First Walnut, won;t be the Last!

[Andy White]

Neighbor brought a 4'x16" half log for me to cut him a 2" slab for a small tabletop. Cut his slab, and three more 1" boards about 6" wide. He had another full log about 14" x 4' long, and gave it to me. It has a limb knot on the small end that will probably have some beautiful grain in it. He was very happy with his slab, and I can't wait to slice up that small log. As Magic Man said, the green fades to brown really fast. Just amazes me at the grain. Will cut that log after the kiln is finished.


  

  

  

  

  

  

 
These boards will make a pretty keepsake box! {next project}  8)   Andy

[chopperdr47]

Very nice

[drobertson]

No doubt walnut makes some very nice stock,  and is easy to saw,  makes one wonder how much has gone to waste, thinking there is nothing there worth sawing,    david

[Chuck White]

Nice stuff Andy!

[Magicman]

Congrats on your first blood Walnut.   ;D

The second and fifth pictures looked enough like metal to get my full attention.   

[Delawhere Jack]

Congrats on your first blood Walnut.   ;D

The second and fifth pictures looked enough like metal to get my full attention.   

Living here in the heart of the walnut belt I can tell you, walnut IS magnetic.  :( Still plenty of good material there Andy, and now you're hooked!  ;)

Someday I suppose I'll mill some non-magnetic walnut. I'll be sure to let you all know.... don't hold your breath.  :

[Andy White]

Lynn and Delawhere Jack,
A really good eye for detail! The second picture has metal at the very top right side. Looked like a large nail, but it didn't show on the slab my neighbor took. Maybe just Walnut iron disease. The lower picture is a rotten spot where a knot might have been, but no iron. Still good looking stuff. I need some more of it!!   Andy

[Sixacresand]

I picked up some walnut logs, five than 8 inches in diameter, from a friend in town.  He has been saving these logs for several months, on the ground, looking like too rotten to spend any time.  I  peel off the bark and found red wiggler worms and roaches thriving.  He wanted them milled inch thick with live edges.  I had my doubts about getting any decent boards, but was very surprised by beautiful hearts.  You never know what you will find inside a nasty log.   

[scully]

Last spring I took down a yard walnut . The butt was about 32" I slabbed it and sold it for allot ! I also brought home every limb and liter from the tree ! Walnut seems to behave well when drying ,I find it enjoyable to create with !

[iwiegian]

I haven't milled any walnut but hope to when I get my new to me Belsaw set up this spring.

My experience with walnut is this winter because of high price for propane I started burning wood again.  Of course any milling size logs are being saved for future milling. 

I did however find in my walnut grove many smaller branches that have been down for many years that looked all bad and not worth cutting .  To my surprise most of the limbs had a small amount of bad wood on the outside but beautiful on the inside. 

What I'm saying don't give up on walnut logs too soon.  My neighbor has ten 18 to 20 inch logs he wants to give me that have been down for years that I really thought would not be any good.  I'm sure going to check them out.  Dave

[1woodguy]

  Isn't walnut a double crop tree?nuts outside and metalic objects inside?

[Busy Beaver Lumber]

I love walnut and you did that piece proud Andy.

I cant get enough of it. I either use it up myself or have a waiting list for it, so it does not hang around long

[BobInMN]

Demand for walnut must be different for areas of the country.  I have a friend here who has 500 bd ft of walnut he is asking $5 a bd ft and can't find anyone interested.  It's air dried and not planed, so maybe his price is to high?

[chopperdr47]

Wood workers around here would love to pay $5 per bf in just about any condition, as long as its flat on a couple of sides.

[dboyt]

If walnut won't get you addicted to sawmilling, you're hopeless!  The crotch pieces are especially nice, with that feather grain.  This one was down for over 10 years and the heartwood was still intact.  If you ever get the chance to work with roots, you'll get some really amazing grain patterns.  I have had good luck using cobaltized (bi-metal) blades to cut through nails & wire, though they are a little expensive.


 

[dablack]

Looks sharp Andy.  You are workin that mill!

[Ocklawahaboy]

Since I don't know of a single walnut tree in my whole county, these walnut threads constantly make me jealous.

[samandothers]

The pictures are very nice!  But after all, we are talking about a highly valuable walnut tree!