selling walnut

[nrobert10]

I am very new to milling wood or try to cut my own wood but i have run across a very large walnut tree that has to been cut down this weekend. I reallyu don't want that wood to end up in fire wood. So i have found a couple of people to help me cut this thing down and haul it away. I also have antoher buddy with a bandsaw mill who is willing to mill the wood down. The question i have where or how would i sell green wood and is their a market for it. If so what is the best size to mill it down to?

The trunk of the tree is about 2 feet across and their isn't any branches until you get above 8 feet. Should be alot of really good wood anys suggestions

Thanks
rob

 

[woodshop]

Don't know about Seattle area, but not too long ago Walnut was like Cherry is now, expensive and hard to get good quality stuff. Guys were stealing trees out of parks and private property in the middle of the night. It still brings more than oak here in PA, but it's not what it used to be. If you want to sell wet rough lumber right off the saw, you might not have as many takers as you think. But again, I don't know about your area. Most woodworkers don't have the space or know-how to dry large quantities wet lumber. If the price was right (cheap) and I was not 3000 miles away, I might be interested. Put it on Ebay with the "you gotta come get it" stipulation. Might be worth the few bucks to do that.

I hear you though, I hate to see beautiful walnut or cherry worth $5-7 a foot (once it's dried and planed S2S) cut up for firewood.

 

[Timberwerks]

Green Walnut may be worth slightly more to some furniture makers such as myself. Reason being kiln drying takes away some of the color tones looked for in Walnut. I only use air dried Walnut myself. Send pictures if you can. I'm always intersted in booked matched slabs that are full width with live edges and 2" thick.

Dale

 

[Newfie]

Green Walnut may be worth slightly more to some furniture makers such as myself. Reason being kiln drying takes away some of the color tones looked for in Walnut. I only use air dried Walnut myself. Send pictures if you can. I'm always intersted in booked matched slabs that are full width with live edges and 2" thick.

Dale

How do you get air dryed lumber to have a stable enough moisture content to avoid shrinking,cracking and warping problems after the piece is built and in a home?

I was always taught 6-8% for furniture which by necessity means kiln drying, as air drying can only be reliable to 15%.

 

[fwf]

In my experience, yes there is a market, but there are no standards or best sizes for sawing. The dimensions and milling will depend on the buyer, so you will want to find the buyer before ever making the first cut. The requirements are totally different for a turner versus a furniture maker, etc.

I have some guys that want it sawed, while others buy the logs and have it sawed for them. All of them air dry and plane it (if desired) themselves.

 

[Timberwerks]

How do you get air dryed lumber to have a stable enough moisture content to avoid shrinking,cracking and warping problems after the piece is built and in a home?

I was always taught 6-8% for furniture which by necessity means kiln drying, as air drying can only be reliable to 15%.

The air dried lumber I use is dried 2-4 yr's and on average my moisture content is in the 10% range. The type of furniture I build is contemporary with George Nakashima influences http://www.nakashimawoodworker.com/

Construction technique has alot to do with avoiding the possible side affects of air dried lumber. I would not use air dried for traditional cabinets, tables etc. I use kiln dried lumber for bookcases, entertainment centers, vanitys things that get daily use and abuse. The slab tables and chairs I build are meant to take on a natural form and movement so that is designed into the piece. I've run into more problems with kiln dried lumber that was not dried correctly than problems with air dried. I do have a great source for kiln dried lumber near by that has been very consistent. Walnut is a wood that tends to have better color when air dried. I have not noticed a great difference in Cherry or Maple.

Dale

 

[Al Smith]

I dont know the market for walnut in Seattle,but here it's not great.It doesn't bring much more than oak,unless you have a large amount of it.Your best bet is to bandsaw it,stack and air dry.You could use it later or sell it as rough sawn air dried lumber.If it's clear grained ,that's a better option than firewood.