# Walnut sawing advice?



## oldred (Nov 18, 2010)

Hi new here, been looking for a group to join and after checking around this appears to be the best site on the net!




My first post concerns how to saw some walnut logs I have that have been drying for about 15 years. These things are about 24" to 30" in diameter and both have large crotch sections that I would like to have sawn for gun stock blanks. How should these fork (crotch) sections be sawn for best appearance? Should they be cut across the fork section or should it be turned 90 deg and the fork split at the crotch? The sawyer at the only local mill has no idea which way to cut these sections for what I am wanting and I sure would hate to guess wrong and ruin these very hard to find pieces of wood.


Please bear with me if I am asking in the wrong place since I am new here, I am really looking forward to learning my way around!


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

Welcome. The crotches should be sawn "flat", meaning both limbs (where there used to be limbs) should lay flat on the deck...Make sense ?

Maybe pictures will help. Here is a link to me milling some elm crotches. http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f26/i-like-crotches-picture-heavy-10281/

And walnut crotch pictures from my mill.
























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## oldred (Nov 18, 2010)

Thanks, I have carved several gun stocks in the past and that is what I wanted the crotch wood for but the figured pieces I used were bought already cut into gun stock blanks. The "feathered" figure I am looking for does not appear to be in the crotch wood in those pics nor was it in the piece I examined at the mill that had been sawen 90 deg (the limb sections of the fork separated) to the ones in the above pictures, which is beautiful wood BTW. This piece I examined at the mill however was fairly small so not much had developed in the way of "feathered" grain structure, perhaps I am looking in the wrong place for the type of wood found on what is referred to as "fancy grade" gun stock blanks?


Thanks for the pics it has been hard for me to visualize how my wood will appear sawn in any manner so that is a big help! What I see there is gorgeous wood and I will definitively have at least one of those sections sawn in that manner, most likely both will be!


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## Daren (Oct 14, 2006)

oldred said:


> The "feathered" figure I am looking for does not appear to be in the crotch wood in those pics


:confused1: You see no crotch feather here...










What about this piece ?












*Let me repeat myself, since you asked...the way to show crotch feather is the way I described, flat sawn.* Not all crotches will have heavy figure, that's life.




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## oldred (Nov 18, 2010)

Yes I do see now what I am looking for in that bottom pic, actually in all of them after looking a bit closer and yes I will certainly have both pieces sawn in that manner. If either piece of my wood comes out anything like what you have in that bottom pic it will be perfect for what I am needing, thanks again for those pics they have helped me a lot.


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## jimmyjames (Nov 23, 2012)

i know this thread is old but not all crotches are flat sawn like said above, in fact flat saw gives you the rat tail figure and not the heavy feathering like sawn the other way, i think it looks better sawn the other way, heres one of my boards not sawn flat



























and heres another not sawn flat


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## oldred (Nov 18, 2010)

It may be an old thread but I am still around and I do drop by occasionally, lot's of good info here. 

Yes now THAT is exactly what I was looking for! I still have yet to cut my latest wood but that is about to happen as soon as the weather allows, it has been standing in dry storage for about 4 years now and during that time I have accumulated 2 more nice pieces both of which were rescued from a firewood cutter! If you could I would greatly appreciate a little more info as to how that was cut, angles maybe or was it just turned 90 deg from the "Y" cut?


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