Black Walnut value?

[CHCRandy]

What is a black walnut worth...anyone know? I had a guy ask me earlier if I wanted a black walnut tree that blew over in his yard. He said it is about 60-80' tall and nice, wind blew it over, stump and all. I told him my buddy would cut it up for firewood and the guy gave me a funny look and said he hated to see it used for firewood, that it was a nice tree. Just got my curiosity up as to what a tree like that is worth. Is it worth the time to remove it? Thanks.

 

[Vigilant]

Don't know, but it's expensive to buy, found it for sale as low as $11.99 per board foot? Under 99 board feet!

 

[seedubs1]

You can't just cut it up and expect it to be furniture grade. You'd need to let it dry/cure and stabilize. Lots of time and expertise involved. Either tell him to give it to a lumber company, or chop it up for firewood.

Unless this is just something you want to do for fun. That's cool too. But the time and energy involved is high, and I'm guessing you don't have the proper saws, etc... to properly process the wood into usable lumber.

I do know a guy that does this kind of stuff. Black Dog Boards LLC in Columbus, IN. He can chop it up into usable lumber.

 

[snorko]

I guess you could contact a small harvester and see if they were interested but most folks avoid any trees in urban areas.

 

[lovemachine]

That would be expensive firewood.

The wood would be very green, and would need to be dried out. Walnut is VERY pretty when finished, here is a bowl I made from black walnut on my lathe..

 

[ghuns]

What is a black walnut worth...anyone know? I had a guy ask me earlier if I wanted a black walnut tree that blew over in his yard. He said it is about 60-80' tall and nice, wind blew it over, stump and all. I told him my buddy would cut it up for firewood and the guy gave me a funny look and said he hated to see it used for firewood, that it was a nice tree. Just got my curiosity up as to what a tree like that is worth. Is it worth the time to remove it? Thanks.

Straight, clear, black walnut logs are worth a lot. They are worth the most to veneer companies. But they don't want anything that grew near a house or fence line. Too much risk of hitting something metal with their uber expensive knives.

When I was a kid, my dad took me to an auction. The auction was for a single black walnut tree. It was a massive tree and no limbs until you got way up high. It had been x-rayed and was guaranteed to be free from metal. A company from Germany bought it and shipped it to their factory to be turned into veneer. I don't remember what it sold for, but I remember my dad telling my mom, it went for way more than our house was worth.

 

[lovemachine]

I made this from black walnut and cherry.

The wood I used had been kiln dried. Drying wood can be tricky, and takes a long time. You have to do it just right so it doesn't warp and crack too much.

 

[eldirector]

It does burn well, though. I've gotten a bit from a friend's property, and hope to get a bunch more this year. Much smaller than that, though.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

Straight, clear, black walnut logs are worth a lot. They are worth the most to veneer companies. But they don't want anything that grew near a house or fence line. Too much risk of hitting something metal with their uber expensive knives.

When I was a kid, my dad took me to an auction. The auction was for a single black walnut tree. It was a massive tree and no limbs until you got way up high. It had been x-rayed and was guaranteed to be free from metal. A company from Germany bought it and shipped it to their factory to be turned into veneer. I don't remember what it sold for, but I remember my dad telling my mom, it went for way more than our house was worth.

I remember taking a tour of a veneer mill when I was in college. They said that the highest value walnut for veneer comes from old-growth deep-woods trees that have very regularly spaced growth-rings throughout. They said that they got most of their logs from Pennsylvania for the top-quality stuff. Trees grown in the open may still be fine for furniture or flooring, but it still depends on how branchy it is.

I love walnut firewood, it splits like a dream.

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

Tell him to get a couple of estimates, I might be in for that. I have one out front I'm going to be taking down this year, and plan to do some rifle stocks and whatnot. Just not in a big hurry

 

[HamsterStyle]

Dupe

 

[HamsterStyle]

First thing I'd do is make sure it's a walnut tree. To a novice such as myself, the leaves for a walnut tree and an ash tree are similar. I thought I had a big, black walnut tree come down and come to find out, it was a white ash. Haha. Oops. Glad nobody ever followed through with coming to look at it. I would also see why the wind blew it down. In my case, it was bugs eating the bottom out of it.
https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...ling-trees-off-your-property-hows-done-2.html

 

[chubbs]

Get a few estimates. I grew up in the hardwood buisness and will give you fair warning that theres alot of crooks in it. As someone else said, most won't have anything to do with a yard tree. Metal ruins the mills knifes, stains the wood, and is dangerous when being milled. The price per board ft. Will vary depending on condition, size, scars, etc

 

[Dirtebiker]

Most mills aren't interested in a single tree.
it really is just as well cut up and used for firewood unless you've got a specific use for it.

 

[natdscott]

In that the log was blown over, there is a decent chance that it has been damaged internally by the violence of the fall. In addition, it is already on the ground and drying as we speak, the opposite of the controlled manner loggers and lumber companies like to execute for good walnut.

Put these two together and it is unlikely that a veneer buyer would be interested. Lumber...maybe. But ONE log is a tough sell unless it is really large, or really high quality, preferably both.

-Nate

 

[Clay]

In that the log was blown over, there is a decent chance that it has been damaged internally by the violence of the fall.

so how would a logger, specifically one wanting a tree for it's lumber, get the tree on the ground in another way that wouldn't hurt it?

 

[shibumiseeker]

For a single windblown yard tree the best bet is to find someone nearby with a portable mill. WoodMizer maintains a directory of sawyers with their mills (I've had mine since '93). They may be willing to cut on shares, or even buy it outright. For a decent walnut on the ground near me that I ran a metal detector on I might give thirty cents a board foot depending on a number of factors. If I cut for shares for a small job it'd be half to two thirds depending on quality. If someone brings me the logs I charge by the hour.

 

[bocefus78]

so how would a logger, specifically one wanting a tree for it's lumber, get the tree on the ground in another way that wouldn't hurt it?

With a feller buncher or a very controlled felling cut.
Wood fiber can pull when the hit hard and instantly turns a $5000 per 1000bd ft tree into pulp wood or firewood.

Op, if it's a yard tree, it's firewood and be careful cutting it. Root ball will stand back up if not cut properly and can kill a man quickly

 

[natdscott]

so how would a logger, specifically one wanting a tree for it's lumber, get the tree on the ground in another way that wouldn't hurt it?

In addition to what bocefus said above, it's simple: you fell the veneer tree onto another crap tree to slow it's fall.

-Nate

 

[Woobie]

If you do sell it as firewood, I might be interested in any spots like crooks, or burls, etc. They typically suck to split for firewood, anyway.