What is a fair price for air dried Walnut?

[Joe Mioux]

I have the opportunity to buy some Walnut. What is a fair price?

Thanks JOe

[bill simonsen]

In my neighborhood, for 4/4 rough air dried, we are paying $1.50-$1.75bf. The sawn quality should count.

[chris toomey]

i wouldn't pay more than $2.50 a board foot. that being said i would go look at it and see what he wants. walunt is by far my favorite wood to work. i love the smel of walnut in the shop.

[Dan Owen]

I recently paid $2.50 a bf for 4/4 and $3.50 a bf for 8/4 and felt like I got a pretty good deal. It depend a lot on where you live and the availability of the lumber.

[Scott Banbury]

If it's good grade (Select and Better) and truly air dried (15% MC) I have no problem selling 4/4 it for $2-$3 depending on widths. Common for $1.50-$2.

I feel that this is a great deal for the woodworker as it will only take a few months of shop acclimatization to get it down where it needs to be.

Of course, the best deal is to back up to my mill while I'm sawing it and I'll throw it in the back of your truck for a buck/bdft :)

[Tom Sontag]

In my neighborhood, for 4/4 rough air dried, we are paying $1.50-$1.75bf. The sawn quality should count.

As Bill suggests, there is no point in discussing wood prices without also discussing grade. All FAS is one thing, log run (depends on the logs then doesn't it?) is lower, and #1C or #2C lower still.

None of the responses you get mean anything unless they include grade. Since you are in IL and walnut grows there, you should do alright, especially if you are buying from a mill or sawyer directly.

[Carole Valentine]

$1/bf here. It's .75/bf if you want to sticker and dry it yourself. Note that this is not from a lumber yard but from a guy who just cuts wood as a hobby and sells to a few local woodworkers.

[everett lowell]

Hey! I think Im gonna move! My supplier here in New Jersey gets 6.08 a bf for 4/4 rough, I should look into mail order wood???:confused:

[Ken Salisbury]

In my neighborhood, for 4/4 rough air dried, we are paying $1.50-$1.75bf. The sawn quality should count.

If you can get dried FAS for $1.50 I will take a load to go with the 500bd ft I already have :) :) :) :) :)

[Dan Owen]

Realistically speaking, you just have to assume you are getting a fair mixture of FAS, S & B and comon by general observation. I doubt the guys selling the lumber are qualified lumber graders and I doubt most of us buying are either. For the price these guys are selling it they really don't want you breaking down their stacks, flipping boards and picking out all the good stuff. For the price, there is some risk, but I would consider it minimal as long as you have a general idea of quality and quantity.

[Ellen Benkin]

This is probably kiln dried, but the price where I go in Los Angeles is between $4.27 and $3.56 BF for rough cut FAS lumber. I can also find a place to get it for $7.60 to $8.60 if I really try, but that's for 4S.

[James Carmichael]

Where are you folks located who are getting it for under $2.00 pbf, and what grade? Are you buying direct from a sawyer or mill? If it's FAS, I'd be tempted to rent a truck and haul back a couple thousand BF for resale here.

If I could get even green wood for that, I'd take it. The best I can find in North Texas (D/FW) is $3.10 and that's for rough, kiln-dried shorts (6'-length).

[Charlie Plesums]

I bought some walnut from someone who had been saving it for years but hadn't used it. Watch out for two things... Since it had been sawn by amateurs, some of the boards were from branches rather than the trunk, which means that there are internal stresses when you start to work it. Also, some of the wide boards had the pith - think of it as a small knot that runs up the center of the tree, that is almost guaranteed to split. So many of the wider boards had to have an inch cut out of the center.

On the other hand, some air dried walnut is from 30 years ago, before the government said sapwood was not a flaw. In those days all the wood with knots and sapwood was discarded, and 10 inches was considered a narrow board. That kind of walnut is worth a premium.

[lou sansone]

I bought some walnut from someone who had been saving it for years but hadn't used it. Watch out for two things... Since it had been sawn by amateurs, some of the boards were from branches rather than the trunk, which means that there are internal stresses when you start to work it. Also, some of the wide boards had the pith - think of it as a small knot that runs up the center of the tree, that is almost guaranteed to split. So many of the wider boards had to have an inch cut out of the center.

On the other hand, some air dried walnut is from 30 years ago, before the government said sapwood was not a flaw. In those days all the wood with knots and sapwood was discarded, and 10 inches was considered a narrow board. That kind of walnut is worth a premium.

I agree with charlie ... very good points .. another point to consider is the color of the walnut. Some is real light and some real dark, almost purple.
For some reason walunt is at a premium right now.. Woodshop news just did an article about it and it is selling like hot cakes ,so unless you have bought it in the last 12 months, you might be in for a shock.
let us know how you made out. Walnut is a great wood to work with IMHO.

[Joe Mioux]

First Thank you to all who have responded to my query.

I will speculate a bit here in order for you all to get a better picture of the type of walnut it might be. I have not been able to look at it, but when I do I will take a pic and post.

Let me give you all some background on this wood. It comes from a family who had a lumber yard but was sold back in the mid 70's. The walnut probably came from the family's farm property, 100 plus year old farm. It has been air dried for a long time. So, I am assuming this is pretty good grade walnut.

Again, thank you for your help
JOe