Cutting some Walnut!

[Planman1954]

Hi all. Well, the latest goings on around here involve 3 or 4 ongoing projects. I have enough to keep me busy for the rest of my life!
Anyway, I am beginning the construction of a 16'x16' lumber storage shed which will be completely enclosed, so as to keep the moisture content of the kiln dried lumber that I cut for future projects low. While that is going on, (I am documenting progress for a post later) my brother is currently building himself a southern mansion. He will be using walnut for his staircase and cabinets throughout. Last week, he cut two walnut trees on our property. They were both about two feet in diameter, with few limbs near the base. They were straight and beautiful! I began cutting them on my Norwood lumbermate 2000 yesterday. Here's a picture of the first log cut into a cant. It shows the beauty of the wood grain:


  

 Here's a picture of some of the boards from the first log I cut. They will be used as stair treads. I cut them 1 1/2" thick on my gauge. They will be milled to about 1 1/4": 

 Here's a shot of the logs before I started cutting: 

 
That's all I've got for now. Tomorrow, I hope to get a lot of sawing done!

[WDH]

Wow.  I am jealous.

[customsawyer]

Nice looking logs and lumber.

[Magicman]

Enjoying the fruits of your labors.   

[drobertson]

yep, looks like a good job!  minimal sap wood on that walnut as it looks to me.

[woodworker9]

Wow.  I am jealous.

Exactly what I was thinking.

[pineywoods]

    Where did ya find them ?

[mesquite buckeye]

Walnut is purty. ;D

[Planman1954]

Ronnie had them on his place down in the big creek bottom on the south side of my road. They were near to his deer stand. I'll stop by soon and tell you all about it. I got what I sawed yesterday and today stacked into the kiln. I'm not going to turn it on until I get all of the logs cut in there. So far it's about 260 square feet, but cut 1 1/2" and 1 1/4" thick. I hope to get another 1000 s.f. In there. I'll take a picture when it's ready to start drying.

[Delawhere Jack]

Beer Walnut is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.

Benjamin Franklin (well almost).

I can be down there in 36 hours if you need a hand!  ;D

[Planman1954]

I could have used you this morning man handling the biggest log in the bunch! My mill is manual, and my can't hook barely cut it!! It was tough turning it by myself, and when it flipped off the bed, I almost quit for the day...but I persevered! ;D >:(  It now sits in my kiln...waiting on ME. I won.

[YellowHammer]

Nice looking whack o walnut.   8)
Is walnut fairly common in La?

[Delawhere Jack]

Hard to get a good bite in walnut bark with a cant hook. It can be a real nuisance, but it's well worth the effort.

Those are some very nice looking logs by the way.

[Planman1954]

The boards really are coming out beautiful. With such a long stem, there are hardly any knots in the grain.
YellowHammer: Walnut is sparse in Louisiana. It can be found around old homesteads, and down in creek/bayou bottoms though.

[samandothers]

The Walnut is great looking!  I like the tractor in the background too!

[Planman1954]

Finished sawing all the walnut for my brother today, and got it stacked into the kiln. It is drying! It sure is a good feeling knowing that I don't have to touch it anymore! It's all his to load his own self.😀😀😅😅 I'll be checking the moisture content along the way, looking for it to get down to the 6-8% area. He's using it for his cabinetry and stair treads.


 

[Planman1954]

Just wanted to update those interested on the walnut boards. I let them dry in the solar kiln for about a month. I turned the kiln off twice while I was away for a few days at a time. The final check on my meter showed a fairly common reading of 8%. Anyway, my brother loaded them up in two loads and took them to his cabinet guy. I got a text from him saying how they had planed one of the boards and it was beautiful! He said they then made a little bit of sawdust, and the fellow squeezed it in his hand and said that that was some DRY boards! That was good to hear. Mission accomplished!

[Magicman]

I let them dry in the solar kiln for about a month. I turned the kiln off twice while I was away for a few days at a time.

Now I am sitting here imagining you turning the Sun off a couple of times.   ;D   :D

[WV Sawmiller]

I let them dry in the solar kiln for about a month. I turned the kiln off twice while I was away for a few days at a time.

Now I am sitting here imagining you turning the Sun off a couple of times.   ;D   :D

I was wondering who caused this rain and cloudy days last week or so. Now we know.

[YellowHammer]

Go to love it when a plan comes together.  Great job in the walnut!

[Planman1954]

Very funny Magic! Thanks for all the feedback everybody. It was a labor of love. I've said MANY times that my late Daddy would have LOVED having this sawmill. He was a builder all his life. His early years, he worked in a sawmill here in the area. He loved to build. Having an unlimited supply of trees and a mill would have doubled his building projects I'm sure. It's been almost 14 years since he left earth for heaven, and I still instinctively know what he would tell me to do when I encounter a problem. All that following him around building houses did sink in, I guess!

[dboyt]

Thanks for the update.  That sawmill & tractor look like home to me.  Great that all that walnut got properly cut, stacked, and dried.  My dad is 90.  He used to help, but now comes out and mostly watches me cut.  Like you say, it is good when you can put life's lessons to use.