Black Walnut - Sawing/Milling Instructions?

[Dave Rizzolo]

My sister and brother in-law are moving. They have several black walnut trees available for harvest. All approx 24" diameter. What is the best way to have these sawn? I will do the falling and cutting to length. What is the best usable lengths? What dimensions should I have them milled? Planning on using for furniture. Do you avoid QS on the walnut?

What is the smallest diameter of branches that you would consider salvaging?

Sorry for all the ..... Thanks!

-Dave

[Tom Sontag]

I would cut them to whatever lengths the logs suggest. For example, if the first branch is 16' up, you've got two 8' logs. If 12', one twelve footer. Longer is better if you can store and dry them (waste is less) - this is why most lumber retails from 8-12' in length. Much longer and it is unwieldy.

I am assuming you will have a portable mill come and convert these to lumber, so if you find an experienced sawyer to help, all your questions will be answered. QS walnut is unneccessary - just plain saw into 4/4 and 8/4 (and perhaps some 6/4 if you see a table top needed).

Unless the branch is growing vertically, I doubt you would want the lumber from it. Tension and reaction wood from a non-centered pith means warping problems. Diameter from the small end inside the bark of less than 12" is not worth putting on a mill. If you do not want sapwood, that number gets larger.

One more thing: if you have a "U" shaped crotch (not a "V"), saw with all three pith points in the horizontal plane to maximize the crotch figuring. Avoid boards with pith. "Saw for grade" to a knowledgable sawyer will give you the most high grade lumber.
Nice score. Walnut air dries very well. Be sure to sticker it and keep it out of the sun and rain. Ideally, you should end coat the logs right after felling with Anchorseal to prevent checking.

[Donnie Raines]

Tom gave you lots of good advice, but I do disagree on the qrt sawn part.

Qrt sawn walnut is very attractive. It does not have the ray flake oak or cherry posses, but the grain is straight and very pleasing to the eye. This makes for easy to match table tops, door panels and for door frames and the like. I would have some qrt sawn specificly for these application in mind. In fact, I have an entire bedroom set made of qrt sawn walnut.

[Dave Rizzolo]

Thanks Tom!

Not only am I the "Feller", I am also the loader and hauler to the mill. I appreciate the input, great advice.

Planning on drying in an old empty hay loft, it has been a useful when I dried some oak in the past.

I am a newbie to this forum, it looks like a great family!

-Dave

[Jim Becker]

Dave, drying indoors, at least for the first year is not the best way to do it...not enough air flow. A properly stickered stack outdoors that the prevailing winds can blow through will give you best results. You only need to cover the top to keep water from pooling; leave the sides open. There have been a number of articles in recent years in the various woodworking magazines that explain stacking clearly if you need to see pictures, etc. I'm now using walnut from our property that was cut in late 2000 and it's just beautiful!

BTW, it's a lot less work to have a sawyer with a portable mill come to the property rather than haul the logs unless you have a boom truck, etc., to deal with the loading. Those logs are going to be VERY heavy. At 24", they are also getting close to the limits of some mills, so be sure to discuss this with the sawyer in advance.

Save the crotches and larger limb wood for turning; either by yourself or others. The remaining wood makes for excellent firewood so it will not go to waste. Byproducts that get chipped should NOT be used for mulch unless they are heavily composted first since this is walnut. It can inhibit growth for many species. It's also poisonus to certain animals, such as horses, so cannot be used for bedding.

[Paul Downes]

Welcome Dave, to the creek. I am hoping to also drop a couple of walnuts this week. Let me know if you need a sawwmill guy, I know a few. I live between Lansing and Grand Rapids so I'm just down the road a piece.

For sure take a gallon of Anchor seal with you when you fell those trees. Coat the ends of any wood you plan to use the first day. I neglected to do this recently on some walnut bowl blanks and after getting one mostly turned saw a crack opening up. The bowl now has 'character' . I sometimes take lumber to a friend who has a kiln, I'm amazed at how many folks don't coat the ends of their logs. You will lose anywhere from 6" to 12" per end of each board. This adds up in a hurry. I've had little to zero end checks with anchor seal and highly recommend it. Contrary to common belief, latex paint does not work as well and wax coating the ends means having a way to melt wax on the job site, not my idea of convenience. Good luck and be safe!

[Joseph N. Myers]

Dave,

Another way of finding a local sawyer is to call Wood-Mizer, 317-271-1542. They have lists of people that have their equipment and mill lumber for others in the area. Mot of them should be able to answer all your questions. The ones I’ve known do not fell the trees but you mentioned that you’ll be doing that.
I second and third everything else that was said, especially about drying outside for the first year. It can be done inside but that would require multiple fans to make sure the air is distributed and on a timer as you don’t want to over do it. Just better to do it outside for the 1st year. Walnut dries pretty quick so one year should be enough.

Never thought of quarter-sawn walnut. My walnut has been saw "through and through" or "plain-sawn" but no matter how sawn, there will be some quarter-sawn in the wood. Tomorrow I have to sort through some walnut for a project and will look for some.

How many bf can you get out of a tree? Measure the average diameter of the small end of the log (or section) inside the bark. There are at least 3 different scales used to calculate bf but they are pretty close. A 24" wide x 10' will yield 250 bf. If you don’t use the sap (white) wood and the sap ring (on the outside) is 2", the resulting 20" will yield 175 bf; if 4", the resulting 16" will yield 110 bf.

Regards, Joe