english walnut tree

[millmate.co.uk]

hi all i just came across a large walnut tree that had fallen so i asked the land owner it he wanted to sell it he did lol

 

theres bout 5 tons of it

 

any ideas how to maximize it for profit ?

 

is it best to swingmill it or plank it with the bandsaw ?

[Brushcutter]

Get the rootball out thats the best bit. I'd say the wider the boards the better.

[millmate.co.uk]

hi you mean just dig around it and pull it out ? the stump is about 5 ft across its gona be a big task but will it be worth it ?

[agg221]

You want to really work out your market on this one. Long, wide boards are always likely to be saleable, if they don't split. Be very, very careful milling at this time of year to avoid surface checking. You want to get thickness right - be generous rather than miserly or you'll have a lot of expensive firewood if it goes wrong. I'd be milling at 1.25in thickness, trying to maximise the number of quartersawn boards for dimensional stability and keeping the rootball if at all possible.

 

You can also expect a lot of nails for the bottom 6ft. Metal detector after every board, or you are likely to spend more on bands than you make in boards.

 

Alec

[tommer9]

I wasnt aware that surface checking was due to the time of year timber was milled, more the drying process incorrectly applied?

[agg221]

Yes, it's incorrect drying process, but when the weather is cold and damp it's pretty forgiving whereas when it's hot and sunny it isn't. In a drying wind, this can literally mean less than 10mins exposure to initiate it - had it on an oak once where we had to mill in an exposed site and it meant whipping boards off the mill and on top of one another under a hedge as fast as possible - you could watch the surface checking starting to open on the edges. Fortunately it was through-and-through sawing so exposed edges were only where we'd had to trim it a bit to fit the mill and we were losing the edge inch or so when we squared up anyway.

 

Alec

[millmate.co.uk]

is it worth kinln drying it or air drying slower the better i thinks

[Rob D]

Get the rootball out thats the best bit. I'd say the wider the boards the better.

 

I have done some research on walnut roots and called around gunstock makers and furniture makers. I cannot find any interested in walnut roots.

 

Quality gunmakers seem to use turkish walnut from knee height then about a foot or so into the ground.... but turkish and kasikstan walnut is what they are after as it is better for gunstocks.

 

I can't find anyone who wants to pay for English walnut root (I could of had a lovely one the other day as well)....

 

Have you got some numbers of people who are interested in the root?

 

If it's worth it I'll extract it next time.

[Rob D]

hi all i just came across a large walnut tree that had fallen so i asked the land owner it he wanted to sell it he did lol

 

theres bout 5 tons of it

 

any ideas how to maximize it for profit ?

 

is it best to swingmill it or plank it with the bandsaw ?

 

 

I'd find someone who is interested in it before you mill it if re-sale is what you're after.

 

But bear in mind not all walnut is good walnut. It depends on the amount of sapwood, colour of heartwood and presence of shake.

 

I had a couple of discs off a walnut I helped mill yesterday that was the darkest and tightest ringed I've seen but it still had a lot of shake.

 

If it's quality then it'll be worth good cash but if average then not a lot if you're looking to sell it on.

 

Take a thin slice off the end of the butt and take a pic straight away while the wood is damp. This tells you if the wood is good, bad or middlin'

[tommer9]

I'd find someone who is interested in it before you mill it if re-sale is what you're after.

 

But bear in mind not all walnut is good walnut. It depends on the amount of sapwood, colour of heartwood and presence of shake.

 

I had a couple of discs off a walnut I helped mill yesterday that was the darkest and tightest ringed I've seen but it still had a lot of shake.

 

If it's quality then it'll be worth good cash but if average then not a lot if you're looking to sell it on.

 

Take a thin slice off the end of the butt and take a pic straight away while the wood is damp. This tells you if the wood is good, bad or middlin'

 

Excellent advice Rob- i felled a 2' diameter walnut once that had about 1" of colour in the middle- total rubbish.