I have two large Walnut logs that have been down about 16 months. One is eight feet and the other ten feet in diameter, with no visible branches apparent. Both are about 24 inches in diameter. I am planning to take them to a local sawyer who has done some work for me before. What is the best way to saw these logs? should we try to isolate the sap wood from the heart wood.? Would quarter sawing make any sense at all? I am planning 4/4 and 6/4 thicknesses. Wolud it make sense to make any thicker pieces of the sap wood and plan on resawing later as necessary? Any thoughts, reference sources for information or help would be appreciated.
Dr J
Replies
Hey Doc,
A lot depends on what's inside. Big trees like that can have surprises like crown rot, fractures, etc. I can't think of any reason to quarter saw, and you'll get better yields with plain sawing. I would also think about how, and when you'll use the wood. 4/4 and 6/4 dry quicker than 8/4 and 12/4, but you'll want the thicker pieces if you start carving furniture legs.
Tom
Thanks for your tips. The logs certainly look good on the ends but maybe things are different inside.
Dr J I hope you painted the ends at the time they were cut, or you may have lost a lot of good wood due to end-checking. After this length of time, it is likely that insects will have invaded the sapwood. At the time of milling, if you can see any signs, I would recommend that you saw all of the sapwood off and get rid of it ASAP.
Sometimes though before the bugs move in, between rain and dry periods, I have found that the tea from rain percolating through the bark will take care of staining the sapwood better than I could ever hope to do with the other normal methods.
While I like to QS most woods just to reduce the shrinkage over the width of the board by half, walnut is about the only wood that I like better flat than QS.
If only the first part of your description were true, I would be right over with the sawmill. 6 to 8' diameter walnut would be a rarity.
You're right 6 and 8' diameter would be big. What I meant was 16 feet and 8 feet in length. Should have proofed. Thanks
Dr.
I hope that 16 months wasn't too long to wait. I saw my logs immediately, and then sticker the wood to dry. Bugs will invade the bark and sapwood very quickly, and can destroy what was once a beautiful long of boards. In the future, I'd recommend sawing much faster. I learned this years ago the hard way.
Jeff
I'd cut them pretty soon; I mostly like flatsawn walnut, but you may find good figure inside that is best cut some otherway. It's like a christmas present: you may get a good surprise, or you may get those sweaters you need.
If you didn't coat the ends right away and maintain the seal, you've lost a lot of wood due to shrinkage checks. Likewise, I like to cut the log in half lengthwise to minimize radial cracking.
Do not kiln dry if you can possibly store the wood stickered until it drys. Put it under the guest bed maybe (or in the barn like I do). Air dried wood has subtle, but vibrant, purple, red, and yellow highlights to the dark brown that shame the KD stuff. KD stuff is dark brown with no real variation outside of sapwood. If it's steamed to darken the sapwood, that much worse for the color.
Edited 4/20/2005 11:53 pm ET by telemiketoo
Thanks for the tips. I plan to stack in a pole barn and air dry.
Hope you have success with your logs, let us know the outcome.
About a year ago, I drove past a walnut orchard which was taken down, and I approached the owner. He allowed me to chain saw some trunks out and I ended up with eight 6' foot long x 14" thick logs. This is English Walnut, grafted onto black Walnut. I chain sawed just above the base of the trunk and just below the junction where the branches started. During the chain saw process, there was no sign of any hardwood, it was all white sapwood. The trees were about twenty years old.
Interesting, after six months, I decided to split one log, to find that there is very little white or sap wood, and all the sapwood was in the area of the chain saw cuts. I'm not sure what happened here, if I milled these logs immediately, would all the wood have been white and did the brown Walnut color develop over time, or perhaps was it just my luck to chain saw in the sapwood area?
Subsequently, a mill cut all the logs into 5/4 boards for me and I have a nice load of Walnut lumber stickered and drying in sunny California. I did get a bit of insect damage, unfortunately, but there is a lot of good lumber. I guess I will always ponder about whether the purple brown Walnut color developed over time, or if it was always there.....
About 25 years ago, I took a large black walnut tree to be milled and to our surprise, they hit a nail about half way through. Depending where your tree comes from, you may have a difficult time finding someone to cut your tree. I would also agree and have them trim most of the sap wood off. I also seal all my lumber with a product from Highland Hardware in Atlanta that is made specifically for that purpose. Have used paint in the past with very poor results. Adzman
Mike, Back in the old days when when the only mills around were circular, it was a big deal to hit a nail. Most mills wouldn't take a tree from near a home. Now I have one of the woodmizer mills for my personal use.
When I hit a nail with it, it cost less than $10 to have a blade sharpened which is no big deal when you weigh that against what you can gain in free lumber from getting a nice yard tree.
There is a good thread running over on woodweb that might interest you. Here is a link. http://www.woodweb.com/cgi-bin/forums/sawdry.pl?read=404864So if a good tree comes your way, don't send it to the dump.
I've had wonderful luck with Black Walnut, it's almost impoosible to ruin other than occassional checking on the end I've never losy a single piece of black walnut.. I'm so careless with it due to my past experiance that I don't even bother to sticker or weight/strap it down.
I'm not suggesting such plan of attack but simply pointing out how easy this wood is to dry..
Thanks to every one who responded. My sawyer and I have an agreement. If he finds any hardware in my logs, I get to keep the hardware and pay for the saw inserts or sharpening.
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