I'm very grateful to have received about 50 bf of rough sawn walnut after my grandpa passed away. He made lots of little trinkets for craft fairs, and always had new toys for us when we would visit as kids.
The rough sawn boards are mostly 8/4 x 3 x 3'-5'. I have a 6" jointer and a dewalt planer and I've just started a project to build a simple hall table. I'm learning the hard way that planer/jointer knives do not like knots. Most of the boards have at least a couple knots (see attached photo), and after milling the first board, my knives already have a few good nicks leaving raised streaks. 20220630_081457.jpg
So I guess I'm trying to figure out the best way to work with this material while keeping as much of it at full length as possible.
Should I just power through and plan to change out the blades when I'm done with this project, or should I cut out and work around the knots?
If I do just power through, should I just go ahead mill all 50 bf now so I don't have to mess up my blades in the future, or will I just have to go through it again if the boards move a little after sitting for months?
Do helical cutter heads with carbide inserts do any better with knotty wood?
Would material like this be better suited for other types of projects like turning or something else?
Thanks for any help!