Dirty looking finish on walnut.

[Parbynat]

Can someone help me with this?
I have just bought a walnut slab section with the intention of making my mum and myself a coffee table.
Firstly I sanded with 120 grit then 180 and finally finished with 240 grit.
I thought that when I applied the natural danish oil it was going to really bring out the colour, the heartwood looks ok but the sapwood sides of the slab now just look dirty.
Where did I go wrong?
Thanks

 

[Adam W.]

Looks like it need planing a bit.

 

[--Tom--]

Looks like it need planing a bit.

+1
Looks like can still see the shadow from the stickers

 

[rogxwhit]

Indeed it looks as if it hasn't been fully planed, which is a peliminary before any sanding. I swear I can see transverse traces of when the board was bandsawn.
Planing might also clear up the muddiness of the sapwood, unless this is due to mould staining in which case it might be harder to avoid.

 

[--Tom--]

If it’s been steam treated the sapwood will have less contrast too

 

[niall Y]

Looks like a bit of mould to the sap-wood, ( the pale patchy bits ). You will need to check how far down this goes. Planing, as has been suggested. could remove this, otherwise, applying a stain might at least help to lessen the effect

 

[Argus]

............I'm not sure about that sap-wood.
I can see what looks like three worm exit-holes and there may be more on the rest of the board, not to mention what may be brewing in the background.
Where they have been, more will follow unless there's some extensive and dissuasive anti-worm chemical pickling.

Personally, I rarely keep sap-wood on any species, especially Oak, for that reason

Even so, there is some very nice Walnut in the middle. Don't be put off by the schatzenkrud on the surface.

 

[Parbynat]

Thanks for the replies
The picture I attached was from the unplaned side of the slab after I had planed it and sanded it.
It was only when I got home did I then realise the suface was littered with worm tunnels. I thought they may sand out but my efforts were getting nowhere so I flipped it over and planed it, sanded it and then oiled it.
Should I have not bought this piece?
Also, I will take some more off with the plane and see how it looks.

 

[--Tom--]

How have you got comfortable that the worm holes aren’t from active worms?

I bought a piece of beautifully rippled walnut, spotted a single wormhole when I got it home, a month later the whole thing was spotted with holes

 

[Argus]

I think that what you have is a waney edged Walnut board, cut through-and-through - a straight slice through the log from one side to the other.

In culinary terms, the full cut of meat including the skin, fat, gristle - with the steak in the middle.

This is traditionally the cheapest way to buy timber because you would discard the bark and the (sap-wood) plus the pith, if it is the central cut through the tree.... all useless for woodworking. It is cheap to buy on account of the waste wood, which would normally be trimmed off if the timber were sold ready milled.

That sap-wood is a natural home for wood-worm. The GOOD news is, that they rarely venture away from the easy, tasty stuff and into the heart-wood, so trim it off and use the good heart wood.

In your position,if you want to use it for a table top, with that plank, I would cut it cross-ways into the boards that you need, trim off and discard the lighter sap-wood - wood-worm and all - then make your top, (assuming that you also have the wood for tr under-carriage).
You could edge join the boards...... or, if the edges are irregular, make a feature of it and join them with a set of contrasting 'Dutchmen'.

Good luck............. there's some very good timber there.

 

[rogxwhit]

they rarely venture away from the easy, tasty stuff and into the heart-wood

You sure about that? ;-)

 

[rogxwhit]

Pity that sapwood's so wide. Board measure is something of an improvisational art, but if you saw the merchant measuring that board you'd have a sense of what he was charging you for from where he put his tape. Have you been cheated? We can't tell from here. What was the cu ft / cu m price? If you knew that you could reverse-engineer it to get the measure you'd been billed for.

Because wood isn't homogenous, if one is selecting / negotiating with a merchant, a basis is to have some sense of what's reasonable. If you choose it yourself, it's all up to you, really. Because you've inspected what you're paying for. Was it mis-described?

As above, it seems you have some good material, though I'm not as keen as books are to claim that worm rarely invades heartwood or is a stickler for a certain moisture content ...

Neither do I always exclude sapwood from work! It depends on the wood and the work.

If you thought to use the whole board, just adjust your sights, and count it as experience.

 

[Parbynat]

This is the piece that I bought, as can probably be seen the cost for this was £150.
After measuring it I cut it into 3 lengths of 34 inches with the intention of probably making 3 coffee tables for my family members.
Woodworm signs are present in patches from top to bottom and on both sides of the slab.
After thinking about overnight I have decided to take the jigsaw to it and trim off the infected sapwood. I'm trying not to think too much about whether I was conned a bit or not but rather focus on what I have and learn a lesson from this purchase.

 

[spanner48]

Agree with the others: I never use sapwood with Walnut. Heartwood only. Sapwood is for kindling.

 

[Skydivermel]

This is the piece that I bought, as can probably be seen the cost for this was £150.
After measuring it I cut it into 3 lengths of 34 inches with the intention of probably making 3 coffee tables for my family members.
Woodworm signs are present in patches from top to bottom and on both sides of the slab.
After thinking about overnight I have decided to take the jigsaw to it and trim off the infected sapwood. I'm trying not to think too much about whether I was conned a bit or not but rather focus on what I have and learn a lesson from this purchase.

Where did you buy it from?

 

[niall Y]

I rebuilt a Walnut Armoire, a few years back, About a quarter of it had to be replaced. The original maker had scrimped on the timber, and there were large sections of sapwood and waney-edge, tucked out of sight , where it would not be noticed. Needless to say, the sapwood had been obliterated by woodworm, which had also spread into areas of heartwood.

 

[rogxwhit]

which had also spread into areas of heartwood.

That's very rare, allegedly ... ;-)

 

[niall Y]

That's very rare, allegedly ... ;-)

The woodworm obviously hadn't got that 'memo'

 

[recipio]

Is it English or American black Walnut.? I'm afraid lots of bugs attack Walnut principally the ' Walnut Twig Beetle' and carry fungus into the sapwood. Steaming helps to blend the two colours together but you never get a perfect result. You often find holes in Mahogany as well. the only answer is to cut off the sapwood as you have done. Put it down to experience - you will know better next time.

 

[rogxwhit]

Is it English or American black Walnut.?

I've never seen American woods over here with a waney edge. And US black walnut has a more purply colour. So I'm guessing that it's Scottish or Welsh walnut - or yes, it could be English ...

Looks like it was priced at about £200 per cu ft ... blimey!