bought some walnut today

locdogg · January 29, 2012, 07:18:56 PM

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terrifictimbersllc · January 29, 2012, 07:42:35 PM

Nice. Those are going to be fun. Good luck with no metal!

WDH · January 29, 2012, 09:50:59 PM

I bet that you get some pretty wood out of it.

5quarter · January 29, 2012, 09:58:38 PM

There's some lumber in there...Where are you at? is walnut common in your area?

Magicman · January 29, 2012, 10:00:16 PM

You should get some nice character at those forks.

locdogg · January 29, 2012, 10:16:58 PM

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WDH · January 29, 2012, 10:18:15 PM

You will get your money back in one board.

Tree Feller · January 29, 2012, 11:34:36 PM

Quote from: locdogg on January 29, 2012, 10:16:58 PM
i'm in southwest iowa. walnut is pretty common here. got it all for $30!

Score!

You should be able to get some fine crotch figured boards from that log with the big limbs on it.

5quarter · January 30, 2012, 12:32:47 AM

Locdogg...How south of Red Oak, IA are you? I'm just over the river in Springfield, NE. Walnuts pretty common here too. I've had people pay me to haul them off. ;D

Okrafarmer · January 30, 2012, 12:48:52 AM

You sick puppies. :D You sound like little kids that eat ice cream for three meals a day. Walnuts, are like, maybe 1 tree in 5,000 around here. Conversely, the market for them is sparse. The big mills don't seem to want them much because they don't have a steady stream of them coming in. So, I sometimes also get them for reasonable prices. I like to pay about $100 a tree.

Norm · January 30, 2012, 07:03:28 AM

I hate to say it but walnut is a weed tree on our place. Not all bad though. Wish I could say the same for birdseye maple. :D

Nice score!

Okrafarmer · January 30, 2012, 07:58:48 AM

Quote from: Norm on January 30, 2012, 07:03:28 AM
I hate to say it but walnut is a weed tree on our place. Not all bad though. Wish I could say the same for birdseye maple. :D

:

I'm sure I could organize an interstate expedition to come irradicate it from your place, for a small fee..... Maybe I could bring some sweetgum seedlings to replace it with...

thecfarm · January 30, 2012, 07:59:50 AM

I don't think I have ever seen a walnut tree in Maine.

What's all the plan for the lumber?

Okrafarmer · January 30, 2012, 08:02:47 AM

Quote from: thecfarm on January 30, 2012, 07:59:50 AM
I don't think I have ever seen a walnut tree in Maine. What's all the plan for the lumber?

I have, but it was an English Walnut that my dad planted.

By the books, walnut does not grow naturally in Maine, though climatically there's probably no reason why it couldn't, at least in the milder parts of the state. Maybe that "midwestern weed-tree" just hasn't spread that far yet...

locdogg · January 30, 2012, 08:53:52 AM

@5quarter---i'm in Audubon, a bit north of Red Oak.

@thecfarm---no idea what i will do with the lumber. i will stack and sticker it in the barn for now.

walnut seems to be the only thing around here that people will save from cutting up into firewood. usually because they heard it's highly valuable lol

Chuck White · January 30, 2012, 09:14:48 AM

Walnut is scarce in this area.

In the short time I've been sawing, since 2005, I've only sawn 1 walnut tree, and that was last spring.

We sawed that one out to 2½ x 8 inches. The customer kind of hopes the word gets out and maybe sell some gun stock blanks!

Quite a few people in the area have recently (within the past 10-15 years) planted different varieties of Black Walnut!

I would think that Walnut would make some nice cabinetry or tables!

Okrafarmer · January 30, 2012, 07:01:55 PM

The last walnut I sold was my last decent log I had left-- sold it a few weeks ago. It was about 7 feet long, crotchwood, and like 60 bf. The man requested it be sawn right down the middle to be made into two benches. I double checked to see if he was joking, which he wasn't. I charged him $115. We had gotten the log for free from a paid take-down more than a year previously. It had some beautiful crotch figure, more than 2 ft. long of fish-tail, or whatever it is you call that middle crotch figure. I told him I probably could have sold $150-200 worth of lumber out of it if I had sawn it all up.

locdogg · January 31, 2012, 09:58:24 AM

need some advice...the big one is too big for the tractor/loader to lift onto the sawmill. should i shave off the outer inch or two with a chainsaw? that would take awhile. or just try to split it down the middle with the chainsaw so i have 2 smaller pieces that can be lifted?

what do you guys do when the log is too heavy to move onto the mill?

Okrafarmer · January 31, 2012, 10:11:05 AM

Why not use a couple of beams for ramps and roll or slide it up? You could parbuckle (cross-haul) it with your tractor or a winch if necessary.

locdogg · January 31, 2012, 10:20:51 AM

thanks okrafarmer, i could do that but it would be quite a job. this is awfully heavy and not a lot of room to manuever in help from the tractor or winch.

we figured the big one weighs 3000 lbs or more since the skid loader could barely pick it up and that skid loader regularly lifts 2500 lbs with ease.

Okrafarmer · January 31, 2012, 10:27:24 AM

You could parbuckle by using a pulley or block attached to a tree or other solid object on the far side of the mill. You only have to have space on the side of the mill you are loading from.

Okrafarmer · January 31, 2012, 10:44:31 AM

Ok, this is another thought, and a little more complicated, but I think, easier in the long run, so just bear with me. Get two beams, around 12 ft. long. (any strong lumber should do, if it will hold the weight). Get yourself 2 wooden wedges around 6 or 8 inches in size (for instance, cut from your slab pile). Put an end of each beam on the mill for ramps. Use your tractor (or 4 men with peaveys) to roll the log just onto the end of the ramps, and then, while holding it there securely, nail your two wooden wedges, one onto the end of each ramp, to keep the log from rolling off. Then let the log sit against the two wedges, which can now be called "stops", and maneuver your tractor into position to use either the loader, a boom-pole, or whatever lifting device you are using, to lift only the end of ONE beam. Lift it as high as you can safely, but not higher than the bed of the sawmill. If you can only safely lift it partway, that is a good start. Insert a stout piece of firewood under your raised up beam, and then let it down onto the firewood. Maneuver your tractor into position to lift the end of the second beam. Lift it to approximately the same height as you did the first one, or maybe a little higher. But not higher than the height of the sawmill bed. Insert a stout piece of firewood under the second beam, let it down. If your beams are still not up level with the sawmill bed, then repeat the process. Your tractor should be able to do this because essentially you are only lifting one end of the log at a time. When it is level or nearly level with the sawmill, make certain that you block and brace the beams adequately to keep them from moving, then use peaveys, cant hooks, the tractor, an elephant, or whatever other means you like, to roll the log onto the sawmill. Be careful, make sure the beams are securely attached to the sawmill end, and are properly supported in all steps of this process. Don't get under the log or the beams. As in all potentially dangerous situations, do not allow gravity or other hazards an opportunity to "get you."