Today we’re going to talk about how walnut lumber is like a treasure hunt for skilled woodworkers. We all know walnut, it’s the polished dark brown wood you’ve seen in furniture or on the stock of an old shotgun. Why is walnut wood so special anyway? For the most part, I’ll be talking from the North American point of view, but of course much of this applies to the rest of the world especially some northern European areas. For example one of my favorite materials by far is English walnut lumber.
So, the first reason why walnut is special is that distinctive characteristic that made you picture it immediately in your head, the color. This wood so happens to be the only dark wood native to North America, thus its popularity.
I wonder if there were other dark hardwoods around if walnut would still be considered the king of cabinet makers? A question for the gods I guess. The interesting thing about the color is that it’s absolutely crucial the way in which the walnut lumber is dried and treated that reaps full benefits of the tree’s natural heart wood color. I will talk about this in detail in a bit. Just to touch on what I meant by “heart” wood, this is the wood in the inner most part of the tree, this has the richest color of the tree. Moving out towards the bark, you will find the sapwood. In walnut, the sap wood can be very light in color. If you’ve ever seen a slab cut of walnut lumber you will easily see the light colored sapwood on the outermost edges and then the dark wood through the rest of the slab.
The other attribute of walnut is the grain pattern. Not only is the color rich, the grain within that color is spectacular. Generally speaking walnut lumber has a rather tight and straight grain. This makes it great for craftsmen because it is a bit more predictable and there is no erratic pattern distract from the form and design of their work of art. Like most things in life, not all walnut hardwood has a straight grain, enter walnut burl wood. I think most of you are familiar with this products beautiful swirl, flame and branch patterns. I could write a whole post on this alone, so I’ll keep it short this time. Burl wood is very special because the tree overcame some extreme stress to produce this kind of pattern. Typically, a severe drought, unpredictable weather patterns, insect or fungus infestation can all stress a tree enough to go into survival mode, the slow growing tree grows even slower conserving water. The capillaries in the wood gather any nutrients, stretching turning anyway to survive. Meanwhile the heart of the tree acts as a tank, which just hold the water and nutrients creating a grainless pattern. If, the tree survives, it goes back to growing like it used to when the conditions improve. Once the tree is harvested into walnut hardwood lumber it’s immediately apparent at which stages of the tree’s life it was fighting for it’s life, or if nothing looks too obvious the tree had a pretty darn good life.
Sometimes woods appearance is not the only reason which makes it valuable. Walnut lumber has a hidden attribute too, it’s ability to resist shock waves with the grain is unique. Most guns in the civil war had walnut stocks just for this reason. The stock would be reliable and not break down over time. I have a hunch that this may be the same attribute may be why walnut is used in many fine musical instruments. It’s ability to handle the recoil of a shotgun blast also relates to how well the vibrations from a string in an instrument reverberate off the wood creating a reliable, consistent and beautiful tone.
The last amazing quality of walnut lumber is it’s hardness. This probably is a bit related to the paragraph above, but this wood is hard, but workable. This is important to have this balance. If the wood is crazy hard, woodworkers have a difficult time achieving the form they want because it requires to much force to manipulate it. In contrast, if the wood is too soft, then it is very difficult to get a beautiful finish on the surface. Soft woods can never get a silky smooth surface like the harder woods can. Walnut for a wood lathe. Turning this on a wood lathe is a beautiful thing.
All these attributes make this wood a go-to material for skilled woodworkers. No matter if they are making floors, furniture or violins it starts with the walnut lumber. A great chef will use the finest ingredients for their craft, so why wouldn’t a woodworker do the same. Many craftsmen will hand select their walnut lumber for each specific project.
There are any suppliers domestically with amazing product. From the Midwest places like Minnesota, to areas of the Northeast to Oregon in the Pacific Northwest walnut can be found. There are pockets of growth of these trees. Most of the wood today come from reclaimed situations, meaning this wood is not being clear-cut or cultivated irresponsibly. The main species we’re talking about is the Juglandaceae Nigra also known as the Black Walnut. Black walnut lumber is the standard within the species. Back in the day, as in when they were using walnut in the stocks for the civil war, these trees were known to grow to 140+ feet and nearly 6 feet in diameter. Today, the black walnut trees max out at around 100 feet. I have seen some pretty massive Claro walnut lumber slabs, but I’m not sure how big the trees were. Claro walnut lumber is definitely worth checking out, it has a slightly different color and grain profile that can create some amazing end results to your project.
Okay, now we know why walnut lumber is special and also sought after, now let’s talk about treating the lumber. As far as cultivating the product, as I stated above, walnut is cut responsibly. Of course, there are always a few bad exceptions, but these occurrences are very rare. Now for the most critical step: drying walnut lumber. There are a few ways to do it, all of which have their place. For true aficionados, air drying is the way to go. This can take several years which adds an exponential cost to the product, but the wait and for some, the cost is well worth it. With air drying walnut lumber, the wood color is at it’s richest. A nice air dried piece of walnut is very distinctive with its super rich chocolate brown with a slight deep purple hue. Not only is the color preferable, it continues to get better with age comes a gorgeous patina. It’s an incredible color only achieved with the slowest of the drying processes. The next process is kiln drying walnut lumber. This is obviously much much quicker, but it has a graying effect on the color and reduces the wood’s natural patina. I’m not saying that the kiln dried looks bad, it looks great, just not at the caliber of the air dried variety. The last process is know as steaming. This is a little different that a straight up drying procedure because this process also requires time in a kiln. The reason for steaming is to get that lighter sapwood I was talking about to turn darker. Sometimes this sapwood can look indistinguishable from the heartwood, some suppliers even try to pass it off as heart grade wood. Not cool. I always like to know what I get. I believe the quality of this wood is probably fine, but the fewer things done to the walnut hardwood lumber, the better.
Walnut lumber prices range wildly. You probably understand why now. Each piece can have a unique look and thus a unique value. Sometime that look is cherished thorough drying walnut lumber slowly which obviously adds to the price. I would say that price is important for us all these days, but it shouldn’t be everything. I would recommended forming a relationship with your supplier. Get to know them and tell them what you are using the product for. Often times when something comes available that they think you may find interesting, you’ll be the first person they call. Also you being a repeat customer, they’ll give you the best possible price. Everyone wins!
So for all of you woodworkers or aspiring woodworkers, I hope you enjoyed this information on walnut lumber, I hope you found it useful.
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