning, but it shows up regularly on various woodturning forums. Possibly as it is related it might season as well as Laburnum, which on the whole I have found dries pretty well without much splitting when left as a log. That's just a guess though.

 

[woodfarmer]

I grow some here, some planted, some self propagated by roots running out and they self seed like mad. very underrated small tree. They will coppice well. An odd thing, one grown from seed will not have any thorns until if is deprived of some of its branches by deer or by pruning.

They are great for fence posts as they do not rot in the ground. also good firewood. Can be a bit "bendy" but nice figure.
Incidentally they are of the pea family so fix nitrogen in the soil, pretty flowers, quite ornamental. The heavenly trio sycamore, ash and robinia are virtually symbiotic as the three feed each other.

 

[Keith 66]

The two main trunks i have kept in one piece & are about 5ft long i will be slabbing them up & have a job for them in re timbering a boat.
The rest is cut into shorts with some crotch pieces & a couple of burls. Having googled the stuff it looks like lovely timber & i wont be burning much of it!
It will be inloaded from the trailer tomorrow & the ends sealed.
Happy days!

 

[tekno.mage]

False acacia is one of my favourite turning timbers. It's lovely to use, easy to turn and finish, and when dry and polished has a lovely golden sheen too.

 

[Bigdanny]

There is a fair abundance of acacia here in Bulgaria. Very strong timber. I havent worked it for furniture yet but I know is good for roof beams. The old beams I come across 50+ years are like iron, I prefer to use old beams I have to do any roof repairs where I can but it needs to be drilled before you can hit a nail into it. I had about 4 and half cubic metres planked up and its been drying nearly 2 years now so I should be able to use it soon.
Has a nice grain and a yellowy colour when young. When older the heartwood almost looks like walnut but a lot harder. I would liken it to oak for durability.