Is old growth Walnut desired?

[Craig D Peltier]

I have a guy who wants to sell me a boatload of wood. His selling point is the Walnut is old growth. My opinion is who cares? I have heard old growth being desired for 2 reasons, tight rings and wide boards.
So why would walnut be great if old growth if it weren't extra wide? Should it be more clear? I understand it will be darker if air dried 50 years ago and kept out of light.

I was told by my friend about his family having a bunch of 30 yr old walnut and at least one guy said he didnt want it due to it being old. It could possibly be brittle or twist and turn after cut.

[Chip Lindley]

Of course, older, larger trees yield wider, clearer boards. Old growth trees grew in stands that rise straight and tall to compete for available sunlight. Lower branches died and fell off when the trees were young, so that the trunk has a much greater volume of wood free of knots. Conversely, open-grown trees have short trunks and many branches. Those may yield some nice crotch wood.

As for the guy who said he didn't want OLD wood, let him keep thinking that. One less to compete against you! Old wood does not get brittle unless perhaps subjected to extreme heat. If stored flat and kept dry, it's premium wood, compared to most of what is available to be sawn today. If "old" wood is flat and straight now, there is a 95% chance it will be after you mill it also.

[Craig D Peltier]

Thanks for clarifying. He did say it was very clear stuff.

Of course, older, larger trees yield wider, clearer boards. Old growth trees grew in stands that rise straight and tall to compete for available sunlight. Lower branches died and fell off when the trees were young, so that the trunk has a much greater volume of wood free of knots. Conversely, open-grown trees have short trunks and many branches. Those may yield some nice crotch wood.

As for the guy who said he didn't want OLD wood, let him keep thinking that. One less to compete against you! Old wood does not get brittle unless perhaps subjected to extreme heat. If stored flat and kept dry, it's premium wood, compared to most of what is available to be sawn today. If "old" wood is flat and straight now, there is a 95% chance it will be after you mill it also.

[Myk Rian]

ANY wood will twist and turn after/during cutting.

[johnny means]

let me know where this guy is and I'll go check it out for you:D:D

[Frank Drew]

ANY wood will twist and turn after/during cutting.

Well, any wood can twist and turn after cutting but that doesn't mean that every wood will.

[Larry Edgerton]

Walnut is one of the best sellers at "The Powderpost Cafe" so may want to keep an eye out for diners.

Larry

[Rich Engelhardt]

Quite a few people have little or no idea of the real value of things.

Walnut is one of them.

I know one guy that has 8 or 9 "old walnut trees" growing on his property.
He plans to finance his retirement with them...:rolleyes:

[Frank Drew]

I know one guy that has 8 or 9 "old walnut trees" growing on his property.
He plans to finance his retirement with them...:rolleyes:

Maybe he doesn't plan on living very long. :D

[Ole Anderson]

I know one guy that has 8 or 9 "old walnut trees" growing on his property.
He plans to finance his retirement with them

Now if they were big 'ol teak trees, or better yet, ebony...

[Jim Matthews]

Is there a premium attached to his asking price?

I don't visit private sellers that quote retail prices, it just leads to sore feelings and an empty roof rack...

[Cody Colston]

"Old Growth" means different things to different people. I would definitely inspect the wood before committing to a purchase to evaluate it's worth. If the wood is wide, clear, flat and free of bugs, then I would consider it...just like any wood purchase. Walnut is a semi-ring porous wood so it can benefit from slow growth, unlike ring porous hardwoods such as Oak where the wood is actually weaker/less stable if it is slow-growth.

PPB's were mentioned and they are a definite possibility in Walnut. You might consider having it kiln dried if yo purchase it, just to ensure any infestation if killed.

The bottom line answer is that "Old Growth" doesn't mean a lot to me. It's the actual wood grade that matters most.

[Greg Portland]

Craig,
Walnut in the PacNW can grow to a very large size and can have a lot of chatoyance due to the minerals in the soil. Old growth accentuates these qualities. Kiln drying has been known to kill the color in the wood so be careful tossing the wood in a dryer. There is some debate between the "air-drying only" camp and the "some types of kiln drying is OK" camps w.r.t. local walnut; a test piece may be warranted before drying the entire batch.

[Jim Becker]

Some folks would almost kill for old-growth hardwood... ;)

[Chuck Harris]

OK so where do I go to pick up this wood...

[Chris Padilla]

Immediately labeling the wood as "old growth" means he is going to command/want premium prices.

How does one define "old growth" anyway? You can't: it is a marketing term (more or less).

However, that said, it might still be worth a visit if it isn't too far out of your way.

Oh, there is walnut...and there is other wood. Magical stuff, walnut, magical! :)

[Chris Fournier]

As others have pointed out this term is truly meaningless in terms of walnut. In Canada old growth would refer to stands that are "virgin" where the sawyers ax/saw has never swung or ran. Ususally old growth refers to entire stands of one or two species. Walnut doesn't grow like this, at least around here.

When I worked for a lumber importer exporter we'd get a call a week about walnut logs or standing trees. All were worth top dollar, few were even 20" in diameter and often in urban backyards. In ten years we bought one standing tree, the price paid was felling and removal of the tree. It was magnificent curly english walnut, the tree was purchased by a famous American furniture maker and a gunstock fellow.

Keep your wits about you when you go after this wood. If it was truly spectacular, the logs would likely have been sold to a veneer mill because this is where the big bucks are.

[Nathan Allen]

Considering Black Walnut is usually harvested only after 50 years of growth I'd be interested to see what this guy considers old. At 50+ years they should be around 30 inches in diameter and have about 14' of bole.

Not that unusual to find 120+ year old black walnut on the market, but their intolerrance to other growth around them has led to most being turned into firewood long ago in urban areas.

Unless they're massive slabs they're not really that old. The small stockpile I have in my shop (around 150 bf left) I bought off a farmer who didn't have the means to get the tree to the mill. He halved it and chewed it up with his chainsaw before he could move it. What is left is rift sawn around 14-16" wide with minimal sapwood on one edge of a few pieces and 16' long. He did measure the log before he went at it and it was around 40" diameter. He had it sawn, threw it in his barn and left it there for about 20 years before I bought it for a song.

That is "old" wood.

[David Thompson 27577]

>>"I was told by my friend about his family having a bunch of 30 yr old walnut and at least one guy said he didnt want it due to it being old. It could possibly be brittle or twist and turn after cut."<<


You know, that guy is probably absolutely correct. Tell ya what -- have him call me. I'll do what I can to get rid of that junk for him. Is it more than a trailer full?


Seriously, anyone who has seen the quality of the walnut that is available recently (at least here in NC) would NEVER complain about older stuff. I'd just mill it flat, and make beautiful things from it.

[Joe Scarfo]

A woodworking tool supplier near me is offering "virgin" black walnut for a ridiculous amount of money... it's about 16" wide or so, about 9' long, no sap wood at all, and is near 1/2" thick... IIRC.. $9.50 a BF

I grinned and the guy said... cheap huh... I said "what else ya got for walnut".....

Just sharing a laugh..
Joe