Black Walnut as firewood

[Mkarlson]

There is a small mill or two around as well as a guy who has a sweet portable bandmill. Guess I should make some calls.

 

[bluequill56]

Isn't there a decent sized mill right across the river from you right before you turn to go to West Lebanon? Thought I saw one there last time I was over that way. Been wanting to go ther to see if I could get some oak planks for a project. Been thinking CSM, too. Sounds funner to make them than buy them!

 

[Mkarlson]

yep thats cooksies mill. They were once a large set up from what I can tell they have slowed down some. I havent talked to the owners in a long while when I was in my teens I worked in a restraunt and talked to them almost daily, nice people. I did notice they are selling kiln dried firewood and OWB now. The guy with the bandmill lives just south of west lebanon a mile or so believe his outfit is called white oak custom milling or similiar.

 

[mayor]

Hey...I'm one of them crazy hillbillies down here in WV.....wife bout melted a stove down for me with black locust that was dry......we burn almost exclusively black oak and sassafrass.......very little ashes too clean out and burns nice and hot.....long burn also!. Sassafrass is quick burn and really hot....gets the green black oak burning good though. These are my favorite woods too burn.
We have a bandmill.....and a nice woodshop also, my favorite wood is walnut to build furniture out of. Dont know why, its messy, fairly hard on tooling....but once done, and ya hit it with the urethane.......priceless!.
We cut down the black oaks and they all go into firewood......black oak on a sawmill is almost impossible!.....warps, cups, twists, curls, pinches, splits, and binds!....I hate trying too mill it......but I love cuttin it for firewood and its splits really easy!.

 

[AshleyShea]

I have a black walnut tree in my backyard. It's a bit too close to the house. I need to have some branches trimmed away to keep them from falling on my roof this winter. Plus, the walnuts landing on the roof in the middle of the night is not a sound I enjoy waking up to.

I have a couple of questions about the wood I wonder if any of you can answer.

1. How large would the branches have to be in order for them to be of interest to a woodworker?

2. How long do I need to season the wood before I can burn it? And, can I just leave it stacked in the backyard to season, or do I need to get wood rack to get it up off the ground?

Thanks for your help!

 

[Cheesecutter]

I can't help with your 1st question, but as far as seasoning it goes I figure 1 year from the time you split and stack it. If it isn't split the bark will hold the moisture in. I like to stack mine 4 to 8 inches off the ground.

 

[haveawoody]

Black walnut is middle of the road wood IMO.
Better second season dried than first season.

Elm all depends on the variety and if it was cut dead or alive.
The wild differences people experience with elm all come down to when it was cut and cured.

American elm cut green and cured, middle of the road.
American elm cut dead better than white ash.

Red elm cut green and cured better than white ash.
Red elm cut dead similar to white oak.

Rock elm cut green and cured similar to white oak.
Rock elm cut dead good competition for Osage orange.

 

[haveawoody]

AshleyShea,

If it's in your backyard the answer is it wont matter how big.
Very few mills would ever take a city tree so unless you could find someone willing to foot the bill for removal and hauling to a private mill(usually more expensive than value of the tree) then it's best value is as firewood after you fell the tree..

 

[Dirtboy]

Haveawoodys right, mill wont want to bother.
From prior experience with a black walnut in my yard that had to go for the same reasons-cut it to length, split it, stack about 6"s off the ground. It did not burn well for me until it had been seasoned for a year and a half. Seems to need a bit to dry out.

 

[zogger]

If you want to give the branches away, you could try asking your question on "what size" over in this forum

http://www.arboristsite.com/wood-carving-turning/

Not sure, say, what a gunstock maker might need.

It is mostly an urban legend that black walnut trees from the yard will make you rich. Sort of a joke around here.

funny video someone linked here before to put it into perspective

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTgQHWQoatg

Now wild, straight, from in the forest black walnut, can be a different story as to value, but yard trees almost always have long ago embedded trash/metal/concrete patch/nails whatever which would destroy a sawmill blade and maybe seriously injure a worker, so mills won't take them.

And no one is going to pay you for treework around houses, just doesn't happen. It is a dangerous and skilled technical job, and the guys who do it charge accordingly.

 

[Ontario Firewood Resource]

Walnut is rated at 22 million BTU per bush cord, just under 24 million, which is considered good hardwood like sugar maple and red oak. Mediocre woods like birch and silver maple are about 20 million BTU per cord.

 

[PA. Woodsman]

Walnut is rated at 22 million BTU per bush cord, just under 24 million, which is considered good hardwood like sugar maple and red oak. Mediocre woods like birch and silver maple are about 20 million BTU per cord.

I would rank it closer to Silver Maple and Birch than Sugar Maple and Red Oak from my experience with it, it's okay but not great to my mind. But it's wood and it burns.

 

[Ontario Firewood Resource]

I would rank it closer to Silver Maple and Birch than Sugar Maple and Red Oak from my experience with it, it's okay but not great to my mind. But it's wood and it burns.

It has a softer quality inside and out. the heart/sapwood both have that shine to it like silver maple, box elder and basswood. It does not seem like dense hardwood overall. I usually get cherry but black cherry is pretty much identical but the heartwood/ sapwood of black cherry looks more dense and hard, like how honey locust has that solid look to it.

 

[bbxlr8]

FWIW: I can't stand burning walnut; and as others have noted, the ash fills up fast (not worth it IMO unless you don't have other options). Not a fan of elm either...
LOVE cherry!