# Black Walnut tree value



## Idratherbcuttin (Feb 1, 2009)

A friend of mine has several black walnut trees in his yard that he believes are quite valuable. They are not very tall, and not huge in diamieter either, maybe 18". Any idea if they are really worth much? Just curious.


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## DocDryden (Feb 1, 2009)

*show me the money*

I Have always heard that they a worth a lot but …………show me the money 



,


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## Mikecutstrees (Feb 1, 2009)

I don't know tons about grading logs, but I know a little. It depends on the quality, number of defects (think limbs etc etc), size, and other factors. Most mills wont take logs from backyards because of the chance of finding metal in them. Bad for sawmill blades. Also fuel is expensive and bringing out a log truck probably isn't worth it unless you have a bunch of large veneer quality logs, and a mill that deals with them locally. So without seeing pictures I'll guess that, no your logs arn't worth much. Someone with a portable mill may be interested though. Try posting over in the milling forum maybe.... Mike


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## woodlotguy (Feb 1, 2009)

Two logs might be hard to market.The total bdf for two 18 inch logs is only 332 using the international scale.I might suggest having the logs sawn by a local sawyer and trying to sell the lumber.Even then you are only looking at about $664.00($2.00bdf) before you pay the sawyer and any other related costs.Logs prices are not great right now,I have a pile of hard maple saw logs that are going to be firewood by tommorrow night because they are worth more as firewood than they are as lumber.


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## TreeTopKid (Feb 1, 2009)

woodlotguy said:


> Two logs might be hard to market.The total bdf for two 18 inch logs is only 332 using the international scale.I might suggest having the logs sawn by a local sawyer and trying to sell the lumber.Even then you are only looking at about $664.00($2.00bdf) before you pay the sawyer and any other related costs.Logs prices are not great right now,I have a pile of hard maple saw logs that are going to be firewood by tommorrow night because they are worth more as firewood than they are as lumber.



You could catch more than $664.00 worth of fish with them (check the Walnut shucking topic ). Not legally I hasten to add but it's an interesting topic. let the trees grow!


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## rngrchad (Feb 1, 2009)

TreeTopKid said:


> You could catch more than $664.00 worth of fish with them (check the Walnut shucking topic ). Not legally I hasten to add but it's an interesting topic. let the trees grow!


I've heard you can do the same thing with Buckeye Nuts.


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## randyg (Feb 1, 2009)

woodlotguy said:


> Two logs might be hard to market.The total bdf for two 18 inch logs is only 332 using the international scale.I might suggest having the logs sawn by a local sawyer and trying to sell the lumber.Even then you are only looking at about $664.00($2.00bdf) before you pay the sawyer and any other related costs.Logs prices are not great right now,I have a pile of hard maple saw logs that are going to be firewood by tommorrow night because they are worth more as firewood than they are as lumber.




Those would have to be 12 foot long and 18 inches on the small end to scale the board feet you have come up with. My guess is they are more like 18" DBH? And $2.00/bf lately? Good luck. With a good metal detector you could scan trees that small for hardware before cutting, but seriousley, either wait till the market goes back up, or till they are much larger. Aint no such thing as an 18" DBH walnut veneer log. Scan em now for if you want, and then let em grow.


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## John Paul Sanborn (Feb 2, 2009)

randyg said:


> Scan em now for if you want, and then let em grow.



That would be best.

The other problem with walnut is that you have to heat them to get the sapwood to change color, so with a small mill you would have about of a third of the log as waste, since most users of walnut just want the heartwood. 18'dbh is marginal for any use.

Though we did look at an RV with a walnut interior that the salesman raved about that was all trim wood (clips) with mixed heart and sapwood, looked real ugly.


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## woodlotguy (Feb 2, 2009)

Nothing wrong with the numbers.18inch small end by 8ft long=98bdf doyle,108scribner or 116 international.Yes 2.00 a bdf is reasonable,air dry it then advertise it on a local internet classifieds,I have sold alot of wood this way.Local woodlot association auction is another option,you can usually sell rough cut lumber or saw logs at these auctions.I do agree that yard tree's are not always considered desirable by sawyers.


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## deerhunter1 (Feb 19, 2009)

*What we were offered for black walnut...*

Two years ago and again this year a timber co. employee stopped by and offered $500.00 each for some black walnut trees back in our woods. They are roughly 70 ft. and 70 years old. Guess he was doing some flying over the area and showed me the aerial view pixs of what he was interested in. So we took a walk out back and he showed me specifically what he wanted. 
But keep in mind this was the price for some pretty good sized trees.


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## chevytaHOE5674 (Feb 19, 2009)

deerhunter1 said:


> Two years ago and again this year a timber co. employee stopped by and offered $500.00 each for some black walnut trees back in our woods. They are roughly 70 ft. and 70 years old. Guess he was doing some flying over the area and showed me the aerial view pixs of what he was interested in. So we took a walk out back and he showed me specifically what he wanted.
> But keep in mind this was the price for some pretty good sized trees.



They were also in the woods, so much less chance of metal in them like most yard trees contain.


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## farmer (Feb 19, 2009)

So did you sell him the trees? Sounds cheap to me. 70 foot tree should have quite a bit of straight log in it.


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## deerhunter1 (Feb 19, 2009)

No, we did not sell him the trees but he said he would stop by again next year to see if we have changed our minds. Just not interested at least for now in selling them. And farmer you may be right about that being a cheap price. I really don't know but if the time came we would check further into it.
He just surprised us with his unexpected visit and offer. ChevytaHOE5674 the location may have had a lot to do with it as you said.


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## tomtrees58 (Feb 19, 2009)

18 inch is to small to much white wood not worth $$$ tom trees


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## booboo (Feb 20, 2009)

A couple of years ago I priced a bunch of black walnut removals for a guy. They were all yard trees, he had planted them many years earlier with the intention of selling them. The theory was that we would take them down, chip the brush, he'd keep the firewood and we'd market and arrange trucking on the logs and get a percentage of the sale. I rough scaled them, don't remember the exact #'s but most were 18-24" dbh but had never been pruned so there were a lot of defects and almost all the logs were short, almost none over 12'. I took the #'s to a forester I work with and there was no way to make the job pay, the market was better then too. Trees are still there, just drove by them today!


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