Walnut root ball buyers?

[Treeworld]

The person I was talking with was saying about an Agent from Aston Martin bought one such root ball and paid £16k for it so it seems its a case of Who you know and not what you know or think you know. I have a couple of substantial ones to come out and as always with me I try and give my clients the best info possible and they would pocket the prize minus a good drink.

[Rob D]

I've heard in the 60's purdeys brought a walnut just for the root ball and paid very good money just to fell the tree back then ... The equivalent to thousands, I believe the guy , as I know his estate and he would not make up a a storey but dont believe there are any saw mills left in the uk capable of handling such timber.

 

 

This is true - there will be a walnut tree now and again that will be worth it which is why I put 97%! There are sawmills to handle the timber but quality trees like this one will be 1 in 1000.

 

 

I know people who sell to the gun makers and a good friend of mine has been round Holland and Holland....

 

 

You have to have the right tree with walnut for it to be worth good money - and they will be very very very rare.

 

I have milled about 20 now and have more of an idea how to value them. If you're cutting one down use this thread is it may be worth good money if it's the right one. Colour, sap ring and shake.

 

http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/alaskan-mill/39337-if-youre-trying-sell-walnut-butt.html

 

 

 

Here's a 4 footer we milled - some of the timber we even left there. Colour not that great and a massive sap ring - but no shake.

 

http://arbtalk.co.uk/forum/alaskan-mill/42073-milling-4ft-walnut-butt-stihl-090-a.html

 

 

[Rob D]

The person I was talking with was saying about an Agent from Aston Martin bought one such root ball and paid £16k for it so it seems its a case of Who you know and not what you know or think you know. I have a couple of substantial ones to come out and as always with me I try and give my clients the best info possible and they would pocket the prize minus a good drink.

 

 

 

I have heard loads of these stories and although I profess my ignorance in a great many things they are 97% just that... a good story.

 

It looks good for people like aston martin and bentley to say they paid £10,000 for a root ball as it then helps to justify the £20-000 they charge to put a thin slice of it in a car!

[Rob D]

Rob was pullin' yer leg.......they're worth a mint.....

 

 

Ha ha! They are all worthless Mick

 

.....except the one I had off you which Jaguar bought for £50,000-00.... Next beer is on me!

[Tji]

Hello

I have sold these in the past to a contact I have, not for thousands it must be said, but I was more than happy with what I got which made all the hastle worthwhile, it does need the tap root cutting and is not a case of just diging round and pulling over. I would suggest it is best to get the buyer to look prior to all the work even if still stood, or make sure it is not cut too low, knee height is what he told me.

If you want his details just send me a message

[joeblacky]

this thread may be long forgotten about but i thought it may be worth mentioning that i am in the market for large walnut root burls, and also any large walnut timber for that matter

 

Joe

[peatff]

Walnut burr veneer isn't cheap stuff but you'll struggle to cut it to .6mm with a chainsaw It's the processing that costs a lot and adds value to the wood. Any wood burr looks attractive with all the twists and inclusions, seasoning takes a long time though so your investment may not materialise for years and then you have to cut it to see if it is as good as you hoped.

[joeblacky]

agreed!!

 

i'm after a root ball for a single piece carving, which admittedly is a bit of an experiment and is probably going to be a pain in my ass for the next few years! the plan is to carve it green and immerse it in water after every session, then once it's ready for sanding i plan to soak it in PEG 1000 or pentacryl (depending on what price i can get it at) for a minimum of 6 months, then blast it in a kiln and see what the crack is - hopefully not literally!!

[Higgs89]

I have a large walnut root ball for sale. Pm me for details

[Treeworld]

deja vu!