walnut log

[Sparty]

First of all, I would like to thank you all for the great information you provide.  I discovered this site just a few days ago and am already hooked.  What a wonderful site....and it appears to be a great group of people, too.  Anyways, I'll start off with a question.  I'm looking at picking up a walnut that was dropped early last summer and has been sitting ever since.  Little chance of metal, and was dropped in a mowed area where it hasn't really rotted.  The butt log is about 40"+ with a fork at about 9' and another large limb that was hacked off in the middle of that log.  There is a void in the pith about 5" around that goes a few feet up.  Suprisingly, the wood looks real solid around it.  Now, I'm going to cut it up no matter what cause it would break my heart to see it burned.  Question is, it will cost me about $100-150 to haul it and two smaller walnut logs to my property cause it's a little much for my tractor.  Would this old log be worth it to you?  I'm just using the wood for furniture and such, not really worried about profit.  I'll try to get pictures. 
Thanks-Sparty

[Dana]

Sparty first welcome to the forum :)I sawed a walnut log for a customer this fall that l didn't look that great in log form. It sure looked nice when opened up though! I can post a picture if you want.

Don't worry about the hollow in the wood either. Someone one here mentioned a creative thing to do with it. Log was cut thick enough to make a table. The void or hollow was filled with epoxy. Created in the epoxy was a pond scene, complete with a gravel bottom and glass fish.

[Fla._Deadheader]

  Welcome Sparty

  If yer not familiar, that Crotch MIGHT make some gorgeous figured stuff. That's high $$ if it's a good tight crotch with no bark inclusion.  I would definitely go for it.  8)

[Sparty]

I plan on slabbing it pretty thick, as I like to make some Nakashima type tables.  I guess the main thing I was worried about was the time it has spent on the ground without anchorseal.  I can never give up free logs! I'm picking up another walnut 40"+ dbh that uprooted in a sandy creek bottom.  Dead straigt, in a woodlot with eight 8' lengths in it.  It would go for veneer, but I see my new two-slab bookmatched dining table in that butt log.

[WkndCutter]

Go for it.  I cut a tree like that last year.  It was laid down for over a year before I got to it.  It had real nice wood inside.  We cut off the ends and used anchorseal.  We then took the tree apart and cut the pieces into different boards, slabs and turning wood.  It was a big job but worth the effort.

[treebucker]

Welcome Sparty,
What equipment do you have to turn it into slabs? It it possible to mill it on-site?

My experience with walnut suggest that the bark might be getting a little loose by now and the sapwood may be discolored some. As far as end sealing is concerned a visual inspection of the ends will tell you much of what you want to know. Even if you find a large check you can orient the log such that when you mill it the check is included in just one or two boards/slabs. Walnut heartwood decays slowly. A log that size, even with some degrade of the sap wood will still yield a significant number of boards from the heart. Only you can determine if this job is worth-while. Do your best to calculate the board footage yield then compare what it would cost you to buy that amount/quality walnut somewhere else. Keep in mind that every log is different - most like this suprise me on the plus side while some break my heart when they're opened.

[TexasTimbers]

there are some walnuts in the archives I posted that laid around in high grass for 5 years and WERE partially rottted on the outside. These things looked like 9 miles of bad road on the outside but if you look at them they look like they are from Mars. Awesome!
Open that baby up you never know what kind of chocolates you gonna get Forrest! ;)

[Warren]

Sparty,

I just sawed out a 16" walnut log for a customer that had been laying in a pasture for 2 years.  Once I cut the junk off the outside, the wood on the inside was fine.  If your log is 40", you should have no problem getting a decent amount of good sound wood from the inside.  As several mentioned previously, when sawing, just orient the void and defects to work for you, not against you.

Warren

[Sparty]

Well that is very encouraging, I had become very suspicious of logs that sat around.  I don't cut alot and everything needs to be pretty high quality as it is all used for furniture.  Its quite a bummer to spend so much time getting a log only to start sawing through grubs and ant nests.  At least the grubs are easy on the blades.

[TexasTimbers]

some stuff doesn't sit around very well for very long sparty. some does. hackberry don't. cottonwood don't i don't think either.
some of these true sawyers can tell ya which but walnut i know from experience will still cut good even when it looks like heck outside. remember walnut heartwood is quite rot resistant. sap not as much obviously.

[woodmills1]

walnut is very forgiving of time.  If it wasn't already infested with insects it probably won't be now.  Once you trim off the outside you probably won't be able to tell it is an old log.

[Furby]

Why is it going to cost so much to haul it?

[Sparty]

Well, that's a long story....but I will probably end up paying alot less than that.  In order to haul and load that much weight I would have to borrow equipment from 3 different freinds and invest a lot of time.  On the other hand, a tow company that I refer a lot of business to can come out with a flat bed and have all three of those logs loaded and dropped at my property in an hour or so.  To me its worth paying him to do this job.

[Coon]

Welcome to the forum Sparty.  What do you have for a mill and other equipment?  I'm sure we'd all love to know.  Wouldn't we? ;)

[Sparty]

As of this date, I have to hire out my major sawing to a fully hydro WM.  The boss has OKed the purchase of a mill when she finishes her 2nd degree and gets a job.  So I've gotta wait a year or two, until then its a few chainsaws a small ripsaw (hand held bandsaw) and a few tractors with no mill to load up.  My solar kiln is going up this spring as I have the lumber cut for it and got all the glass I need.  So for now-Mind if I borrow your mill? 
I'll post some pictures soon.

[metalspinner]

Those are two very nice walnut's you have there.

I like to make some Nakashima type tables

Do you know any swingmill sawyer's up there?  They may have a slabber that you can get boards as wide as the log.  Also, they should be able to go right to the log and you can eliminate the log hauling all together. ;)

[Sparty]

The guy that usually saws for me does have a slabber, and I may have him use it.  However, I have several other very large walnuts in other locations to be slabbed as well.  So I figure its most cost effective to bring them all back to my property and have them slabbed in one day, instead of hiring out at each location.   Too many large walnuts to handle-what a problem, eh?