Locust for back and sides?

[Jcamp]

Has anyone ever built or played a guitar or mandolin that was built with black or honey locust back and sides?
I’ve been wanting to try my hand at building a mandolin or a ukulele and I hav a few trees on my property that are standing but have died some years ago. I thought about cutting them down and resawing them for use in a future build.
It’s my assumption that since it’s got a reputation that it would b a very hard wood that would project well but I hav no personal experience other than using them for fence posts and firewood

[Otterhound]

Have no doubt that either will work , albeit a bit fought to carve 9 black locust ) .
The problem here is that the trees died some years ago . Black locust is tough , but that tree may be filled with rot from insects and/or checks from remaining in log form for so long . Black locust like to check when treated improperly .
Checking is of little concern with fence posts . I know because I have been installing fencing for over 40 years . I still tap Black locust posts if/when you can find them .
Bottom line is that you can't know what you have until you begin cutting and I wouldn't be waiting another day get started .
Assuming that you get some viable product , you will want to immediately seal endgrain and treat it like a freshly felled tree .
Good luck .

[printer2]

Said to be similar to Rosewood, it taps like hardwoods on that side of the spectrum. I had some splitting when bending a flat sawn portion of my sides but otherwise nothing unusual working with it. As soon as I get a neck carved for it I'll get back to finishing the guitar.

[Jcamp]

Ok. Thanks for the info. I got 70 acres in Ohio that I can cut a little of everything that’s native to the area (haven’t found and cedar tho ). I already have some 5/4 ash and soft maple I guess I could give them a go.
If I’d use locust for back and sides could I also use it for the neck? Or would I be better sucking to maple for that?

[printer2]

It would be a heavy neck. The maple you might need to wait a few years to get the moisture content down. Any wood you use would have to dry for a year or more depending on thickness.

[Jcamp]

Th maple and ash that I have was cut probably 3-4 yeas ago so it’s plenty dry

[Otterhound]

There really are no rules .
Black locust certainly will be heaver than any maple .
The interesting thing about locust is that you could easily do a 1 piece neck if you care to . Black locust certainly is hard and stable enough for a fretboard . Of course , so is hard maple . If you do a typical A style headstock , that will shave some of the weight off .
Do you have any Persimmon ? It is in the ebony family .....
There are a myriad of possibilities with domestic woods and smaller instruments .

[M Hayden]

Just be careful of the dust - it can cause unpleasant GI side effects.

[Alan Carruth]

The Black locust that I've used has been an 'improved' Indian rosewood in terms of it's mechanical and acoustic properties. It has tended to be a bit lower in density than the average IRW, about the same in Young's modulus, and much lower in damping; more like BRW in that regard. It makes a very nice guitar.


I have not heard that locust is notably sensitizing. All wood dust in problematic, and you should limit exposure if possible, but compared with any of the rosewoods, especially cocobolo, it's probably pretty tame. My violin making teacher eventually became sensitive to booth spruce and maple, so anything's possible.

[gr81dorn]

Drew Heinonen built one that he unveiled at Fretboard Summit a couple years ago with black locust back and sides. It was a spectactular build. Sounded very good the little I played it.

Caleb Smith from Balsam Range is also a luthier and has built some with it. Here's an article/interview with him.

https://www.fretboardjournal.com/col...s-caleb-smith/

[John Arnold]

I have built two black locust guitars, and I think they are among my best. IMHO honey locust is not on a par with black locust, though I like its color better. Honey locust seems to be less like rosewood and more like oak.
I have used black locust for bridgeplates and braces since the late-1980's. IMHO, it is the ideal material....hard and stiff, but not as dense as other woods of similar hardness and stiffness.