I just took down a black walnut with a friend of mine to get milled up. The last time I milled a black walnut, we just through and through milled it. However, I was wondering if perhaps I should quarter saw it or plain mill it instead. The logs are from about 12" to 18" diameter. Any suggestions?
I happen to think that qs bw is pretty; that is how I did a 48" diameter log, but it isn't popular for some reason. If you qs pieces that big, you won't get much out of it.
Personally, I prefer flatsawn walnut - QS just doesn't do much for me in this species. You ask how you SHOULD mill it - that depends on how it will be used! Is it for your own use? If so, how do you like it? If you're selling it, most opinions I've heard seem to be for plainsawn over quartersawn. Or ask some of your customers! One thing I'd suggest would be to do some of it in 8/4 - I was looking for some of that recently, and my local dealer didn't have any at all, saying walnut has been in high demand and hard to get recently. Just my opinions - hope they help! Andy
Plain mill or mill straight through. With the amount of waste from quartersawing, you won't get boards of enough width to make them as useful as the flat sawn material is. If you want any 2x material, take it from the thickest logs.
Walnut usually has a lot of sapwood. Presuming you want decent widths of heartwood, you may find that flat sawing is necessary. Look at the ends to see what you will get either way.
John Martin
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