# Bending/Shaping Black Walnut?



## Bubba Rhubarb (Aug 17, 2020)

HI THERE!

I just picked up this amazing Black Walnut root structure... as you can see, there is a slight S-shape to it. I want to flatten it out so I can mount the stump to a base (hammered metal? wine barrel?) and put a thick oval glass top on it and turn it into dining room table!!! 

QUESTION:
How would you suggest getting the roots flattened out? 
Soak it in some sort of solution? 
Put weights on top of it?

I'm open to suggestions... Thanks in advance!


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## John Smith_inFL (Jul 4, 2018)

welcome to the forum, Bubba.
it is very refreshing to see a complete profile with location
and photos in the proper orientation from a new member.
(some Senior Members here should take note).

this will take time - and I mean LOTS of time.
(steam bending and clamping to a caul comes first to my mind).
how long are you willing to wait to get the results you want ?
and, there is no guarantee that the root will not try to return to its original state.
you may have unrealistic expectations - but we'll see where the suggestions go.

.


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## Bubba Rhubarb (Aug 17, 2020)

Thanks John.

I'm in NO rush... FYI, I have a 12 ft. rainbow poplar slab that was cut still green with slight cupping, so it has been drying out under 3/4" plywood and 200 lbs. of furniture for the past 6 months. I am eager to install it as my new kitchen countertop, but great results cannot be rushed. 

But the root is already dried, and thus a little too big for my little hand steamer, and an oddball shape that keeps me from pressing it under plywood. A friend suggested soaking it in a vinegar solution for a week would soften it up, but I don't want to risk ruining the walnut or creating rot spots. This is my first time working with black walnut...

If some solution will make it more flexible, I was thinking of cutting some pieces of plywood to fit, and then stacking a bunch of cinder blocks on top. If I can get it a little more flattened, I can plane it from there, enough to hold the glass top without wobbling. 

Has anyone used vinegar to make wood flexible?
Any better recommendations?


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

I have used heat to bend wood in the past and it will hold it's shape unless it gets hot again. Apply pressure while applying heat but be aware, after a while, if you continue to heat, the heat will make the wood brittle so be careful and watch the bend for cracks. If you see a crack starting to form back off with the pressure. Once it starts that process it is over, the wood will be too brittle to bend with just heat and pressure.

Maybe you could apply wet rags, heat and pressure, that may be a way, but I have never tried that. You may want to give that a try on a scrap piece of wood first.


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

I would be very leery trying to do anything with roots. The material in roots is not the same as it is in the above ground growth.


If you had gotten them just as the tree was cut then you may have had good luck.


George


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## Bubba Rhubarb (Aug 17, 2020)

Thanks GeorgeC,

This root system was actually above ground, as the tree was growing atop a large slab of granite on the side of a mountain, and the roots were sprawling across the rock into the soil around its edges. Do you think that makes a difference?

My research on the web indicates that black walnut holds its shape well after bending. It keeps a lot of flexibility after applying heat and moisture. Some have reported that high temp steam can discolor the wood by chemicaly changing the starches and sugars, and I can find no reports that vinegar will cause any permanent damage, and that the added flexibility goes away when the vinegar evaporates.

CURRENT THOUGHTS: Since the roots are up to 3-4 in. thick in areas I want to bend flat, I was thinking of working on just one root at a time, soaking it in a warm vinegar/water solution (50/50?) for up to a day to two, warmed by the Georgia sun (it's about 85 degrees during the day). Then with BigJim's suggestion, maybe wrap that root in a rag soaked with warm vinegar, and hit it with a hair dryer? (is a paint stripping gun too much?) while slowly tightening a clamping caul (JohnSmith_inFL's suggestion) along the length of that one root against a flat surface of plywood. After it dries and cools, remove the clamping caul and move to the next root.

DOES THIS MAKE ANY SENSE? 
I am always open to better ideas....


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

Just because these particular roots grew above ground, does not make them the same as standard black walnut lumber. Roots are different. What you learn about black walnut properties does NOT necessarily apply to black walnut roots.


I have never heard of anyone doing anything with roots so cannot help you to find a source of information.


George


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

Bubba Rhubarb said:


> Thanks GeorgeC,
> 
> This root system was actually above ground, as the tree was growing atop a large slab of granite on the side of a mountain, and the roots were sprawling across the rock into the soil around its edges. Do you think that makes a difference?
> 
> ...


From my experience, the wood can try to straighten again if heated later. I built a clock similar to the one in the photo below, it sat on a mantel and after a while (several weeks) the wood did try to restraighten.


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