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T

travis551

Joined
Feb 12, 2014
Messages
34
Hi guys

I am wanting to "harvest" some wood off the very large black walnut tree in my yard. I need to remove two good sized branches that are hanging over the service drop to my house ( they are about 5"-10" in diameter ) . I have the equipment and knowledge on how to safely do it in case anyone was worried, but I would love to use the wood for handle scales. I have heard a few people on here suggest waxing or gluing the ends of the wood and storing it for years, which was what seemed to be the safest way to process the wood. Is it absolutely necessary to wax or glue the ends? also should I cut off most of the bark and outer shell to just leave the heart wood to dry? I was planning on using the one year to one inch of wood rule. Also what lengths would you guys recommend I cut the branches to and what would be the minimum diameter you would suggest I use?

I also have a large myrtle tree in my yard that I would like to use for handle scales would I just process it the same as the black walnut?
 
Black walnut is worth a small fortune. In Canada, it goes for at least $35 a board foot. That is the equivalent of a board 1 inch thick, by 1 foot square. So by way of estimation, if you have a branch that is, say six inches in diameter by 6 feet long, you might want to have a sawyer mill it into boards. Assuming you could get a 4 x 4 out of that 6 inch branch, you would have 8 board feet of black walnut worth some $280+. I would highly recommend this option as you will most certainly want to air dry the wood down to a moisture level of 8-12% before using. Store the boards flat on dunnage beneath each row, with gaps between each board to ensure airflow. To avoid splitting as it dries, "checker" each end of each board...that is, apply a coat of paint to "seal" the end grain. As an aside that may interest you...black walnut is inherently one of the most structurally stable available, which explains its' use in gunstocks. Furthermore, if you have the sawyer quartersaw the wood for you (this process will waste more wood)...you cannot ask for a more stable wood, short of resin vacuum stabilization.

Sounds to me like you are sitting on a gold mine of wood! Good luck!
 
Black walnut is one of my favorites. Absolutely beautiful wood. I like to use an oil finish on it that has linseed oil in it. The linseed oil seems to really make the grain stand out.

Ric
 
Is there no other way to speed up the drying/stabilizing process in an oven or something similar for quicker use?
 
It's worth trying to see what you can do. I would leave the wood bark intact in whole log sections as long as two or three feet. Paint the ends with leftover latex paint and let the pieces set for a year in an unheated shed. After that either you cut it into boards yourself or see if someone you know is willing to cut it in trade for some of it. Smaller sawyers might be nervous about hitting metal so if the branch was low where someone might have put a eye screw in to hang a birdfeeder or some such thing it might eat up a saw blade. Anyhow, it's a chance to do something more than wish you had used it.
 
If it dries too fast it may crack, like any wood. So leave all the bark in place and put some paint/glue or wax on the cuts: you want it to dry through the bark rather than through the cuts. If the branches are big and thick enough and you do not need all of the wood: you can leave it in a shed and the garage without doing anything with the ends, you will cut the cracked ends and throw them away later when the wood has dried.
 
Thanks for the advice guy! I will most likely leave the bark on and cut them to 2-3' sections, paint the ends and wait for a few years...... Oh how I hate waiting!

On a side not if I had a kiln or something would it be worth trying to dry some in that? I have access to enough wood that if it gets ruined it wouldn't be any skin off my back. Any suggestions?
 
Kiln dried wood isnt just exposed to heat. Commercial kiln drying is much akin to a convection oven. It heats - yes - but air is also blowing around inside so the heat provided is even, as well as drying the product more rapidly. Dunno what kind of setup you could rig....sorry...it's a lot trickier than you might think. Patience is a virtue :thumbup:
 
Branches are under a tremendous amount of stress as they hold up their own weight. They've been known to warp and bend quite a bit upon drying.

Whatever you do, cut the pieces quite a bit over size so that if they do start bending and warping, you will still have enough wood to complete your project.

I had two Black Walnut trees cut down from my childhood home and sawn into lumber. It cost a reasonable amount but because of the size (one tree was nearly 3' in diameter) it ended up a huge bargain. I've got a ton of wood for a lifetime of projects.

I air dried mine and then stored it after a few years in a reasonably stable basement. There was some cracking (mostly near the branch junctions) and some checking at the ends even when I painted them with latex paint (there are other and possibly better sealers) and it worked out quite well. It is beautiful, nice to work and finishes wonderfully. I mainly use Waterlox which is an oil/varnish blend.

Best of luck.
 
Have a friend who had to take down a black walnut tree in his back yard. Being a general contractor, skilled cabinet maker and wood worker, he milled it and dried it. 20+ years later, he shows me some things he made from black walnut and mentions that he had harvested it. I asked him if it used to be the tree in in his back yard and with a little smirk on his face said "Yup." Great looking wood.

You probably don't need to dry it for 20 years, but I thought I share the story.

Ric
 
Well I would love to be able to use as much of the tree as possible. The tree itself is probably about 65-70 feet tall and just for fun I wrapped a tape measure around the base and it was about 12 feet around... Its a big tree! I have enough trees on property that I wouldn't miss it :) maybe I will start to think about cutting it down. I am not sure it seems like a lot of work lol.
 
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