# Walnut Tree, is the timber worth saving



## marku (10 Nov 2013)

Hi, I do a bit of woodworking when I get time and read this forum qute often for advice.

Some one mentioned to me that a Walnut tree had been blown down in the recent gales and the property owner couldn't get it out of his garden because of its size.

I went to have a look and agreed to remove it, I now have two large trailer loads of Walnut. The question really is what to do with it, if its no good then I am quite happy to make logs from it but obviously it would be much better to use it for something a little more creative. I would be quite happy to get a sawmill to convert it or slice it up for woodturners.

The main trunk is probably about 8ft long and just under 3ft and weighs about 900kg, lots of other bits as well.

Hopefully the pictures will show the wood if I have uploaded them correctly.

I also ripped whats left of the stump out so I have that if its any use.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, 

Thanks Mark


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## nev (10 Nov 2013)

Walnut is extremely dangerous and should be shipped immediately to my address for safe disposal. :twisted: 

I am sure if you had it slabbed/ planked or blanked it would definitely be worthwhile. Beautiful timber and British stuff getting harder to find.


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## nicguthrie (10 Nov 2013)

If you have room to season it properly, it's well worth saving as walnut is worth a lot these days. It's one of my absolute favourite woods, utterly gorgeous when it's turned - just look at some of the little boxes CHJ has been posting pictures of recently to see it used well.

If you had space to season it, then process it into bowl blanks and spindle blanks, you could probably make several hundred pounds if not more, by just selling the blanks on eBay.

If I had the space, I'd jump at the chance for just one log of that. I've wanted some good walnut for ages, but it's increasingly hard to find.

The other option may be to take it to a lumber yard, if it's disease free and good wood, they'd process it into planks etc for furniture eventually and make good money from it, so if they're not just the builders merchant type, they may be interested in buying the whole lump off you for a decent sum.

Nic.


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## Mr T (10 Nov 2013)

Hi

Why don't people offer me walnut trees for free?!! You could have some lovely wood there. If you have the stump also I understand the area near he roots is particularly prized by gun stock makers if it is unblemished.

I have just brought in from outside some walnut that was planked up about three years ago and I'm relishing the prospect of working with it.

Chris


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## marku (10 Nov 2013)

Thanks for the replies,

I was hoping to get the three or four big bits slabbed if its worthwhile and keep it to season, there are also a lot of smaller branches from probably about 6" diameter upwards and many 4-6ft long which would probably be good for wood turning I guess.

I will have to sort these out when I unload the trailers this week and see whats there, as I am not a wood turner I will have to find homes for these, I didn't really get the wood with the intention of making money from it, I wanted to get some nice wood to make something from. Usually I just use cheaper woods and it would be great to try some quality timber for a change.

And it seemed a shame to let it go for logs.

I did have to pay the man £50 for the wood but it didn't seem much for the quantity available, we did have to extract it as well which wasn't easy the large bit weighs at least 900kg.

Is it only the dark wood in the centre thats worth keeping if it is planked up.

Mark


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## paulm (10 Nov 2013)

Hi Mark,

Yes, it's mainly the dark heartwood that's sought after, for woodturning as well as other uses.

The smaller branches that have little or no heartwood are probably best for firewood, but the larger pieces well worth saving if you can.

I've sent you a pm (private message) 

Cheers, Paul


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## nicguthrie (10 Nov 2013)

Turners would probably prize dual color blanks with a bit of both woods too, assuming the sap wood has similar properties for turning as the lovelier heart wood.

If you'd like a guaranteed sale of a few blanks I'll pledge to take some off you for a reasonable price and postage, could even send you a courier. I'd love a reasonable chunk of the main stem for some nice bowls. I'd even be interested in Heartwood from the branches if it doesn't split, as small planks of a couple inches wide would be lovely for the small jewelry boxes and stuff that I like to make. It's quite a prize you have there.

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk


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## marku (10 Nov 2013)

Thanks again for the replies, nice to know I haven't wasted my time collecting this.

I will take some better pics with measurements tomorrow and see what there is. I don't think I would ever use it all so some of it will be going.

Mark


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## Jacob (10 Nov 2013)

What's the smallest thing you can make? Shaker pegs perhaps? Chess men or other game pieces? Any wood too small even for that, perhaps burn it.


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## dickm (10 Nov 2013)

Out of interest, how the **** did you get 900kg of trunk on to the trailer????

Sadly, there's no walnut within a long distance of us here............


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## Cottonwood (10 Nov 2013)

have you considered hiring a chainsw mill to saw it to planks?


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## Spindle (10 Nov 2013)

Hi

I'd avoid chainsaw mills unless you have no other option - the width of cut, (kerf), means an awful lot of material is wasted - not something you want to do with good walnut. If you can get it to a saw mill they should be able to band saw it for you.

I think you should do a bit of research / phoning around to get an idea of the value of your wood - I think you would be surprised.

Regards Mick


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## custard (10 Nov 2013)

You've got yourself a real find there. I see you're from Hampshire, was it from within the New Forest boundaries by any chance? There's a woodworking competition each year at the New Forest Show and Forest timber generally commands a points advantage...and a subsequent healthy price premium!


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## marku (10 Nov 2013)

I was told by the guy who owned the tree that he had phoned some sawmills and tree surgeons but no one was interested in having a look at the wood luckily for me. This is the main reason that I was doubtful of its value.

I will be calling a couple of sawmills in the morning if anyone can recommend around hampshire.

Sadly its not from the New Forest

Getting it out was interesting luckily I have a tractor with a front loader, we couldn't get to the tree where it fell with the loader so we skidded it out and then used the front loader with pallet forks to lift it onto the trailer. I know its about 900kg because if we get over about 1000kg on the tractor without our rear weight the back wheels come off the ground. As it was raining so hard on Saturday I hadn't bothered with fitting the rear weight I did regret that a couple of times.

I'm not sure what the smallest thing to make would be but I have made some knives in the past and I was thinking a small piece could be cut up on the band saw and used for knife handles, would look amazing if I can find an interesting piece, would put my varnished shot gun butt to shame.


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## marku (10 Nov 2013)

Sorry forgot to ask there is another stump at the property that I could have its about 2'10" across and is standing about 3ft out of the ground, I didn't bother with it because it had a hole in the centre 2 or 3 inches big full of water.

Bearing in mind that it would take some digging and pulling out, would it be worth going back for, it was very black. I assumed it was useless because of the hole!

Thanks

Mark


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## acewoodturner (10 Nov 2013)

Hi Mark, I would very much doubt if any sawmills would be interested in planking it for you as it is a garden tree. There could be nails or other bits of shrapnel in it which is very expensive and dangerous if hit by the saw. To set the mill up to plank one tree, even if is walnut, is time consuming. If you google woodmizer you may find a local owner who would be willing to do it if you take the tree to them. Probably wont be worth cutting up the branches on it though. There is bound to be a local woodturning club near you and you might be able to negotiate a deal with one of the turners for cutting up some of the branches into mini planks. You will need to seal the ends of the planks, sticker them and store away for a year or 2 till they are dry enough to secondary season and then use for knife blanks etc. Its not instant but very rewarding to make something out of a tree which you have cut up instead of buying ready to use planks.


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## marku (10 Nov 2013)

Thanks, I will phone a few people in the morning and see what can be done, would be a shame not to get some planks out of it.

Mark


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## paulm (10 Nov 2013)

marku":1guacbg4 said:


> Sorry forgot to ask there is another stump at the property that I could have its about 2'10" across and is standing about 3ft out of the ground, I didn't bother with it because it had a hole in the centre 2 or 3 inches big full of water.
> 
> Bearing in mind that it would take some digging and pulling out, would it be worth going back for, it was very black. I assumed it was useless because of the hole!
> 
> ...



The stumps/root balls can have some of the best figuring Mark, due to the way the base of the tree flexes in the wind I believe and creates some interesting growth patterns and grain. Wouldn't worry too much about a small amount of rot, there is a good chance of some very nice stuff if you can get it out.

Most mills will be wary of the stumps though due to the possibility of stones/grit and wrecking of their blades, likewise in garden/field grown trees generally the risk of nails, fencing wire etc. 

I'm not surprised the owner didn't have any interest in it to be honest, in commercial terms the mills have to consider the ease of extraction and transporting a tree, the risk of embedded rubbish wrecking their kit, the straightness and length of main trunk, amount of wastage in converting the timber, time and cost of storage (several years) before usable, cost of labour in all the foregoing etc.

You might get some interest from them now though given you have done the hard work of getting it out and have the means to get it to them. 

Talking about knife handles, a few simple folding pocket knives rescaled with different timbers, and a scandi blade handled with some of my stash also  

























None in walnut though :lol: 

Cheers, Paul


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## marku (10 Nov 2013)

Nice knives, I made two with fixed blades using 01 toolsteel from memory, I lost the first one while out shooting so I made another one using an australian burr for the wood which looked really nice until my wife decided to use it and then wash it up. The only snag was it stayed in the washing up bowl all day, the wood came away from the handle a bit and the metal rusted under the wood. We now use it for opening boxes at work.

I will post a pic in the morning when I unpack some boxes.

Probably time to make a nice one using some Walnut!

Mark


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## Random Orbital Bob (10 Nov 2013)

Hi Marku

Definitely get the 2nd stump if you can. Where abouts in Hants are you? I might be interested in some of the more transportable pieces for turning.


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## jimmy_s (10 Nov 2013)

Hello everyone - new to the forum

It would be a shame to leave the stump - generally the most highly figured wood is in the rootball area - its normally the bit the guys who make gun stocks etc want - but it would take a bit of work to get it to a usable state - ie cleaning all the stones and rubbish out of it and chainsawing off all the roots etc.


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## Sailormantom (11 Nov 2013)

Hi

It might be worth trying http://www.hampshirewoodsuppliers.co.uk/about_us.html. Paul runs a very small timber yard out near Andover and because he is small might be more likely to consider dealing with a single tree. I have no commercial tie up with him other than being a satisfied customer.

Cheers, tom


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## marku (11 Nov 2013)

Hi

I have found a company that are quite happy to plank up the large bits as long as I take it to them which I am hoping to do early next week.

I also took the chainsaw to one of the odd bits today to see what it looked like.

There are some photos here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected] ... 803319674/

I can't upload them here for some reason the file extension is not allowed, any ideas?

One decent sized bit and I put a small offcut over the planer to see what it is like.

Paul came over today to have a look so hopefully will be able to tie up with him and use his Alaskan mill to convert some bits for woodturning as well.

Mark


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## paulm (11 Nov 2013)

Nice work Mark 

Some good looking stuff there, there'll be nothing left to do at this rate !!!

Cheers, Paul


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## nicguthrie (12 Nov 2013)

Wow... If this is a scam to get us all hyped at the chance to buy some gorgeous wood from you, it's working! 

Don't forget, if you're cutting it up to dry, you'll need to seal the ends with paraffin wax (though a buddy of mine swears PVA glue works) to stop it splitting and spoiling for turning.

Some of that looks absolutely amazing. Does anyone know if the paler sap wood has similar, or at least decent enough, qualities to be stored and turned as a two tone piece?

Nic.

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk


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## Nick Gibbs (12 Nov 2013)

Spindle":iwl6wuzn said:


> I'd avoid chainsaw mills unless you have no other option - the width of cut, (kerf), means an awful lot of material is wasted - not something you want to do with good walnut. If you can get it to a saw mill they should be able to band saw it for you.



I don't totally agree on this. Chainsaw mills are wasteful, however your options are limited. For a relatively big butt like this a chainsaw will be ideal to 'box the heart'. I did exactly this for a friend with my large Husqvarna and a Granberg Alaskan mill. This kept the heartwood as long as possible, and he could then resaw it on his bandsaw. You might be able to find a local owner of an Alaskan chainsaw mill by contacting Rob Dyer at www.alaskanmill.co.uk. The mills are relatively inexpensive if you have a good/large chainsaw already. 

The other option is to get a mobile miller to do the job. We have a list of mobile mill operators on our Living Woods website (www.living-woods.com/directory-mobile-sawmills). They often have chainsaw mills to do preparatory work, and may be able to help you out. Good luck. The more British timber we use the better.


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## Gerard Scanlan (12 Nov 2013)

Well I am not sure if I agree with the people who claim only the dark heartwood is worth keeping.
Check out the cupboard a friend of mine has made using the full width of a walnut log. It really is magic.

http://www.atelier4d.nl/collectie_notenkast.html 

Brilliant topic. Tree blows over ... woodworkers around the world get excited. It is a bit like roadkill to a hunter.


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## heatherw (12 Nov 2013)

I've got some bits of walnut and at first I was only using the heartwood, but then I noticed that the sapwood, which is a sort of light greyish colour has a beautiful ripple to it, a bit like a silver tabby cat. Definitely consider using some of the sapwood. However, it does tend to be softer and even more susceptible to insect damage ( woodworm like walnut even more than we do).

I've got my eye on a walnut tree that the neigbour is going to cut down in a weeks time. It's huge, but nearly dead, and I'm hoping there won't be any huge holes down the middle, there's some kind of beetle which has a massive maggot about 4 inches long which tends to attack wood here. I've even found one when bandsawing almond wood which is harder than oak. The neighbours want to use the walnut for firewood :roll: but I have permission to take some bits if it's any good.


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## nicguthrie (12 Nov 2013)

heatherw":4qaghar1 said:


> I've got my eye on a walnut tree that the neigbour is going to cut down in a weeks time. It's huge, but nearly dead, and I'm hoping there won't be any huge holes down the middle, there's some kind of beetle which has a massive maggot about 4 inches long which tends to attack wood here. I've even found one when bandsawing almond wood which is harder than oak. The neighbours want to use the walnut for firewood :roll: but I have permission to take some bits if it's any good.



Frustrates the living daylights out of me, this. Happens all the time up here too. A tonne of hardwood seasoned firewood from a local tree surgeon = £40. The price of about a single decent bowl blank from that tree they're going to burn, most likely "cos it's too much trouble to do anything else"

I have a relative that's a tree surgeon, and his groundsman (who is a turner/woodworker) was just about driven to tears recently, when they chopped an 6-8 foot girth, fully mature and perfect condition oak, (standing within 10 feet of an access road) into firewood for that reason. It would have taken a few calls and a some organising to make fifty times the cash and save the gorgeous wood for those of us that appreciate it.

You could always offer to swap the tree for firewood and make the money back to buy it for them by ebaying a few sealed but green blanks from it? You would save the expensive and beautiful wood, and make yourself quite a bit of cash at the same time... They may see sense if you explain just how expensive and rare the wood they're planning on burning is, they may as well be burning furniture they got for free.

Nic.


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## marku (12 Nov 2013)

Hi

Not a sales scam, I'm not that clever.

I think with all these things you have to take a view on it, in an ideal world you would save every scrap of wood but in the real world time and facilities come into play.

I am going to take the very large bits to the sawmill on monday, They are quoting about £140.00 to plank it up into 2" thick planks. There are only about 3 pieces worth doing this with maybe even 2, I wont know until I get there and they take a look.

Hopefully Paul will cut some of the other larger bits up with his Alaskan mill set up which will be interesting as I have always wondered how effective these are.

I have cut one piece up so far with the chainsaw freehand and sealed the ends with PVA glue, I am going to try a few of the smaller bits on the bandsaw.

Very interesting to hear about the pale wood I assumed it was only good for the woodburner so I will have to do some research.

Did pressure wash the stump today, this is probably the hardest bit to deal with as my chainsaw is a bit on the small side and although I know people with large saws I can't ask them to cut up a root ball because of chain damage etc. Any suggestions? 

Mark


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## Nick Gibbs (12 Nov 2013)

marku":20taytaj said:


> Hopefully Paul will cut some of the other larger bits up with his Alaskan mill set up which will be interesting as I have always wondered how effective these are. Mark



Alaskan mills are amazing to get you going, but limited for repeat work as there is so much wastage. One day someone will develop a tiny horizontal bandsaw mill that can be used once the bulk of the processing has been done with a chainsaw. 

Looks like you've got a burr or walnut root. This is well worth milling, perhaps thinner than 2in. We've got an amazing story in the next issue of BW about a guy who pulled a walnut root out of the ground, and had it milled into 5/8in slices. He's made a beautiful tambour cabinet with it. Normally this sort of stuff gets used for gunstocks, so it's unusual to see root walnut in furniture.


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## adidat (12 Nov 2013)

that clever canadian chap already has Nick!






click here for more info

but that is some seriously nice stuff you have there!

adidat


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## marku (12 Nov 2013)

Nick

The root could be lovely inside but difficult to tell not having seen one before I have nothing to compare it to, there does seem to be a fair bit of rot in it but this may be normal?

Getting it milled is definately the problem, no one wants to touch it with a bandsaw mill because of damaging the blade.

Maybe I will have to wait and make a bandsaw mill like the one above.

Mark


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## No skills (12 Nov 2013)

Good luck with getting this tree turned into some useable timber, hope all goes well. =D> 

I look at the grain pattern and colour in that root and just want to make some kitchen door panels, strange eh?


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## Nick Gibbs (12 Nov 2013)

Good point about woodgear's bandmill. We should make one over here.

Rot is very normal in walnut. And all sort of other nasties your sawmill won't like, and your chainsaw will hate!!! I'll ask Charles Thomson, who milled the walnut root, how he got so much out of it. He has 18x18in squares of 15mm thick stuff that is absolutely exquisite. I guess you go very slowly and extract what you can, then wait for a great opportunity to use it. Charles showed me some burr elm he has that has suffered from a white fungus of some sort. He has six panels and can't decide what to do with it. We'll show it in the next issue, and perhaps someone can suggest something for him to make!!!

Cheers

Nick


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## marku (12 Nov 2013)

Thanks, that would be great if you could ask him, I did think about just taking a chainsaw to it and reducing it bit by bit, I suspect I would wreck it though.

Look forward to seeing the article in BW Mag.

Mark


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## Nick Gibbs (12 Nov 2013)

I suspect taking a chainsaw to it and reducing it bit by bit might actually be quite a good strategy. It's fairly likely to be full of stones. But every bit of English walnut should be saved and used in my opinion. It is a king of timbers.


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## Gerard Scanlan (14 Nov 2013)

Why not use a big bow saw to cut up the root stump? Finding a big one commercially can be a problem but they are easy to rig up for yourself from a timber frame and with a metre length of 1 inch wide bandsaw blade. It will take a while to cut through but it won't waste much wood and it won't damage anyone's saw.


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## marku (14 Nov 2013)

Gerald

Great idea. I hadn't thought of cutting it manually.

I like a challenge and I'm not sure how stupid this is but I have borrowed a saw and the best bit is the owner isn't worried about how I treat it.

I will sand it off and sharpen it up, fit two new handles and give it a go. Once the stump is in half it will be easier to deal with.

Mark


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## Gerard Scanlan (14 Nov 2013)

Power to you Mark.
Make sure you have a couple of narrow wedges and a hammer handy so that you can keep the saw blade free as you cut. Normally people say just let the saw do the work but I am afraid it might be an idea to get someone on the other end of that monster saw. I am very pleased that you are going to tackle this by hand. I was talking to a fellow wood worker a couple of weeks ago about felling your own timber with a handsaw. It is hard work but so much more satisfying than suiting and booting up to use power tools and it is not at though you have a whole forest to fell.

Keen to know how you get on.

Gerard


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## marku (14 Nov 2013)

Gerard

Thanks for the encouragement, I am hoping to bribe a couple of friends with some bulk bags of logs plus free beer to get on the other end of the saw.

Good tip about the wedges, will be sure to make some before we start.

Mark


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## jkljosh (14 Nov 2013)

Hi Mark

You might want to touch base with Andy Fellows at PrimeTimber (www.primetimber.co.uk) in Fareham although I don't know whether he would be interested in buying/converting the tree. I should say I've no commercial link to him other than having bought a beautiful boarded air dried burr elm log from him at the beginning of the year. He specialises in highly figured wood like this, and when I was choosing the elm he had some incredible walnut (including the root ball) that he'd recovered and thence converted into boards, guitar blanks etc. He might be worth contacting if you want to make the most of the bigger bits that you've got - he's got the gear and the subject matter expertise to get the most out of this dwindling resource. 

Cheers

John


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## paulm (14 Nov 2013)

I might be good for all of five minutes on the end of that saw Mark before I ran out of steam and needed a break for a cuppa, might take a few days to get through that stump (hammer) :lol: 

Cheers, Paul


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## marku (14 Nov 2013)

Thanks, I will give prime timber a call and have a chat to see if they are interested in converting the larger bits of timber,

Quite looking forward to having a go at the stump, I have signed up one mate for an unpleasant Sunday morning of sawing if I sort the saw out in time.

Paul you are more than welcome to come over and be in charge of tea breaks, I thought maybe a good hour or two sawing and we might get it cut in half. You might be right when you say weeks, there is only one way to find out!

Has anyone got any ideas what to put on the saw blade as lubrication, wax etc.

Mark


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## Nick Gibbs (14 Nov 2013)

Fantastic idea. We showed something very similar in a recent Living Woods. Thomas Flinn sell an excellent two-man saw for only about £50. It is really good. We'll feature you in the mag. Sounds amazing. 

Nick


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## marku (14 Nov 2013)

Thanks

We will try the old saw, probably for about 5 minutes before ordering a new saw from Thomas flinn, I imagine we will try the Thomas Flinn saw for about 10 minutes before ordering a very large Stihl Chainsaw.

I think we will just have to give it a go and see what happens!

Mark


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## Tony Spear (15 Nov 2013)

I've just remembered - in the late 50s/early 60's, there used be adverts in the local newspapers asking people if they had any Walnut trees and offering to buy them. Some of them even offered a "finders fee" to anybody who could tell them of any Walnut trees that could be located!

Funny old World innit?


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## marku (15 Nov 2013)

Well I managed to sort the saw out today, sandblasted it and then rubbed it down with the DA sander, the deep pitted rust was to deep to remove. Sharpened it in the vice with a file. We also have a very short broom handle now.

Couldn't wait to try it out so got the stump down and started sawing, not too bad it took about 1 hour solid to get just under half way through on my own the saw works surprisingly well but it is hard work.

The wooden wedges suggested by Gerard are essential.

I am hoping to finish this of on Sunday, just praying the wood is worth the effort.

More pics at http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/

Mark


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## dickm (15 Nov 2013)

"When I were a lad............" Well, anyway, back in the 1950s, used to work with my grandfather on a two handed saw exactly like that. In fact, it's still in my shed. Was always surprised how, once you'd got into the rhythm, it wasn't THAT hard work. But getting the timing right took practice - nothing more likely to raise tempers than starting to pull while the other guy was still on his (or her - SWMBO has worked with me on the saw occasionally) pull. And really frustrating if you made the mistake of trying to push and bent the saw so it jammed. But once you'd got the rhythm, the "singing" noise from the saw was great music.


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## paulm (15 Nov 2013)

Looking good Mark, you've done well doing it just by yourself !

I don't think you'll be disappointed when you get through it, fingers crossed 

Cheers, Paul


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## marku (16 Nov 2013)

Well its in half, it got smaller towards the bottom and only took about half an hour to finish cutting it this morning.

Its not dark like some of the other bits,

I will post some more pictures tonight when I get home.

What do I do with it now????

Mark


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## nicguthrie (16 Nov 2013)

That is truly gorgeous looking timber you have there. And I don't say that to just anyone yanno...

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk


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## paulm (16 Nov 2013)

Looks good Mark 

Hard to know what to suggest to do next without being there and being able to look at it properly.

Possibly tidy it up a bit more on the uncut sides and bottom if you can to get rid of any rubbish bits, while preserving as much of the dark heartwood as possible.

After that it's probably a case of deciding what you want to do with it, which will then suggest the best way to further break it down if needed ?

Cheers, Paul


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## marku (16 Nov 2013)

Could really do with suggestions of what to make out of it, it is a big bit of timber and would be a shame to cut it up too small. 

I guess you would turn it on the lathe Paul but any other ideas, not that there's anything wrong with that, I just don't have a wood lathe. Also I think there is enough useful wood to make a few things if you want some for the lathe.

Mark


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## paulm (16 Nov 2013)

I'm not so good on the ideas/creative front to be honest Mark, even my wife asks me why I can't make things that aren't round  :lol: 

Just to demonstrate my lack of imagination the only things I can think to suggest are to make sure you have a couple of decent chopping/bread boards as they do look great and will get used every day ! 

Other than that then I guess you're into furniture of different types, small cabinets, tables, jewelry boxes, clocks etc depending on level of experience and kit available ?

For these other uses the timber will need to be well seasoned before use, and you could cut into a range of sizes to season and that you are likely to use and/or can further reduce later, perhaps 1", 2" and 3" thick planks, kept as wide and as long as possible in the first instance ? If in doubt keep it all as big and as long as possible, but try and isolate any pith to minimise splitting.

Don't cut it too thin as it will warp/twist when drying out and you will likely need to remove a fair bit of timber later to get it flat again to use. Stacking any cut planks with untreated softwood spacers around 1" square cross section, every 18" or 24" or so to allow the air to circulate and dry them out, and put some heavy'ish weights of some sort on top of the top plank to help prevent the stacked pile distorting as it dries. End grain needs sealing as well of course. 

Then you don't have to worry about what to make just yet as it will likely be two to three years before most of it is ready to use ! :lol: 

Look forwards to helping out a bit next week or two once you are ready and if it still suits.

Cheers, Paul


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## Paul Chapman (16 Nov 2013)

Looks fabulous 8) 

Cheers :wink: 

Paul


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## marku (16 Nov 2013)

Thanks, for the help, 

I wasn't sure if a lump of wood like that would suit any particular purpose but I guess it could be made into anything as you say.

If I end up cutting it up with the hand saw they will be at least 2" wide, the first cut was not that straight, I think this was a result of using the two man saw on my own, the other end was doing its own thing. Amazingly people developed bad backs, colds and various other medical complaints when asked to help with this job, even a crate of seasoned logs and a night in the pub didn't work as a bribe.

Next job is to cut the rot and waste off to make sawing easier.

I might also invest in a new saw, the one I cleaned up has several teeth missing and a few more damaged ones which can't help. The saw did prove it can be done and surprisingly quickly.

Mark


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## morfa (16 Nov 2013)

If I lived anywhere near Hampshire, I'd totally come down and help out with the sawing. It's the kind of daft physical stuff that I like. As others have said, once you get into a rythmn, I reckon it wouldn't be that bad. But then I'm looking forward to taking a week off work to dig up the garden.


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## marku (16 Nov 2013)

Thanks, You are right its no where near as bad as you think it would be, it is still hard work though. Shame your not closer.

Mark


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## Tony Spear (17 Nov 2013)

Dificult to judge the size with nothing (or hardly anything) in the pictures to give scale. However from the original pictues, it looks like a pretty hefty lump.

If so, unless you know somebody with a "bowl saver"*don't use it for turning*

There's a guy around my area, who makes toy boxes etc. and whenever I see him at various "Country" events, he invariably says to me that he can't understand wood turners "You take beautiful wood - and then chuck most of it on the floor!!


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## Richard T (17 Nov 2013)

marku wrote _Its not dark like some of the other bits,
_

In my experience it gets darker soon after it has been cut. Oiling it with clear oil or even the oils it picks up from handling will darken it much more. Also it will reciprocate by staining you.


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## marku (17 Nov 2013)

Thanks for that, not knowing much about this its interesting to know it may darken with time and oil etc.

Mark


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## nicguthrie (17 Nov 2013)

I don't know how much turning and stuff you've actually done, so I may be telling a master how to be a beginner, but if you want some idea of how to preserve the wood for turning and such, nip down to somewhere local and reputable and look at their various blanks.
You should be able to judge somewhat from size, grain direction, where each blank is waxed etc. They say a pic is worth a thousand words, seeing and studying in the flesh is worth many more.

You'd have a fair bit of wastage from bits that you process to blanks, but if you were to sell them you'd make a fair bit more, for less transport and postage, with round blanks vs large chunks. It'd sell well, and not only that, if you used it yourself to make nice things, they'd not only sell well but give you great satisfaction in using such pretty wood. 

Just a thought, I've been watching this thread with interest to see how it all comes out. Seems to have become quite an adventure 

All the best.

Nic

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk


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## paulm (17 Nov 2013)

Tony Spear":ku9gmf5y said:


> unless you know somebody with a "bowl saver"*don't use it for turning*
> 
> There's a guy around my area, who makes toy boxes etc. and whenever I see him at various "Country" events, he invariably says to me that he can't understand wood turners "You take beautiful wood - and then chuck most of it on the floor!!



I'm officially very offended on behalf of all fellow woodturners Tony :lol: 

Having said that, I agree with the underlying sentiment not to waste any lovely timber unnecessarily, be it in turning or any other approach.

A few years back I invested in a bowl saver/coring system having come to the same conclusion myself that it was wasteful and sometimes upsetting (!) to not be able to use all of a lovely piece of timber.

It's fairly expensive kit, not the easiest to use, and sometimes goes wrong, but I can usually get three decent sized bowls, sometimes four, from a decent sized blank, and have never regretted getting it since, having been lucky enough to get hold of some lovely timber from Paul Chapman and elsewhere in recent years and it's very satisfying to be able to make good use of it and hopefully do it justice.

The important thing is that lovely timber like this gets used and appreciated in some form(s), and all credit to Mark for saving it from becoming firewood :shock: everything else is a bonus really from there  

Cheers, Paul


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## marku (17 Nov 2013)

Nic

Thanks for the advice, I am pretty much a beginner. I have made some MDF fitted furniture, pine chest of drawers, green oak coffee table and a few other things, but really don't know anything about converting a tree to usable timber so any advice is great.

Paul is hopefully bringing his saw over on Tuesday afternoon and we will see how things go, judging by his efforts on the other thread involving sawing up a walnut tree he will be a great help.

On the subject of selling the wood I really have no desire to get involved with selling it. This is for a very simple reason, I run my own business and work six days a week, I become obsessive about making money from things and I really don't want to spoil this by involving money. As you say it has become a bit of an adventure. I will wait and see how much usable timber comes from this and then decide what to do with it. (I am not rich)

I would like to make another knife with a presentation box and a piece of furniture, Paul is going to take some for his wood turning after that we will have to see how much is left and what to do with it.

Judging by the size of the stump there is quite a lot of wood to deal with.

Mark


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## nicguthrie (18 Nov 2013)

I'm actually very much a beginner myself, just a pretty well read one - I'm often not well enough to actually do the physical turning and woodwork, but I'll spend the day pouring through books and web sites for better technique instead  

I was emphasizing how easy it'd be to sell, not for the money side of things, (although a bit of spending cash is always welcome, I'm not really a money orientated guy either) but for how easy it would be to shift the bits you didn't want yourself. Also, if you really value something, and by the work you've put in, you obviously value beautiful wood, one way to make sure it only goes where it's going to be also valued and appreciated, is to charge for it  - That or give it away to people that you already know love the same things! (hint, hint!) 

If you want a truly gorgeous knife blank for making your own knife, try Dictum tools (Germany, but postage is under a tenner for knives etc.) http://www.mehr-als-werkzeug.de/category/Klingen-und-Klingenrohlinge-3529_3536.htm the site can be swapped to English, that's the section on knife blanks and blades. I am hoping to one day make a couple of small tool knives for a couple of close friends and relatives from their Suminagashi or Damascus steel range*. The same sort of technique in forging that was used for Samurai's swords among others, and produces some of the loveliest and sharpest steels ever conceived. If it all comes together nicely, I'd much appreciate if I could reimburse you for enough wood for at least a couple of sets of nicely figured knife scales - I'll only end up buying them on eBay and giving my money to some stranger. 

If you, like me, enjoy spending the occasional evening staring at catalogues of tool porn that you could never justify owning, order their catalogue - it's the Swimsuit Illustrated of the tool world  

Nic 

*Suminagashi steel has multiple layers of softer steels, folded until they form rippled patterns (the two steels used usually have slightly differing colour or brightness) and these are used to provide a back and surround for a centre piece of rediculously hard and sharp steel that otherwise would be too hard and brittle to use for a knife - the layers of softer steel take strain and shock from the very hard steel to protect it. Damascus steel is similar, but missing the centre piece, just having the beautiful layered and folded steel. There's one other similar form that I know of (I'd love to hear of more) called Mokume (or Mokume-gane - Translation "Burl Metal"), where different coloured metals not neccessarily steel can be worked into the layers.


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## Gerard Scanlan (18 Nov 2013)

Fantastic job. 
The grain is very pronounced. After a couple of years seasoning I would cut it nice and thin on my bandsaw and use if for panels on a cabinet or a segmented table top. Of course it would make terrific bowls or bandsaw boxes too. Magic. Stuff for making heirlooms.


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## dickm (18 Nov 2013)

nicguthrie":2m4dd1nm said:


> There's one other similar form that I know of (I'd love to hear of more) called Mokume (or Mokume-gane - Translation "Burl Metal"), where different coloured metals not neccessarily steel can be worked into the layers.



Interesting - didn't know how to spell that, having only heard about it on phone from jewellry-making daughter in the US. It sounds from her as if it's currently very fashionable in the jewellry world, using copper and silver hammered together. Seems to involve a forge and power hammer, so now know what her husband will have to buy for her next birthday


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## Tony Spear (18 Nov 2013)

paulm":crh9ka0d said:


> Tony Spear":crh9ka0d said:
> 
> 
> > unless you know somebody with a "bowl saver"*don't use it for turning*
> ...




Don't blame me - I didn't say it! Anyway, as you're both in the same County, maybe you should leg it over to Marku's place and see what might be possible?


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## PeterF (19 Nov 2013)

I can't really see the scale in those pictures, but depending how big the chunks are, you could make a fortune on guitar back and side sets. They would easily go for £100 each...


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## whiskywill (19 Nov 2013)

PeterF":394jk3ea said:


> I can't really see the scale in those pictures, but depending how big the chunks are, you could make a fortune on guitar back and side sets. They would easily go for £100 each...




I think £25 would be more realistic to us poor people. :lol:


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## PeterF (19 Nov 2013)

whiskywill":2dspnogg said:


> PeterF":2dspnogg said:
> 
> 
> > I can't really see the scale in those pictures, but depending how big the chunks are, you could make a fortune on guitar back and side sets. They would easily go for £100 each...
> ...



Well of course there should be a discount for forum members... :mrgreen:


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## marku (19 Nov 2013)

Hi

Paul came over this afternoon and we made a start cutting some of the bits up with his saws which was a huge help tackling some of the bigger bits, I think he is going to post some pictures up soon. there seems to be some good wood to work with! 

Still trying to get time to go and get the large bits planked up, hopefully will be later this week.

Thanks

Mark


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## PeterF (19 Nov 2013)

You could easily get some acoustic sets out of that. We guitar makers love sapwood as well, so you'd get even more out of it...


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## paulm (20 Nov 2013)

Had a productive afternoon round at Mark's workplace yesterday. He took one of the big trailers up into a field on the hill behind his warehouse where we could do the chainsawing without worrying too much about disturbing people and making a mess. It was easy enough for the tractor, but a challenge for the jeep as the access was fairly steep and churned up mud about a foot thick, got up there at the second attempt though !

Mark did a great job using the tractor and lifting strap to move the bigger logs on and off the trailer for cutting, would have been a real struggle without it. I'm sure I need one of those at home !

I'd packed the jeep up with all the gear in the morning, or so I thought, but on going to get the alaskan mill attachment out of the jeep to show how it works I discovered I'd left it under a bench in the workshop, d'oh #-o (homer) 

As it turned out the pieces we were working on were better suited to freehand sawing anyway so luckily wasn't an issue on the day.

Then I discovered the bigger husky with it's nice sharp new chain didn't seem to want to cut at all, weird. Closer examination showed that the muppet that had put the new chain on had managed to put it on with the teeth running in the wrong direction  :lol: Turning it round not surprisingly restored the cutting performance and the afternoon went pretty well after a dodgy start !

Didn't take many pics as I was busy working most of the time and dodging Mark and his tractor with big lumps of wood swinging around on it ! Mark was keen for a big pile of firewood for his woodburner, but surprisingly we discovered that there really wasn't much firewood there at all (and it doesn't burn very well anyway of course) and the wood he had was only really good for turning, wouldn't have been suitable for anything else at all really  

He ended up with a few token offcuts as firewood though to keep him in a good mood :lol: Here he is with his firewood pile, I did try and stop him, honestly :shock: 













As the light was starting to go we heaved all the cut pieces back onto the trailer and slid down the slope back to the car park. Mark didn't see it but I nearly took out a fence and gate post on the way as the jeep was sliding about in the deep mud and the braking wasn't having much effect ! Managed to miss it some how though thankfully.

Back in the car park we transferred some of the cut pieces over to my wee 6'x4' trailer with a bit of discussion about how strange it was that the whole tree only seemed suitable for turning and not much else, but he did manage to hold onto some decent pieces for himself despite my best efforts :lol: 

Mark's new 6' manual saw had arrived earlier in the day and his mate Gordie came round at the end of the day to help try it out on the large stump. My back had stiffened up by then, as well as elbows and wrists and pretty much a bit of a wreck all over, so I stood/sat and watched and took photos and gave helpful bits of advice that I had read about on the internet while managing to eat bits of cake and drink some tea, some good multi-tasking I thought :lol: 

I'll leave it to Mark to describe how they went about tackling the stump later if he gets the chance, but here's some pics of the guys in action in the meantime and the not too shabby result of a fair bit of hard work =D> 





























Looking forwards to seeing how the cutting up of the bigger logs goes at the mill if I get the chance, and might need a second round on the remaining smaller stuff once we've recovered from yesterday's efforts, but a very satisfying and productive day yesterday, enjoyed it a lot and the aches and pains subsided a lot after some ibruprofen and best malt medication last night :wink:

Many thanks to Mark for the opportunity to help out and for sharing out the timber, much appreciated. Just got to go and unload it now and move it into the workshop, now where's that tractor..... !

Cheers, Paul


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## paulm (20 Nov 2013)

And some pics of my trailer before I unload it later......













Cheers, Paul


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## Paul Chapman (20 Nov 2013)

Looks like some nice stuff there 8) 

Cheers :wink: 

Paul


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## paulm (21 Nov 2013)

paulm":1iefqhjt said:


> He ended up with a few token offcuts as firewood though to keep him in a good mood :lol: Here he is with his firewood pile, I did try and stop him, honestly :shock:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Wasn't really the firewood pile, just my sense of humour such as it is ! :lol: 

Cheers, Paul


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## Random Orbital Bob (21 Nov 2013)

wow Paul...what a haul....fantastic


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## paulm (21 Nov 2013)

Random Orbital Bob":vzefahvw said:


> wow Paul...what a haul....fantastic



Might be able to spare a bit next time you're round Rob, us turners have to stick together  

Cheers, Paul


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## Random Orbital Bob (21 Nov 2013)

I wasn't hinting Paul honest 

Ive got a bit of ash for you too from the house build next door to me (clearing some trees). I appreciate its not quite in the same league as walnut mind  That does look good enough to eat in the photos.


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## paulm (21 Nov 2013)

Random Orbital Bob":31va4f8u said:


> That does look good enough to eat in the photos.



Thought it was only me that thought odd things like that Rob :lol: 

Cheers, Paul


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## Tony Spear (21 Nov 2013)

Just look at what you can do with small pieces of Walnut!

http://hawthornecrafts.com/


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## marku (21 Nov 2013)

Hi

I managed to get time to move a few of the bits of timber that I managed to save from the woodturner (Paul) down from the yard and seal the ends with some PVA glue, these bits look quite good!

Paul was joking about the firewood, there is a bit of Walnut on the firewood pile, but this tree did fall down and some of it is split or damaged, also some of the smaller limbs have no dark wood in them at all. Paul seems very sure that Walnut is only suitable for woodturning, not so sure myself.

I am still looking forward to getting the 2 large bits planked up but because of the recent storm the guys around us are quite busy at the moment but the latest date is the end of next week, although there is a small pocket of rot in them I am hoping there will also be some good wood.

Just need to find a very large (old, cheap) 3 phase bandsaw now to convert this into useful sizes.

Thanks to Paul for his help cutting some of this up.

Mark


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## paulm (21 Nov 2013)

Those bits do look especially good Mark, worthy of some nice furniture, boxes, guitar sets or similar.

See, I'm not obsessed with round stuff !

Having said that though I could do some nice nested salad bowl sets from them :-k :lol: 

Seriously good bits of timber. Fingers crossed you get some more good stuff from the larger trunks.

Cheers, Paul,


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## paulm (29 Nov 2013)

Met up with Mark again this morning to take the three larger trunks for milling.

Was interesting to see the big mill in operation, not sure you can tell from the pictures but the blades were probably about 4" wide and maybe about 9 foot long. Unfortunately they lost some teeth on one blade on a hidden nail, and damaged some more teeth on the replacement blade on a different bit of metal on the next trunk :shock: Not good as the blades look expensive !

Thankfully they had some decent kit to do most of the heavy lifting, and the mill has some useful hydraulics on it for positioning the logs too.

As always with this kind of stuff most of the time went on moving the timber around and planning how best to attack it, the actuall cutting took only seconds for each pass through even the longer logs which must have been around 8 to 10'. The mill cut effortlessly, very impressive. 

Some large pockets of rot in some of the pieces but still a lot of decent timber, and a fun morning out. 

Mark's going to unload and stack it to dry tomorrow when he has a bit more time. 













































Still some smaller cross section logs on the second trailer, but limited heartwood in them, probably worth saving two or three but mostly firewood otherwise, but a good haul of usable timber from the tree overall  

Cheers, Paul


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## marku (30 Nov 2013)

Hi

As posted by Paul, we went and got some of the larger bits of wood milled up, would of been very cheap if it wasn't for the nails in the wood that the blade hit.

Thanks to Paul for his help and advice.

Some quite good bits came out and some very rotten bits but enough good bits to make it worth the effort.

I got time to stack it up today with sticks separating the boards, now all that remains is to seal the ends and wait for it to dry!

Maybe in a few years it may be possible to post some pics of something that's been made from this wood. 

The best bit about this experience is that it has got me back in the shed and I have been finishing of a box I started making a year ago.

Pics of the wood are at http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/

Mark


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## nathandavies (1 Dec 2013)

I see table legs


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## marku (22 Aug 2015)

I'm not sure if I should post on this thread or start a new one,

I have been waiting for the Walnut to dry out a bit before doing anything with it, I ended up with an easy day at work today and decided to cut a small piece up that has been under my desk since the tree came down.

About ten years ago I made a knife and cut out a blank for another one but never got any further with it, I thought it would be nice to use a bit of the walnut to make the handle. I don't have time for much of a project at the moment so this seemed an easy one.

Having cut the bit up under my desk I had to go and have a look at the rest of the wood (not having looked at it for 18 months) which has been drying out in the yard under some plywood sheets, it all seems to be drying out nicely. Although it had become buried in a lot of rubbish

Unfortunately I am moving my business and I might have to get rid of a load of the wood which is a shame.


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## Droogs (22 Aug 2015)

looks like its coming along nicely


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## custard (22 Aug 2015)

English Walnut can break your heart. Sappy, wormy, and full of checks; but it's such a beautiful timber when it works out. I've lost count of the times I've set to on a cutting list with what felt like an extravagant number of sawn Walnut boards, only to be really struggling at the end to get enough usable wood out to finish the project. 

Still, starting with an entire tree and finishing with a pair of knife scales must be a record!


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## marku (22 Aug 2015)

Droogs, Thanks I think its drying out well!

Custard, I know what you mean two knife scales isn't a great achievement from an entire tree. You will be pleased to know that I am aiming to get at least one pen from the timber as well !!!!.

Seriously though I think you are right about the wastage, the guys at the sawmill said the same thing. 

Luckily I am fairly realistic about the amount of wood that will come from the Walnut, I don't really have time to make big pieces like tables etc, its just satisfying to take the tree and convert it into something other than fire wood.

Hopefully it will give me enough timber to make a couple of boxes. The rest I think will have to go to a new home as the new business units I have taken on don't lend themselves to pallets of wood as well as our old premises did.

Watch this space for a very small pen!

Mark


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## MusicMan (22 Aug 2015)

If you have any parts where a burr has formed on the trunk, this is also a prized part for woodturners.


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## beganasatree (22 Aug 2015)

Hi Mark,
Some folk have all the luck.ENJOY WHAT YOU HAVE.

Peter


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## marku (22 Aug 2015)

Unfortunately I don't think there are any burrs, I suspect Paul who helped cut the tree up would of pointed them out as he is a turner.

All joking aside there is a fair amount of wood to use up.

Mark


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## custard (22 Aug 2015)

Incidentally, with Walnut you can get away with using some of the darker sap (provided it's fairly solid and not punky) by staining it with a water soluble aniline dye, just pick a Walnut shade, raise the grain first with some hot water, sand at 220 grit, then apply the dye. It's really not difficult. 

Even though we call it sap I don't think it is, I suspect Walnut is like Laburnum in that there's sap, pale heartwood, and right at the centre dark heartwood. A lot of commercially produced Walnut is steamed which has the effect of evening up the colour across the darker and paler wood, unfortunately it also tends to muddy the grain, so personally I prefer unsteamed Walnut and I'll stretch it just that bit further with dye. It's saved my bacon on many occasions as making even relatively high priced furniture is often uneconomic with Walnut as the wastage can rival Yew or Olivewood at 70 or 80% unless you use a few tricks to help you out.

Good luck!


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## Benchwayze (23 Aug 2015)

I have used walnut 'bough-wood' for veneering small boxes. (Veneer sawn on my own bandsaw, to about 1/8" thickness.) Used like this it's quite stable, and whilst not heavily figured, it is still beautiful to look at. Nice gift you had there! 


John


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## marku (23 Aug 2015)

I think you are right about the sap and pale heart wood, a lot of the pale wood seems like really good wood to me. I am going to try and get the wood out in the near future and unstack it to have a proper look at what's there.

It certainly makes my small bandsaw struggle, but making veneers from it might be a good idea and an excuse to look for a better bandsaw.

Mark


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## custard (23 Aug 2015)

Hello Mark, PM sent, check your inbox.


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## paulm (23 Aug 2015)

Unfortunately I'm workshopless at the moment Mark, due to building work and a likely house move next year, otherwise I would be over like a shot with the trailer !

There weren't any burrs as far as I recall but lots of other nice timber 

Cheers, Paul


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## marku (23 Aug 2015)

Paul

I am thinking that maybe the answer is to process it down, get rid of the waste and try and keep the better wood, it doesn't look half as good now its dry but as soon as its oiled it comes back to life.

The workshop we are moving to is much bigger but lacks the outside space, as you know our landlord was relaxed about us leaving wood everywhere. Unfortunately the property company that has bought the field we where in to build 110 houses does not want us using the land for some reason!!!

Hopefully though we will be able to set up our workshop in a more organised way and get on with a few homers!

Mark


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## Gerard Scanlan (26 Aug 2015)

A friend of mine smoked walnut rather than staining it and meant he could use the full width without havng to discard the sapwood. Looked great.


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