Curing Black Walnut

[eric]

I have some black walnut trees that I am going to cut down, and was wondering the best way to cure them? Saw mill before or after drying? Thanks Eric

[Old guy]

Hi Eric,

Saw them green, seal the ends, and air dry them for a couple of years.

Be sure to check out how to do it, you can ruin a lot of valuable lumber otherwise.

Good Luck,

Old Guy

[Wade Lippman]

Yes, but saw them first.

[whit3rd]

For furniture building, a log length of 54 inches is about right; for bowl turning, you'll want to make 'em 20 inches instead. Then when you saw planks or split billets, do it with the end use in mind (you might want a quarter log intact if you like massive turnings, or split out slender sticks if your aspirations include greenwood chairs). Most commercial lumber is

4/4 so you open new opportunities if you make some 5/4 or 8/4 boards.

Probably you want to quarter the log before sawing boards.

The usual rules of lumber drying all apply, of course; seal the endgrain with paint or paraffin, use lots of sticks between boards for air circulation. and occasionally restack the wood. After its in rough-board form, start reading.

Maybe the USDA Wood Handbook is a good start