Green Walnut Prices??

[Steve Skidmore]

A friend of a friend has offered me 270 bd ft of recently sawn black walnut. The tree was cut from his yard and has sat for a year before being sawn about a month ago. He says it cost $145 to have it sawn, all boards are 4/4, most are 13' long and range from 14" to 8" across. I cannot attest to the quality of the trunk or whether the boards were stickered properly. He has asked me to make an offer and I have no idea where to start. If any one can give me an idea of what to offer I'd appreciate it.

Thanks

Steve Skidmore
Harleysville, PA

[Chris Padilla]

Well, you need to offer at least $145, right? That makes him break even but I'm sure he is looking to make some money on top of that.

Assuming you've looked at the wood and it looks "all right" to you, figure out how much extra you should give over his initial outlay.

I assume you are going to pick up the wood...rent a trailer or whatever, as well. Factor in your cost to get the wood and factor in cost to store the wood, as well. These may be zero or not.

I'd shoot for 75 to 100 cents a bd. ft. so look at offering 200-270 dollars for the wood assuming you like what you see..

[Steve Skidmore]

Oh, I left out that the wood would be delivered (Good) and so I won't get to see it until it gets here (Bad).

[Chris Padilla]

Ah...that is a tough one...buying sight unseen. I wouldn't buy it unless I saw it or trusted someone else to look at it.

Perhaps for the risk of buying sight unseen, you can offer even lower than $200 but it is being delivered to you so that will need covering.

Tough call, Steve....

[Paul Downes]

I just cut down a similar walnut and had it sawn. Being a farm yard tree I was on the lookout for tramp metal. Didn't notice until I got the wood home that there was a lot of birdshot and a couple of .22 slugs in the wood. Oh well, Maybe it will add some accent to the finished furniture. After all I owe the farmer 3 gun cabinets for the wood he gives me. Now that might make an interesting gun cabinet!

[Paul Downes]

Sorry, forgot to mention. Be sure to put lots of weight on the wood stack if you sticker it up to air dry for a while. The white wood in walnut likes to warp alot so I'm told.

[thomas prevost]

sight unseen is a risk. It may not be worth the $145 or it may be worth $500. Lawn and hedgerow trees typically have closely spaced limbs from about 4 ft. and up, leaving all boards very knotty. Worms, if laying on wet ground? What is the general grade? All FAS is worth a lot. saw boards with knots every 4-5" and 20% white wood is firewood. How was it sawn? Was the log rolled to get best side each couple of cuts? Was the log centered vertically so there is straight grain? Or just laid on saw and cut so boards are cathedral grain causing cupping? Was the center cant taken out as it is highly unstable? If it was not stickered and laid on uneven ground it will be twisted. What about slime mold between boards if not stickered. if not properly stickered at 2 ft intervals with each sticker aligned over the other, each board will be bowed. How much checking? once started it is tough to stop.

A good saywer who cuts properly and helps the owner properly sticker wood can be a GREAT bargin. The saywer who flat saws like a loaf of bread throws it into an unsticklered pile and leaves, leaves a pile of expensive firewood. Just my 2 cents.

[Steve Skidmore]

Well, the offer of $270 was accepted. Now I just have to sit back and see what shows up. Thanks for the advice guys, I'll let you know the final outcome.

[Chris Padilla]

We like pictures!! :)