Black Walnut Log price per BF

[widetrackman]

A guy is offering  to sell some walnut logs 20"-24" big end at $2.00 per BF at his lot. Assuming these logs are good, what's a good price in the north mississippi and alabama area. Not Delivered

[doc henderson]

I have paid 100 to 140$ for nice logs in the past.  I am a hobby guy.  you have to watch out for the lore that the logs are worth 10K each.  "Highly valuable walnut log".  I had a tree service want a ton for one 50 miles away and they could not load it on my trailer.  I told him to call me if no one else wanted it.  I had to take my track loader, gooseneck trailer, back down his very long skinny drive off a narrow street between two houses.  I spent half a day and cleaned up branches.  we left friends.  he thought it was worth more, but no one else did.  I spent time, fuel, and equipment use.  As a hobby guy, I am not covered if something happens to go wrong and damage a house or person.  prices are all over the place now with covid.  used to be planned and dry, was about 8 bucks a board foot.  not sure in the log.  
there is a BF calculator if you know the length.  also, the weight.  so, you can see if you can pick them up with the equipment you have access to.  good luck.

[Patrick NC]

I know the price varies depending on region,  but around here nice clear walnut logs are between $2 and $2.50 per bf delivered to the mill. Crooked or knotty is $1 or less.  Doyle scale. Local walnut mill will pick them up, but the price varies depending on quantity and how far he has to travel to get them. 

[WV Sawmiller]

Wide,

  What do you want to do with the wood? (Saw it - yeah, I knew that. :) Do you just want to sell it or is it for a special project? How much time and money will it cost you to transport them to your milling site? If not for immediate use how long will you have to store and handle them?

  Unless transport and handling costs are excessive I don't think you'd lose money on them but depending on what you were using or selling them for it might take you a long time to recover your expenses and actually make a profit.

   I am surprised the log yard is quoting them to you referencing big end diameter. I'd check the small end and see how they scale out on the International 1/4" scale which will likely be much closer to your actual yield.

  Good luck. Keep us posted on what you do and lessons learned - good or bad.

   

[SawyerTed]

Two dollars per board foot might be an excellent price depending upon the grade of the logs.  I would want to see them and measure them prior to purchase.  Then again some walnut logs I've seen wouldn't be worth the chainsaw fuel to make them into firewood.  

[nativewolf]

You know walnut smells great when it burns, really a shame to burn it in a wood stove.  Nicer than cherry even.  

[YellowHammer]

Veneer grade walnut is $5 here, low grade is left rotting in a pile.  

Know what you are buying before you pay for it.  

[Larry]

Here low grade junk logs bring $1-$2 board foot.  Once live edge slabbed, they sell for a minimum of $8 board foot.  The uglier they are, the more interesting the slabs become.  River tables are still hot in this area.  For small ugly logs they are going to charcuterie boards and wall art.

Never seen a walnut log that I didn't like!

[widetrackman]

Wide,

 What do you want to do with the wood? (Saw it - yeah, I knew that. :) Do you just want to sell it or is it for a special project? How much time and money will it cost you to transport them to your milling site? If not for immediate use how long will you have to store and handle them?

 Unless transport and handling costs are excessive I don't think you'd lose money on them but depending on what you were using or selling them for it might take you a long time to recover your expenses and actually make a profit.

  I am surprised the log yard is quoting them to you referencing big end diameter. I'd check the small end and see how they scale out on the International 1/4" scale which will likely be much closer to your actual yield.

 Good luck. Keep us posted on what you do and lessons learned - good or bad.

 

I assume he will load. It's about a 150 mile round trip for me, and my trailer might handle 2-3 20" logs. He says that the 20"-24" category is figured at $2 BF  and 24"-28" is $2.50 a BF. BF quantity is scaled on Doyle small end inside bark.

[WV Sawmiller]

  Do you want it for lumber or special projects? I try to make lumber out of my larger clearer sections and cut LE slabs out of the shorter, crooked, forked pieces and make benches out of them. I'll cut small pieces into 9/4 square stock for bench legs. 

[SawyerTed]

Don't overlook the crotches and knots that can make very nice material for inlays and such. 

[tmbrcruiser]

If the log is a yard tree, I would leave it where it is. I had a guy bring a tree in for sawing and upon inspection blue stain was visible at every cut. Just be careful with high price logs, good luck.