# Black Walnut Logs



## Jason W (Dec 18, 2008)

I found an add with someone trying to sell 3 Black Walnut logs. All are about 12" round and 2 are 4' long and the other is 9' long. I'll need to take these to a sawyer to turn them into boards.

I don't know much about these things yet. Haven't seen them or asked any questions about them yet. What are some things I should be looking for when I look at them? Does it matter if they're green or not? Seems that I remember reading that these things don't cut well after a certain amount of time.

They're going for $50. seems like a good deal if I can get some wood out of it. Not sure what it might cost to get them milled either (I know prices can vary a lot)

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. :thumbsup:


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

I would try to get them cheaper, that is $0.75 bft in log form for small (I don't even buy them that small diameter) logs. A nice big juicy one is only worth $0.50 in todays hardwood market.

Yes fresh felled is better, but I have milled walnut that has been down awhile and not been dissapointed.


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## Jason W (Dec 18, 2008)

Thanks Daren. How much heart wood would be in a log that small? I have a feeling it may not be worth my time, but I'll take a look at it anyway. They're just a few miles away from me.


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

Depends, but probably not a lot. If it has 1" of sapwood you could have six 1"x7" heartwood boards milled from a 12" log, and a few odds and ends from the mill down that you could probably find a use for. Assuming it is good and straight.

I guess if they are close and you have the time, can't hurt to look.


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## Jason W (Dec 18, 2008)

Well, I took them for $40. Now I need to see what the local Sawyer can do with them. They just got cut in June. I'm pretty new to buying wood this way so if they're not to good it's at least $40 worth of firewood:laughing:

What do you think? I put a Baseball cap on the middle log to give you an idea of their size.


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

Well there should be some neat crotch slabs from the looks of them, like where the baseball cap is laying. Have the sawyer just lay them flat on the mill like that and saw them through and through....Probably get some (4-5) pieces like this out of the middle.









Just FYI I get $100 each for crotch slabs like the one in the picture...so if you have a use for them I would say for $40 you didn't get hurt. :no: If the sawyer is not experienced milling crotches suggest 6/4 mininum. I used to mill them 4/4, but too often they cupped.


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

I don't think that's Black Walnut. Looks more like White Walnut. :stuart:


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

Yea, it's pretty heavy on the sap ain't it TT ?...Yard trees, they do that, grow fast.


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## Jason W (Dec 18, 2008)

It was a back yard tree. To bad the guys who took the tree down also took the nice straight trunk! They told her it was good for fire wood (yea right) At the least it should be fun to see what comes out of it.

I'm going to hold on to the wood, not sell it. The crotch pieces might make some nice small tables if left in their natural form. 

Can these be died in a kiln so I can use them quicker or might that promote warping?


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

Yeah but I was talking about the snow not the sap. I don't mind sap especially in walnut crotch.


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

Jason W said:


> Can these be died in a kiln so I can use them quicker or might that promote warping?


Walnut is one of the more kiln-friendliest species you can get. You got to almost try to screw it up.


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## Jason W (Dec 18, 2008)

Cool, thanks!


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

TexasTimbers said:


> Yeah but I was talking about the snow not the sap.


:blush: That is what all my walnut...and maple/elm/sycamore/osage/gum/cedar/honeylocust...looks like, I didn't even notice the snow :huh:


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

Jason W said:


> It was a back yard tree. To bad the guys who took the tree down also took the nice straight trunk!


If it's any consolation...he got all the nails too :yes:


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## Jason W (Dec 18, 2008)

Daren said:


> If it's any consolation...he got all the nails too :yes:


:laughing: I didn't think about that! No doubt in an old New England town there was plenty of them. Most likely gun shot too.:yes:


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## Jason W (Dec 18, 2008)

So, a few people have told me that you get better color from wood when it is air dried vs kiln dried. Is there any truth to this? I can't imagine but like I said, I'm new at this.

Add: I did some quick searching and found nothing about color. What I did find was a concern about drying it too quickly and severely cracking the figured areas of the crotch. I'll be sure to go slow with this. I may have to make my own kiln for that part.


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

Color, depends. Solar or conventional kilns use high heat and can change the color slightly (and cause the surface checking you mentioned). I use dehumidification so it is totally unchanged, it dries at a lower/gentler temp.

Ok going "slow"...you can't control the weather, you can control a kiln. So air drying (for me) over the years has ruined more crotches than kiln drying...my crotches go right in the kiln.


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## don716 (Mar 1, 2008)

You just need to watch out for nails.I recieved a walnut tree back during the summer. It was 23" at one end and 18" or so at the other and about 14ft long.It was over 30" wide at the crotch and beautiful.I called a sawmill and he asked me if it had any nails and I said "I don't think so".BOY, I was wrong.I checked it with my detector and found 3. When I took it to the mill he asked again.Any nails????. I said I found 3 and got them out.We started checking it again and came up with about 23 more:furious:.Some of them was about 4" deep.After about 2hrs digging I said let's check the other half below the crotch.We only found 2:yes:.We dug them out and cut the tree above the crotch and made some lumber.We had to trim the crotch a little because the saw was only 30" wide. I came home with 13 boards that are air drying in my barn.They are about 7' long.I brought the other piece of the log home and when I get time I will remove the rest of the nails and try to get the rest of it cut.I was told up front that if I break a blade I will have to pay for a new one so I was praying that we found them all.Do you believe after all the time digging nails out and sawing the log I was only charged 40.00.I was sure it was going to cost out the but for all the time with the nails plus sawing. Always Check for nails.


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## sofalinux (May 28, 2009)

Just wondering, in case I find a good log, how do sawmills charge for cutting logs? Can you give me some examples of what you had to pay for a particular log? Do you need to have enough logs to make it worth their while or can you usually find someone to readily cut a single log? 
Just lookin' for a rough estimate of what I should expect to pay for a job.


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## Julian the woodnut (Nov 5, 2008)

If you bring the log to the mill it usually cost between $.25-$.65 per bf and between $6-$20 if he hits a nail.


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## DerekG (Dec 28, 2009)

Daren said:


> Well there should be some neat crotch slabs from the looks of them, like where the baseball cap is laying. Have the sawyer just lay them flat on the mill like that and saw them through and through....Probably get some (4-5) pieces like this out of the middle.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That is beautiful. Next time we drive to Chicago to visit family I may have to stop by and pick one or two of those up. They would look wonderful as a live edge tables in the living rooms.


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## dbhost (Jan 28, 2008)

Not to rub it in, but for log sections that small, you paid for that? I see listings for "Free, just haul it away" walnut, oak, and pecan in Craigslist all the time... And much bigger stuff than that. Makes me wish I had a sawyer close by...


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## Jason W (Dec 18, 2008)

dbhost said:


> Not to rub it in, but for log sections that small, you paid for that? I see listings for "Free, just haul it away" walnut, oak, and pecan in Craigslist all the time... And much bigger stuff than that. Makes me wish I had a sawyer close by...


Black Walnut isn't all that abundant in Vermont. Besides, for $40 I get to play around with something new and exiting to me. Hell, I've had to pay $35 for a small piece of crotch from Walnut in the past.

I'm not too worried, it's not some kind of major investment...


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## dbhost (Jan 28, 2008)

No it's not. Just surprising to me is all... I guess we have stuff you don't and vice versa...


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