Blades for dry Walnut

[WH_Conley]

I have been sawing off and on for a few months now for a Chinese company. They came into our part of the country and bought all the small Walnut around. A pain to saw but the money is good. Some of it had laid on the log yard lots for 2-3 years. The dust and dirt are so bad that sometimes when the sun hits right you can see sparkles like shattered glass. Silica from sand is my guess. Most of the bark is gone and some are so hard you think you are sawing Hickory. I have been running Wood Mizer 10 degree blades. Using 2-3 times as many blades as I usually do. Any suggestions?

[customsawyer]

Go to 4° and turn the water off. You will still use more blades but the 4° are more forgiving.

[Larry]

The Misouri River flooded in '93 and a big whack of walnut on a landing was submerged in flood waters for most of a year.  Some of the walnut was big and veneer quality.  Took the lawyers about 5 years to figure out who owned what.  I got the call to saw them up after they finished, but they weren't worth much by that time.

Any blade with a seven degree hook or less worked ok.  All of the bands dulled fast because of the sand  in the cracks but less hook always retains a sharp tip longer.  I sharpened my own and kept them right at 4 degrees.  While the logs laid in the bottoms the shooters used them as a backstop for target shooting.  Some of the bullet jackets would stop a band right now.

I really like sawing walnut and sold a lot of small stuff that came out when I did TSI on my woodlot.  Some went to Missouri Walnut which was Chinese.

[taylorsmissbeehaven]

I have never tried any 4* but probably should. I had a good experience cutting some small dry walnut with wm 7*. My 10* didn't last long, but the sevens hung in there. Best of luck Brian

[AnthonyW]

I have never tried any 4* but probably should. I had a good experience cutting some small dry walnut with wm 7*. My 10* didn't last long, but the sevens hung in there. Best of luck Brian

I have only cut a LOT of eastern white pine and some red oak. That has also been my experience, the 10* didn't last as long as the 7*. I think much of it has to do with operator technique combined engine HP and the aggressive bite of the blade. I believe with my technique and lower HP (15HP Kohler) results in abusing the 10* teeth. I found the 10* blades to be very touchy on feed rate when trying to maintain a steady engine RPM (and by extension blade FPM). I think the 7* blades were more forgiving and/or a better match for my technique and engine HP. I noticed the difference immediately when I switched from the 10* to the 7* for the first time. Better (more steady) engine RPM, more steady (and faster) feed rate and thereby a higher board per minute rate, and in the long haul the feed rate was maintained higher for a longer time (increased blade life).

I think the moral of the story for blade selection is to ask for opinions, check the manufacturer's website for their thoughts, start there, and then select the blade that works best for you.

[21incher]

Make sure you wear a good respirator. Walnut sawdust can cause serious lung issues.

[Brad_bb]

Been sawing dry reclaim for the last 6 weeks using woodmizer 7 degree double hard.  Works well in my opinion, but if you've got dirt/sand it's going to dull your blades faster.  Would it pay to do some pressure washing first? 

[beenthere]

Can't hurt, but will be messy.

[WH_Conley]

Have some 4's on the way. Thanks for the replies.

[hunz]

Have some 4's on the way. Thanks for the replies.

My only advice would have not to relied upon 9* blades, but looks looks like you've got it handled. Sawed some dry large walnut last week, very small slight waves with the 9s

[WH_Conley]

I can't believe the difference in the 4's. Faster feed rate and about twice the production per blade. Thanks guys. Haven't had a chance to try them in anything else. I saw a lot of Poplar, Oak some Ash and Hickory. How do they perform on these woods?

[Dave Shepard]

I think you will like them in ash and hickory. Oak and tulip I've always used 10°.