What Price to Offer?

[Brent Ring]

There is an advertisement in a local newspaper for 5-7 English Walnut and Black Walnut Tree trunks. I don't know the sizes, but I would like to know what to offer him, as he says that we can make an offer.

What do Black and English Walnut Tree Trunks go for? I paid 3.35 bdft for some 4/4 RS black walnut in January, but that was a small quantity. I have no idea what to offer here.

Any advice?

[Rob Russell]

If they are yard trees, make sure you have a sawyer who will saw them up before you buy them. Many sawyers won't touch yard trees because of the high probability of buried metal. If they do saw them up, you get hit with a blade charge for any blades they ruin because of metal.. Take a look at the ends of the logs for "blue stain" which is when the metal rusts in the sap and the color spreads through the tree.

If you're going to have to move the trunks, I wouldn't offer much more than $1/bf. You'll put a LOT of time and effort into transporting the trunks and cut lumber and, if you air dry the stock, stacking and stickering the lumber.

[David DeCristoforo]

How big are the trees? "Urban" walnuts and most "orchard" trees may not yield much useable wood. You at least need to know the trunk sizes (diameter and height from the ground to the first branch) in order to even begin to calculate the yield and value....

YM