Stickering Walnut

[Danny Thompson]

I just spent the last hour and a half cutting and laying out stickers . . .

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=119437&d=1243563211
FOR THE 250 BOARD FEET OF 5/4 WALNUT I JUST RECEIVED AS A GIFT!!!!

GOTCHA!

Credit goes to my now favorite FIL who, along with his his brother, felled a couple of walnut trees growing on his farm in rural Alabama. They took the logs to a sawmill in SC TN who cut it to size and kiln dried it. The brother (uncle-in-law?) took his pick of about a dozen boards for a corner hutch project, my brother in law picked a half dozen more to put away for a rainy day, and the rest was given to me.

He says that now I'm set for Christmas, birthday, or whatever presents for the next 75 years.

Whatever the reason, I'm pretty happy about it.

Most boards are 6-9" wide. Okay, so not all of it is the cleanest in the world--lots of live edges, plenty of knots, and four or five 11' branch boards that dried in what approximates the arc of a rocking chair runner. Even so, I'm set for Walnut for some time to come.

Has anyone built a real woodworking bench out of 5/4?

[Lee Koepke]

Nice.
I am not to far from rural Alabama, how come I didnt hear about this :D

[Dan Forman]

Not many folks build workbenches out of dark wood, at least not the top. I'd be saving that for special projects. Nice score, by the way!

Dan

[Jim Kountz]

Ah the ol stealth gloat at its best!! Nice haul!!

[Prashun Patel]

Oh, the jealousy!

I can't imagine that anything you could build out of it could give you more joy than the state it's currently in, all stickered and beautiful witcha bad self!

[Brad Wood]

that is really something to look at... too bad it isn't in my shop being looked upon :(

[Danny Thompson]

Thinking a couple of end tables, maybe a hand tool cabinet . . .

[glenn bradley]

Nice.
I am not to far from rural Alabama, how come I didnt hear about this :D

When it comes to that much free walnut, I'm not far from rural Alabama and I'm in California :D:D:D.

[Rod Sheridan]

Dan, that's dangerous stuff to keep in your house.

I heard that the Mississippi Long Horned Beetle Infestation is almost exclusively a walnut epidemic that's spread throughout the USA.:eek:

Fortunately, I live in a cold foreign climate, which kills those southern beetles. (Apparently the cold weather keeps Southerners away, and the beetles die without Southern BBQ).

Ship the wood to me, I'll sticker it outside where the cold winter will kill all those pesky beetles. I'll personally inspect each piece, and ship back all the pieces that aren't infested at my expense.

After all, we're all woodworkers helping each other right?

Regards, Rod.:D

[Chris Padilla]

I love walnut but it can irritate the sinuses some times when its dust gets all over.

Walnut isn't really suitable for a bench top IMO. First, it is dark and one normally wants a light colored bench hence why SYP, maple, beech, birch are popular for bench tops. Second, walnut isn't all that hard like maple (walnut is like 1000 and maple is like 1500 on the Janka scale). It would make a gorgeous bench, however, but save it for furnture, not something utilitarian like a bench.

Very nice score!

[Danny Thompson]

Jim, Brad, and Shawn, thanks, it is a sight to behold!

Rod, I would, but I don't want risk the spread of the parasitic little creatures.

Lee and Glenn, I admit, it was practically a snatch and grab operation. The offered, I grabbed the loot, and high-tailed it out of town.

Dan and Chris, Thanks,

I had always assumed I would go maple for the bench, but I remembered that David Marks's workbench is walnut, so it got me thinking . . .

This would have been great before I dropped the grand on Mahogany for my dining table last fall. Another project will come along.