# Making honeylocust into flooring



## CrashDavis (Nov 20, 2011)

Hello All,

I am new to the site and have joined to help me with my new hobby. I recently purchased a woodmizer LT40 for milling some trees I am removing because they are not native to my area. Many (around 30) are honeylocust (thorns on truck of most). They vary in range from 20" at the base to 3' at the base. I am currently cutting them and milling them.

What is the best way to market them to sell. I am planning to make flooring for my own house out of some of it. What about the rest? Should I make more flooring and try to sell it that way? Or should I leave it rough sawn and try to sell it locally or is there a place on the net?

Thanks for the help,

CrashDavis


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## ShaneA (Apr 15, 2011)

You may be able to sell it locally in the rough or planed. Craigs list may get you some sales. It can be an interesting looking wood. Good luck and welcome.


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## fussy (Jan 18, 2010)

After you dry it (it dries relative easily but some checking can occur), I would sell it as lumber on Craig's List. It is interesting wood, can be beautiful, but as in any endeavor, the more you put into it, the less you can get out of it. If you turn it into flooring to sell you will have added greatly to your cost by adding a lot of work, and increasing waste. Also, you have to sell locust flooring to people who know what it looks like and like it. Few people do. Sell it as lumber and you might pay for the WoodMIzer.

Welcome to LumberJocks. It is customary for new members to express their appreciation for the initial help they receive by sharing, shal we say about 100 bd/ft, with each member who supplies an answer. That's delivered, of course. Happy Thanksgiving.

Steve


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## WDHLT15 (Aug 15, 2011)

I would saw it at 1 1/8" thick rough and some of the better quality at 2 1/8" thick rough. I have had good success selling hardwood lumber to woodworkers off Craigslist. If it were mine, I would price it at $2.50/BF for 4/4 and $3.75/BF for 8/4, and it would sell. Might take a while, but you will get to meet some interesting people!


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## CrashDavis (Nov 20, 2011)

Thanks you guys for your help and I will be getting that 100 bd ft fee in the mail just as soon as possible. However, I have more questions now. I am really enjoying running my new sawmill, so much so that I have cut a lot of lumber to 4/4 according to the computer guided woodmizer.

Having siad that, what are the advantages of sawing the boards to 1 1/8"? Are the already cut 4/4 boards ruined or should I just use those boards as my personal flooring and begin cutting the boards to 1 1/8? I guess the real question is…What are woodworkers just as yourselves looking for in board thickness when they buy a supply?

Thanks for everything
CrashDavis


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## ShaneA (Apr 15, 2011)

I think having a variety would be best. Most seriuos woodworkers have the ability to resaw, or plane the wood to their desired thickness. I would imagine dealing in honeylocust, you are probably going to attrack a more seasoned woodworker, than oak per se. Although I am not a sawyer, I thought the wood will shrink during drying. So if you start at 1 1/8" you will end up at about 7/8 to 15/16". But I am not positive on that. The two most desireable thickness will be finished and dried at 4/4 and 8/4. If your current cuts come out thinner than that, you can just send it to the people who have answered your questions. : ) Seriously, you will be able to sell it, maybe not as easy or for a lessend amount. But it is not ruined. Good luck


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## fussy (Jan 18, 2010)

Crash,

No, they aren't ruined. Industry standard is 4/4 giving pleanty of meat to reach 3/4 dressed. However, some people want to use 7/8 or resaw to two 1/2" pieces or some other configuration requiring thicker stock to start. If you do resaw to 5/4 or 1 1/8" or 6/4, you will need to adjust the price upwards to reflect the higher bd/ft count.

Now, that's TWO questions, so that'll be 200 bd/ft. You're welcome.

Steve


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## richardf (Nov 8, 2009)

I believe that honey locust is often overlooked as woodworking species. I enjoy the color of the wood and I have made several chests out of honeylocust. i believe by posting it on craigslist, you might get some woodworkers who like honey locust.

Where do you live (how far from Idaho) so I can swing by and pick up my 100 bf.

Also a note on drying. My friend milled me some 1" thick stock green and I stickered and dried it. There was very little movement and checking. I would have to say that honeylocust species is a great species to dry and Of all the other species I have had milled, honeylocust seems to be the most stable. You know it might just work great for flooring.


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## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

I'd definitely be interested in buying some. How far are you from WV? I've been looking at the LT10 and that's one serious machine you bought to mill 30 trees! Have you got other big plans for this mill?


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## CrashDavis (Nov 20, 2011)

Wow, this site is a wealth of knowledge, I am glad I became a member.

Richard, that is a BEAUTIFUL Chest. The grain looks the same as the logs I am cutting up..WOW, thanks for showing me what the wood will look like when a true craftman gets ahold of it and works it into art like you have. And as luck would have it, I used to live in Idaho and have a cabinetmaker freind flying out this winter to look at my lumber and maybe purchase some and ship is back. So maybe something can be worked out.

Bertha, I am located in NorthWest Illinois so a few miles from WV and would love to sell some but if Steve keeps giving me advice I'm not going to have any lumber left  I will try to get some pics of the wood tomorrow when I am cutting.

The LT40 I bought is quite a machine. And the short story of why I now have it is my father grew up in a house with honeylocust flooring and wants honeylocust floors in a house he is currently building. I am cutting them down and milling them up in my free time. It is an older machine and had a few problems when we purchased it. Not we have it dialed in and cutting great now.

Thanks for all the advice and welcoming me into this community.

Crash


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## WDHLT15 (Aug 15, 2011)

I cut many thousands of BF of hardwood at a full 1" rough. Used the wood to make many many projects. Most of the time, I used pieces that were 6 feet or less for the projects, occasionally I used 8 foot pieces like for a built in bookcase, etc. 95% of time I could plane out the 1" air dried rough stock to 3/4". However, as I got into milling, drying, and selling hardwood, I found out that the Industry standard was to saw 1/8" over nominal. So for 4/4, that is 1" nominal so adding 1/8" gets you to 1 1/8". 8/4 then becomes 2 1/8", 6/4 is 1 5/8", etc.

If you saw flooring commercially, they require 1 1/8" thick rough sawn stock. As to shrinkage, you get some with flatsawn and more with quartersawn. Quartersawn stock rough sawn to 1 1/8" will dry and still leave at least a full 1".

The Industry standard is why I recommended that you saw 1 1/8" for 4/4 and 2 1/8" for 8/4 since you said that you would be selling some. However, since you are not selling into the commercial market, you could just as easily saw to 1" and be fine. I have found that people really like my lumber because they have enough wood to have some flexibility, say in making a 7/8" thick finished table top. You could not get away with that with hardwood lumber sawn 1" rough, but you can at 1 1/8".

Congrats on the LT40. That is one fine machine and Wood-mizer is about the best company there is for customer service.


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