Black Walnut Value?

[OTGBOSTON]

$250 per cord here, average.

Waaaay more than that in the Bean.

Me and the boys have been processing firewood like maniacs, toughest part is keeping people from stealing it

 

[Al Smith]

It may sound terrible to some people but I've burned a lot of black walnut in the stove .There's not much you can do with 10 and 12 inch stuff less than 8 feet long . I've also burned a bunch of cherry which might cause some folks to have fits .

When you live in the most diverse hardwoods section of the world you come across a lot of things like this .

 

[woodworkingboy]

Al, why don't you divert a little of that sweet cherry smoke to your meat and cheese. I buy blocks of cheap processed cheese, and after some spices added and two hours of smoke, it tastes like expensive from who knows where. Most excellent with beer of course.

I doubt that walnut is any good for smoking, too high acid content.

 

[Al Smith]

I doubt that walnut is any good for smoking, too high acid content.

It's not that good of firewood either but it produces heat .


I make sure I have a nice pile of cherry around the Christmas hollidays as it gives off a nice aroma . Depending upon how cold it is usually by that time of year I'm into the hickory and oak and off the maple which doesn't quite cut it when the temp drops .

Now those walnuts. If a person had a way to mill the stuff,bandsaw,chainsaw mill,even a Grandberg mini mill,you might be able to salvage a little bit of it . Air dry the stuff as it seems to hold color a tad better than directly into a kiln and wait until you get enough of it to do whatever project you have in mind .

Just burn the rest or residue of the lumber logs .It all gets used one way or another .

 

[stig]

Look at the American Association of Woodturners homepage, find a woodturner in your area and ask him if he or anyone he knows want to buy the log.
I turn wood myself, and have a line of other turners ready to pounce on anythin good that I fall.

 

[Paul B]

here you go Squish:
http://www.woodturner.org/community/chapters/LocalChapters.asp

 

[Al Smith]

Turners are a different breed of cat,so to speak .These folks will spend hour upon hour turning some piece just for the challange to do so .They must have the patience of Job .I've seen some really nice work though .

 

[stig]

Paul,are you a woodturner, or were you just quick to look it up on the net?

 

[Paul B]

just googled it.

 

[woodworkingboy]

Like Al says, my experience with Walnut is that the air dried material is much prettier than kiln dried. The subtle pinks and greens get lost in the kiln, and the wood looses resiliency. On the other hand, there are very slow kiln drying methods that don't rip off the wood, but I doubt that they are as cost effective, so the big lumber people just bake the wood and get it done asap.

Walnut is one of the easier wood to air dry, doesn't tend to warp or split very much as a rule, and dries surprisingly quick.

 

[squisher]

Thanks for all the replys everybody. At this point I'm gonna have the log brought up to my place. I'm gonna elevate it and cover it with a tarp held up off the log to allow air to flow through. Anyone know much here about curing wood? Do I have to mill it to cure it properly? If I let this log lie around to long will it fork it up? I'm into uncharted territory here but I may just mill this log and make something out of it myself. I'm no pro woodworker but I've got some tools and ability.

Tomorrow I'm finishing the takedown and hopefully either one of the hiab trucks or crane trucks I've got a call into will be able to help a brother out.

 

[Jonseredbred]

Squish, make sure the ends are painted and if the bark is good I would not bother covering it.

 

[squisher]

Thanks, I'll go with that then. Any special kind of paint needed on the ends?

 

[Jonseredbred]

They make a special sealer, not sure of a brand name. I think Baileys carries it.

Keeping it up off the ground is a good idea also.

How long are you going to store it?

 

[squisher]

I dunno. Booking straight through weekends right now into the second week of October and the phones ringing constantly. Gotta coin er up before the snow flys, then I'll have some time on my hands to figure it out.

 

[Newfie]

They make a special sealer, not sure of a brand name. I think Baileys carries it.

Keeping it up off the ground is a good idea also.

How long are you going to store it?

Bailey's carries a wax-based end sealer. A company that I have used is called Anchor-Seal. Good stuff. Stops or slows end-checking.

 

[NeTree]

Bailey's carries a wax-based end sealer.

Instead of spackle?

 

[woodworkingboy]

Actually, if you have the time and space, keeping it in log form for about a year, then having it slabbed up is the best way. Then go ahead and properly sticker it to dry. You loose some initial moisture that way while it's still a log, but the wood is held stable. Less tendency to warp after being sawn that way. If you go that route, best to remove the bark right off the bat with a drawknife or something, to keep the insects out, where normally they like to get under the bark that splits away as the wood dries and starts to shrink. Insects don't particularly like to chew on walnut though, but it's a good precaution. Off the ground as mentioned, and protected from hot sun and rain and hot winds, like it sounds like you have already planned. Good walnut is very valuable material, worldwide demand for it.

 

[cybergeek23851]

Walnut is one of the easier wood to air dry, doesn't tend to warp or split very much as a rule, and dries surprisingly quick.

Precisely! My desktop is made from a slab of old growth black walnut that was cut over 40 years ago. The cache was kept covered and remotely dry. It held up beautifully over the years. Once, I planed it down, I found it had a very tight grain, and it machines well. I only hate working with it, because of an acute sensitivity to the dust from it(blisters my hands, and makes me sneeze).

 

[Al Smith]

Not to be a smart alec or know it all but the reason you seal the end of the log is the fact that the end grain looses moisture faster than cross grain .This is what causes splits or checking .

I use "anchor seal " myself .Roofing tar is the best but you have to cut the end off before you saw it or else the band leaves tar streaks in the lumber .

The outside portion of the log contains the sap wood .If not sawn in a timely fashion it will deteriate but the heart wood should remain in tact .

It is best to saw whatever log in a timely fashion .Oak will last the longest and maple most likely the shortest before it gets too funky to get good lumber .For that matter I've sawn oak that has been on the ground over 20 years and got some real nice lumber out of it .I've also waited 5 years on cherry and got semi spalted .Not really a bad thing because it has a deep hue to it but is still sound .

 

[DTW902]

Ok, I know it sucks starting this thread without a photo. But here it goes I showed up today to do some pruning on this nice big 'ole walnut but the customer(hotel) says they want it gone. Shed a big limb last weekend that almost landed on a rolls.

Well it's gotta be 28" DBH and holds that taper for probably 16'-18' of clear, straight sawlog. Now a tree like this is quite rare around here. I'm starting to poke around for buyers but I wanted to see if any of y'all here might have an idea on the value? I'm talking value of just having it sitting on the ground someone else pays me x amount of dollars and it's there baby for transporting.

I had four people offer to take it off my hands today for free while we were brushing it out.

So what's up with the Walnut in your opinion?

Here ya go Justin, this should give you an idea, at least in my area....
http://mdc4.mdc.mo.gov/Documents/18201.pdf

 

[NeTree]

Waaaay more than that in the Bean.

Me and the boys have been processing firewood like maniacs, toughest part is keeping people from stealing it

Yet another reason I moved away from there. Got tired of paying more for rent than my present mortgage.

 

[OTGBOSTON]

Yet another reason I moved away from there. Got tired of paying more for rent than my present mortgage.

Me 'an the wife both work in town. If we moved out west we'd end up paying out the a$$ for gas, and spend half our time in our cars. I'm a city kid so I really can't imagine another way of life

I did spend two years in Amherst....that was more than enough

 

[Al Smith]

What I remember from being on the east coast ,New London Conn. to be exact , is that Boston had the worst drivers in the world .They drive like maniacs .

To me it's toss up which is worse,Atlanta or Boston .

 

[NeTree]

Amherst is a city to me, dude.

I don't miss sitting on the upper deck baking in the sun trying to get from Arlington to Rockland with the crane, either. (I know, it's not there anymore.)

Sure, the high end residential work is nice out your way, and I still do plenty of it there... but logging is fun, too... and not much call for that in say Medford Square.