# Milled some more HVBW , , ,



## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

Starting to mill some more run-of-the-mill _'Highly Valuable Black Walnut'_ to replenish my inventory. I never get tired of milling walnut. This trashy looking piece has a little curl, a little bit of mottle and a little sap spalt. It's not actual _mottle_ but I don't know what else to call it. You can barely make it out on the lower right edge of the board in the sap portion. What is that called anyone know? BTW this board is not from the one clamped on the mill below it I just threw it up there to photo it. 








This board is from the other side of the same trash log. I let this log lay in the spalt pile and got some sap spalt with no punk at all - it's hard as . . . . walnut! I got some outer jacket boards that look like crap now but they'll make some beautiful wood. This piece was the part of the log that was lying next to the ground so it spalted better. 









That knot has a small area of rot but it didn't spread out into the rest of the log thankfully. 








I took 4 bookmatched pair from the log this pair came from, and also some 2 x 4s, 3 x 5s, 4 x 4s, and a 2 x 8 for frames, legs, aprons, & stretchers etc. 








I sawed this 9'6" flitch for a counter top or a bench or a really long something-or-another. 















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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

Here's a closer look at that pattern. I found small patches of it all throughout the outer jackets of this log - I don't know what to call it.










And then a closer look at the spalted sap. It looks punky in the pic but it's not at all. Some of the lines get into the heart a little. 











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## Tennessee Tim (Dec 15, 2010)

TT,

HMMMMMM:huh:.....I see your at it AGAIN....THE SAW..... TEXAS T....TIMBER that is.....:laughing::icon_cool::no::yes::thumbsup:. Looking good.

I've had to lay off the blade this week, but the withdrawals are getting bad...GOTTA SAW!!!!!

I'm posting a thread with pic on my walnut find yesterday.Check it out.

The Lord's been BLESSING me GOOD. He's so worthy of our PRAISE:notworthy:. Have a Blessed night in Jesus's Love,
Tim


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## qbilder (Dec 19, 2010)

I don't know what it's called, either, but have seen it before. Always only a little bit, though. Snakewood has that figure:
http://www.woodfinder.com/woods/scans/snakewood.jpg

Other than snakewood, all of it I have seen were caused by bugs or worms between tree & bark and leave an impression in the wood. I assume it's the bugs that wood peckers are after, dunno. Cool figure, though.


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## aardvark (Sep 29, 2011)

To me, it doesn't matter what it is, as long as it's strong, stable and used in the right scenario.. 
The looks are impressive, and I would "plank that succa"


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

qbilder said:


> I don't know what it's called, either, but have seen it before. Always only a little bit, though. Snakewood has that figure:
> http://www.woodfinder.com/woods/scans/snakewood.jpg
> 
> . . .


I thought of snakewood the first time I saw the pattern too. And like snakewood the pattern is within the wood - no undulations like what you might get with bug attacks. 




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## qbilder (Dec 19, 2010)

TexasTimbers said:


> I thought of snakewood the first time I saw the pattern too. And like snakewood the pattern is within the wood - no undulations like what you might get with bug attacks.
> .


Yeah I know what you mean. It's figure, stain, whatever. What I meant by bugs is that I have noticed that with logs that have that pattern on the outside, from bugs, also has traces of it inside the wood. If you look close, it doesn't have grain irregularities, just different colors that give the pattern. Bugs is my only guess to what causes it because it looks like the pattern bugs leave on the outside. I have no evidence what so ever to support it, just a thought.


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

qbilder said:


> . . . If you look close, it doesn't have grain irregularities, just different colors that give the pattern. Bugs is my only guess to what causes it because it looks like the pattern bugs leave on the outside. I have no evidence what so ever to support it, just a thought.


Ahh okay. I see what you mean, that makes sense to me too now. I think it's a good theory. I have some more BW logs where that came from I'll look for bugs in the bark and/or sap when I uncover the next one. 




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## qbilder (Dec 19, 2010)

Beautiful walnut, BTW. I just discovered some native walnut here that I had no idea existed. I cut a small standing dead one & was surprised at the marble grain. It's not like eastern black walnut, so I guess i'll have to look at some of the west coat walnuts. The color & grain reminded me of circassion walnut. I dunno what it is but I want a good log. Trouble is I found them growing in national forest, along streams, which means they would be very hard to get out and very illegal to harvest :laughing:


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## greg4269ub (Sep 1, 2009)

I agree with bilder on the coloration giving the pattern. I have seen a similar pattern only one other time in spalted maple. The color was different of course but the pattern is very similar. I tried to use the boards by cutting them into smaller strips for some decorative edging. The mottled areas seemed hard but once the board was cut it fell apart in the location of that particular pattern. Another thing I noticed with the maple I tried using was that it was considerably lighter in weight than other boards (both wet and dry) of similar size cut from the same log. Being that it was in your spalting pile is it possible that it is some sort of funky fungus?


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

greg4269ub said:


> . . . Being that it was in your spalting pile is it possible that it is some sort of funky fungus?


I don't really know. The walnut was not punky though nor was it soft where the patterns are. It's rained here a bunch past couple days but no more in the forecast for a while. Imagine I'll be milling again this weekend sometimes so I'll dig out another _trashy _walnut log. 





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## slabmaster (Mar 30, 2008)

*snakewood pattern*

I get that same pattern in my spaulted ash. I never see any indication of bug action causing it either. It seems to occur when wood is in the spaulting phase, so i think it's just a form of spaulting. It looks cool and just adds to the spaulting effect don't you think? It might be caused because of different density patterns in the wood as i also see that pattern when wood has burned.


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## qbilder (Dec 19, 2010)

slabmaster said:


> It might be caused because of different density patterns in the wood as i also see that pattern when wood has burned.


Yeah, good thought. That could be exactly it.


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