Walnut-your opinion??

[Jerry Olexa]

Have a chance to get some rough cut , air dried walnut @ around $2/bft. I've never used walnut on any of my furniture projects so I'm uninformed...Do you guys like it, how does it perform, how does it finish, etc I've been using cherry on most of my projects so how does it compare?? Thanks

[Mark Singer]

It is probably my favorite wood to work with...especially shaping...like chairs and curved pieces...

[Ken Salisbury]

Have a chance to get some rough cut , air dried walnut @ around $2/bft. I've never used walnut on any of my furniture projects so I'm uninformed...Do you guys like it, how does it perform, how does it finish, etc I've been using cherry on most of my projects so how does it compare?? Thanks

Walnut is and has been my favorite wood for most woodworking projects (Cherry #2) for over 50 years. It not only works well but finishes beautifully. I primarily use oil/wax finishes. You will get hooked on it. Prices vary drastically on walnut - dependent on quality.

[Jim Becker]

Yum! Air-dried walnut is "the bestest"...beautiful colors, enjoyable to work with (unless you are sensitive...take precautions) and it turns to a wonderful honey-brown color over time. Awesome stuff. Quite stable, too. $2 is a very good price...

[Hank Knight]

Jerry,

$2.00/bf for rough walnut sounds like a pretty good price. I love walnut. It's easy to work and not nearly as contrary as cherry to finish. Some people have alergy problems with it, but it has never bothered me.

Hank

[Tim Johnson]

At that price, if it has decent length and width, it's a deal. I love the smell of freshly planed walnut in the shop. Wonderful for stand alone furniture or accents on other pieces. Air dried will give you some wonderful colors if finished properly. Good luck deciding what to make with it, it is wonderful to work with.

[chris del]

Walnut is amazing...... I love the tight grain it has.... Machines well and is friendly to hand tools.
Colour is richer if air dried compared to a kiln....
I find it to be a little over powering if a large piece is all walnut.... Looks great next to Cherry, maple and birch.

Well worth $2

[Chris Padilla]

Air-dried is the schlitz for Walnut. You'll find some subtle reds and purples in it that for whatever reason, kiln-drying does not allow to show through. Slap some BLO on it and it is one of the most beautiful woods out there...easier to finish and less prone to burning than Cherry when cutting. As mentioned, some do have an allergy towards it.

Crotch walnut is something to die for! :D :D

Please check out this bowl that I sort helped turnd a couple years ago...it'll blow your mind:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=13015

[Jim W. White]

It works great! ...takes and holds a profile nicely, glues up well, planes easily ...there are really no downfalls specific to walnut that I could point to.

Take some time and pick through the boards yourself, as the air dried material has a lot more color and variation stick-to-stick (but in a GOOD way) than the kiln dryed BW.

Also be forewarned that depending on how well it was dryed ;you might find more internal stresses being free'd than you normally would with kiln-dryed wood when you start to machine it. This does not have to be the case IF it was dried diligently... but I have one 8/4 stick I got from a sawyer (a supplier I probably will not return to) that twisted so bad I finally gave up ripping it and cross-cut it into much shorter peices.

On the flip side I have another 60-70 bd/ft of air-dryed stock that I procurred from my normal hardwwood distrubutor that (all 4/4) and none have them have twisted or cupped at all.

...Jim in Idaho

[Jerry Olexa]

Wow! I'm beginning to think we have a WINNER!! I think y'all like it and the price is OK too..Chris, that is a BEEEuatiful bowl you showed..I'll continue to read this thread and call to set up pickup (1 and 1/2 hrs away). All the above posts happened in 15 minutes!! Thanks.. already I'm becoming a believer!!:)

[Jesse Cloud]

There are 2 kinds of wood: walnut and firewood:rolleyes:

[Scott Vigder]

I use walnut to accent the spindles on my mission style computer desk:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=35195&d=1143645564


I too just use oil/wax on it. It's natural beauty requires little else.

[Howard Acheson]

As others have said, walnut is a premium wood. Many woodworkers consider Cuban and Hounduran mahogany is the premier cabinet wood followed by walnut then cherry.

Air dried walnut tends to have more color than kiln dried steamed walnut. Non-steamed kiln dried is just as desirable as air dried.

[Steve Clardy]

Walnut's my favorite.

Sadly, it's too dark to use for everything.

[Steven Peters]

My Coffee Table:

It's plywood, but if I could find Walnut at $2 a foot I would have made it from solid.

http://www.xclusivecustoms.net/albums/Custom-Furniture/Walnut_Table_2.sized.jpg

[Robert Mickley]

There are 2 kinds of wood: walnut and firewood:rolleyes:

you forgot walnut firewood :D

I'm installing my sisters wall unit I've been working on saturday, hopefully sunday morning I can post some pics of it. I love walnut!!

[scott spencer]

Walnut works great, looks great, finishes beautifully with just oil, and makes the prettiest brown sawdust! My only beef with walnut is that once the piece is done, it just looks like a dark peice of furntiture from across the room. :rolleyes:

Careful of the dust though.....

[Guy Germaine]

I'll jump on the walnut bandwagon too! It has to be my favorite wood to work with. It looks great by itself, or with a contrasting wood like tiger maple as in the pic below. As other have said, it also looks good with cherry.
http://www.fototime.com/89E572CA9FCC6E4/standard.jpg

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Is this American Black or is this English Walnut that benifits so much from air drying??

[Chris Padilla]

Cliff,

Most of the walnut in California is Claro walnut. I can attest to the beautiful reds/purples in air-dried claro walnut....

[Hank Knight]

Jerry,

One word of caution about walnut. If you use chips and sawdust in your garden for mulch etc., don't use walnut. It has a subtance in it that kills other plants. The substance, called "juglones", is more concentrated in the leaves, bark and nut husks but it's present in the woody fibers as well. It's a natural defoliant that helps walnut trees get established by killing the competition around them. Your wife won't appreciate it's effect on her tomato plants etc.

Hank

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Cliff,

Most of the walnut in California is Claro walnut. I can attest to the beautiful reds/purples in air-dried claro walnut....

Ahhh so it is the English Walnut but from the lower part of the tree.

I have black walnuts on my property the lumber I've harvested from them has tended toward an uninteresting creamy-gray color.

[John Miliunas]

Jerry, if that stuff is clear or nearly so, that's a great price on some beautiful stuff! :) I think the rest of the guys already filled you in on the pro's and cautions with it. Cherry does go nice with it, but my personal favorite w/Walnut is Curly or BE Maple. Suh-weeeet combination! :) :cool:

[Ron Blaise]

And you will too! Machines very well and in my humble opinion it's beautiful, in all the ways that count. That ain't a bad price nowadays either. Please be careful of Walnut dust, it is toxic! This is one you make sure you wear dust protection with. Learned that one the hard way.
Enjoy,
Ron

[Jerry Olexa]

I bought the walnut. See separate thread w pics...Thanks guys