The Butternut Qwest

[SW_IOWA_SAWYER]

My BIL is a wood carver who uses basswood, catalpa, and butternut. He needed some more butternut, not a local tree in my neck of the woods. So we set upon a qwest in search of some logs. We met a great guy from MN who deals in that sort of thing and met him half way. We ended up with 12 logs not huge but great for his needs. He is quite a wood carver  (hopefully) here is a sample of his work. I like the butternut easy to cut smells good may have to get some for my own woodworking needs, another qwest perhaps :D

[Fred]

Speaking of Butternut What else is it good for ? Best sized boards to have on hand ? Never sawed it before but know where some is.                Thanks Fred

[WV_hillbilly]

  Nice looking piece there SW Iowa      .   The BIL is pretty talented   eh  ?    About that Butternut we have some of them around here . It is one of my favorites to scrollsaw .

[sprucebunny]

I got some butternut  Fresh today ;D

There was a 24-28" dbh butternut overhanging my old house but on the neighbors side. The new owner (third in 4 years) paid to have it cut down.

We saved the owner $200 by dragging it over to our house and then my friend ( and xhusband) , Steve loaded it on my trailer ;D



The tree used to be in the fence row behind the corner of the yellow house. The butt log is visible. I didn't take it. Hollow.




A butt end about 11"



A stash of butternut 1/4" thick that I bought a few years ago for kitchen cabinet door panels.




Loading logs on trailer. The tree experts  ;) cut it into 5 and ten foot pieces. After almost 30 years of living next door to that tree, I KNOW there weren't any big straight sections :D

If anyone wants turning pieces, let me know.
I am looking for suggestions on what thickness boards/cants to make out of it for good drying and later resawing to 1/4" for cabinet door panels. ( I glue them to plywood and seal them well ;D )

I'll probably cut some 5/4 to make into the door rails and stiles.

Thanks for any advice.

[oakiemac]

I just traded some cherry logs for some butternut. I have never sawn it before either. I'm told that it is a beautiful wood to work with.

[Norm]

It saws very similar to and looks alot like walnut to me. It's also pretty easy to air dry.

I'd saw it to 8/4's for later use to rip the 1/4" stock from Joan.

[sprucebunny]

Thanks, Norm. I'm glad to hear it dries easy.

This will be the first hardwood I've sawed ;D

[mike_van]

Like walnut, but softer and a lighter tan color than walnut. A good wood all around.  I did some 8x8's a few years ago for mantels, he had some carving done on them and they look pretty good.

[Engineer]

I've got a stash of thin butternut for cabinet door panels, like you do Joan.  The wood is soft, almost basswood or pine soft, not like walnut.  Carves nicely and is easy to work.  You can get some twisty grain in it which tears out and fuzzes badly.  Key is to wet it a little bit before planing, or use a drum or widebelt sander.  I also have some thicker 8/4 pieces that I dont have a use for yet, and a whole 20" dia. butt log 10' long that I need to saw.

[bedway]

i have roughly 800 bf of butternut given to me  free. a gentleman friend of mine was going to get into woodworking and had the wood milled and dried. about his third cut on a radial arm saw he lost the tips of a couple fingers. he called me an said ive lost my desire to try this woodworking hobby,,,do you want this wood? i was over to his house in about 42 seconds! this is all to common,, weekend woodworkers getting hurt on equipment!  knock on wood,,,,,,,ive been doing it for over 30 years and have all my digets