iDRY Vacuum Kilns

Sponsors:

School me on cutting black walnut

Started by Woodsrover, December 07, 2012, 06:46:53 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Woodsrover

A tree surgeon friend of mine gave me a call yesterday...Seems a dropped a pretty nice black walnut the other day and couldn't see blocking it up for firewood so he gave me a call.  It's now in the back of my truck in two 6'+ sections awaiting my sawmill.  They're not huge...one is 20" on the big end, 17" on the small and the other is 17" to 15".  There's between 2" and 3" of sapwood around the dark heartwood.

My question is, how should I cut this stuff to get the nicest wood, and stuff that will dry straight?  I'm assuming I want to end up with boards that have no sapwood on them?  Is it going to be ok just flat-sawing this or should I try to quarter-saw it, (though its not that big so that would be tricky).  I've got a couple nice logs here and I don't want to waste it.

When it gets light out I'll post a couple photos of them.


WDH

I have sawn a lot for woodworkers.  Flat saw it.  The best money is in the thick stock.  Don't worry about the sapwood.  If someone does not like it, they can cut it out.  For every one who doesn't want sapwood, there is another that loves the color and contrast.  I would saw the best part of the log as 6/4 (1 & 5/8").  That is great for table tops.  You could also saw some 8/4 slabs from the best part, too.  Cut the lower grade part of the log at 4/4 (1 & 1/8").  It is easier to work around the defects in 4/4.

You might think about choosing the best face and saw through and through leaving the live edge.  Then, scrape off the outer bark with a draw knife.  The live edge looks great on small tables, and you can always edge it off later if you don't want the live edge.
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Bibbyman

The bark is thick.  Plan to make thicker slabs.

If this is your first walnut,  watch as you pull boards.  The wood will be olive grean just for a second.

You don't see sap wood on store bought lumber because they steam it to turn it all uniformly dark.  Unsteamed walnut will be lighter color and more grain pattern.

Guys building reproduction antique furniture will want walnut that's not been steamed.

In short, keep the sap.

I generally edge light, leaving a good bit of bark on odd shaped pieces.  Otherwise, you end up throwing away a lot of good wood.

You could make a couple of mantle pieces.  Good length for that.
Wood-Mizer LT40HDE25 Super 25hp 3ph with Command Control and Accuset.
Sawing since '94

Okrafarmer

All that they said is true, but at the end of the day, I would just add, that it's hard to mess up milling walnut. It's a pretty easy-going wood, and it's hard to ruin it with a sawmill.

I second (third?) keeping the sapwood on. It is more wood, and it doesn't hurt anything.

It's also fairly simple to dry. Just follow the standard axioms of wood drying, and walnut will do it. No tricks, really.
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1

Operating a 2020 Woodmizer LT35 hydraulic for Upcountry Sawmill, Dacusville, SC

Now selling Logrite tools!

Writing fiction and nonfiction! Check my website.

WIwoodworker

I just flat saw it 6/4 and 8/4 depending on what the boards are looking like as they come off the log. My goal is to create good book matched sets. Then I just sticker it and stack it. As Okra said, walnut is very forgiving and hard to mess up. Good luck!



 



 



 
Peterson 9" WPF

Woodsrover

Thanks for the advise.  First thing I would have done would be to remove the sapwood.  Glad I asked.

Here's a photo of the two logs:


shelbycharger400

I milled out my first walnut yesterday, low grade log. read the log , look it over real well. Customer wanted 1 in thick boards, I advised him that with the multiple cracks that standard boards would be very poor. He said he picked it up for free, I advised him that a mantle would be a decent money maker.  I told him aprox value of a single mantle and went with that plan. One decent mantle, and one OK half log style, came out of this log.  I like to use sidewalk chalk to mark things, then mark my planned cuts. Its cheap and works well.
I wish it was my log. 

  

 

As with any log, Cut the low grade spots into thick stock such as mantles or bench stock. The good stuff go 2 in thick with live edge.   Stay atleast one inch away from the pith in all directions, most say 2 inch.  The core piece is prone to twist ect.  3 to 4 inches in from the outside, take a slice at 3 to 4 in thick and slow dry it.  Gunstocks bring good money but need to have premium piece. Take a few hours and look at what is online for bowl turning, gunstocks, mantles, table tops, counters. This will help you, Knowing the market before you cut the first cut . Sawing general box store lumber is one thing, sawing hobby workers material is another.  Hobby workers buy stuff they cant get anywhere, and most are willing to pay for it, and drive an hour to hour and a half to get it too.

Okrafarmer

Quote from: Woodsrover on December 07, 2012, 12:56:45 PM
Thanks for the advise.  First thing I would have done would be to remove the sapwood.  Glad I asked.

Here's a photo of the two logs:



Your logs look nicer than Shelbycharger's.  ;D You should do fine with them. Do try to eliminate your pith from your keeper boards. The pith piece, if you center the "bulls-eye" of the pith in both ends, can be used for a mantel or whatever IF it dries straight, which it may or may not.
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1

Operating a 2020 Woodmizer LT35 hydraulic for Upcountry Sawmill, Dacusville, SC

Now selling Logrite tools!

Writing fiction and nonfiction! Check my website.

WDH

Fortunately, the pith in walnut does not crack like oak and cherry.
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

thecfarm

WIwoodworker,I must comment on your fine stacking job. At first I thought something was growing out of the log.  ;D  Than I realized that was stickers. Good luck everyone with the walnut.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

WIwoodworker

Thank you cfarm. I think there's a mental health disorder or two associated with my stacking preferences but I like it.
Peterson 9" WPF

Magicman

I do too.  It immediately caught my eye.   smiley_thumbsup
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

Woodsrover

Got this stuff slabbed up this morning.  The smaller one I cut at 6/4 and the larger one 8/4.  Wife wants a 6'x3' dinning room table with a heavy top.  Guess this wood is spoken for!

Just like Bibbyman said, this wood is very olive color right now though the ends are very dark.  Interesting.  I used a new band and it was very easy to saw and had no tension to speak of.  Went nice and slow and took my time.  Though it was yard-wood I found no metal in it at all.  I washed each plank as it came off the mill.  These Timberwolf bands have left staining in some oak I cut early this year and didn't want to chance that.

Anyway, here are a couple of photos:






Magicman

UV and oxygen will gradually darken the boards and the green tint will fade.  Seeing those colors that are inside of a freshly sawn Walnut log is a treat reserved for us sawyers.  I smiled when Bibby reminded you to look.   :)
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

Woodsrover

Quote from: Magicman on December 08, 2012, 01:45:29 PM
I smiled when Bibby reminded you to look.   :)

He forgot to tell me this stuff stains your hands too!   :D


Magicman

 :D  Yup it does, but that is a closely guarded trade secret known only to those that saw.  Welcome to the club.
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

Bibbyman

Looking good.   Maybe get some 1" load binders and strap around the stack.  Check for slack every now and tighten as required.
Wood-Mizer LT40HDE25 Super 25hp 3ph with Command Control and Accuset.
Sawing since '94

terrifictimbersllc

Is that masking tape or sapwood!?? it's pretty bright. And it looks like the heartwood has been planed.  Wow.
DJ Hoover, Terrific Timbers LLC,  Mystic CT Woodmizer Million Board Foot Club member. 2019 LT70 Super Wide 55 Yanmar,  LogRite fetching arch, WM BMS250 sharpener/BMT250 setter.  2001 F350 7.3L PSD 6 spd manual ZF 4x4 Crew Cab Long Bed

customsawyer

I think you might run into some trouble with mold due to where you have it stacked. It is going to be difficult to get good air flow in a corner or against a wall like that. Nice looking lumber by the way.
Two LT70s, Nyle L200 kiln, 4 head Pinheiro planer, 30" double surface Cantek planer, Lucas dedicated slabber, Slabmizer, and enough rolling stock and chainsaws to keep it all running.
www.thecustomsawyer.com

Nomad

     That really is some pretty lumber!  Like CustomSawyer said though, get it away from that wall where it can get some air flow around it.  Where it is is just asking for trouble.
Buying a hammer doesn't make you a carpenter
WoodMizer LT50HDD51-WR
Lucas DSM23-19

shelbycharger400

Its interesting to see that your log has a lot of sapwood, but the heart is dark black,
whereas the one I slabbed here (sat in a guys garage for years) has only 1/4 of sapwood that is a dark grey, but overall the color of the wood is like coco powder brown.

Woodsrover

Quote from: customsawyer on December 08, 2012, 06:13:53 PM
I think you might run into some trouble with mold due to where you have it stacked. It is going to be difficult to get good air flow in a corner or against a wall like that. Nice looking lumber by the way.

I'm thinking about putting a fan on it for a few days and then moving it to a different location where it'll get more air.  I had a mold problem with a bunch of white pine that was cut this summer and believe me, I've been thinking about that.  Hopefully the cold weather will help too.

WDH

A fan on the 8/4 might hurt you if the wood dries too fast.  That will cause it to crack and split as the shell dries too much faster than the core setting up the stress.  Generally not too bad in walnut, but a definite issue with oak.  If you do use a fan, do not have it blowing directly into the stack, but rather parallel to the long axis of the boards set a few feet to one side.  That will still create air flow, just not direct velocity air flow through the wood.
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

mikeb1079

QuoteA fan on the 8/4 might hurt you if the wood dries too fast.  That will cause it to crack and split as the shell dries too much faster than the core setting up the stress.  Generally not too bad in walnut, but a definite issue with oak.  If you do use a fan, do not have it blowing directly into the stack, but rather parallel to the long axis of the boards set a few feet to one side.  That will still create air flow, just not direct velocity air flow through the wood.

good advice.    8)

i've got a whack of walnut out back and seeing some pics of fresh sawn still makes me want to saw some more!
that's why you must play di drum...to blow the big guys mind!
homebuilt 16hp mill
99 wm superhydraulic w/42hp kubota

Okrafarmer

That's some beautiful stuff! I have 450 bf I need to get into pretty soon.
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1

Operating a 2020 Woodmizer LT35 hydraulic for Upcountry Sawmill, Dacusville, SC

Now selling Logrite tools!

Writing fiction and nonfiction! Check my website.

Thank You Sponsors!