Replies

1. 
   JasonT | Jun 27, 2009 05:57pm | #1

   In the stack the sap still seems a little lighter in my opinion, but in general that is not the point.  The heartwood has been "drained" of many of it's color attributes.

   Nonsteamed walnut is generally darker and can have alot more character like purple streaks and ambrosia characteristics sometimes.

   If you have to use steamed lumber, you can use Van Dyck Crystals to add some of the color back (in a close to "natural" way as possible since the crystals are made from walnut husks) or using amber shellac in the finish can also help, but you are going to lose alot of the character of non-steamed product.

   If you cannot find a local source of non-steamed walnut there are some options.  If you need just a little bit of walnut ebay or other online sources might be an option.  If you think you could use alot signing up on woodplanet.com and watching the offers to sell is alos an option (with freight and quantities north of 500BF).  I am sure alot of folks poo-poo these ideas due to shipping costs, but when you buy in quantity those costs are spread across many board feet.

2. 
   frenchy | Jun 27, 2009 06:37pm | #2

   Fred:

      Any Air dried walnut will have such a variety of colors purples, reds, browns, blacks, white, green, etc.. that it has infinately more life and vibrancy than steamed walnut.

     Kiln dried black walnut will have been steamed to turn the sap wood from white to brown.  In doing so all of those vibrant colors will have become motted (turn a bland brown) 

     Now you need to look at what wood you intend to match and see if it's kiln dried or air dried..  If it's kiln dried and you put air dried walnut with it.  The rest of the walnut will seem dowdy.  If it's air dried and you use Kiln dried your work will seem dowdy..

     Next is finishing.. ask if you'd like help in that area.  

3. 
   forestgirl | Jun 27, 2009 06:38pm | #3

   I don't have a really picky eye when it comes to tones in wood, so not sure if this will help or not.  My one walnut project was my first experience with using dye to even out the color of wood.  I stayed away from steamed, and read up on Jeff Jewitt's Transtint dyes.  Below are pictures of the dyed and the un-dyed, with shellac finish.  The process was magical to watch!

   A left-over piece of stock, typical in it's unneveness:

   View Image 

    

   Three boards, post-dye, front and back (with another piece of untreated scrap):

   View Image

   View Image

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 

   
   

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   Edited 6/27/2009 11:39 am by forestgirl

1. 
   frenchy | Jun 27, 2009 06:49pm | #4

   forest girl;

      Please take that one piece of scrap and simply shellac it.. You'll note a richness and vibrancy that is lost when you dyed it.. that's those flecks of white and green etc.. that the dye turnd brown..

4. 
   SteveSchoene | Jun 27, 2009 09:30pm | #5

   Some of the panoply of colors in air dried walnut are rather transient anyway and will be brown in a year or two anyway, though the range of contrast will still remain.  You can find kiln dried walnut that hasn't had excess steam to color the sap wood, and you will still get much of the long term attractiveness of air dried with the stability and pest free advantages of kiln dried wood.  Done this way, the only steam in the kiln drying is that needed to prevent stress defects.  You can still design to incorporate the sapwood if you want. 

   But, unless your design specifically takes advantage of the contrast between heartwood and sapwood, I still think the best policy is to buy enough to leave the sap wood in the scrap bin, or perhaps as a secondary wood some unseen place. 

5. 
   pmmatty | Jun 28, 2009 02:37am | #6

   When I started using walnut, I sweated all of the same details (questions) which you are.  Drove myself nuts.  Air dried; kiln dried, etc.

   finally I did what the late great Sam Maloof did.  I ordered number 1 and 2 common (from Hearne Hardwoods). (I don't know where sam bought his stock, but he did use common, reasoning it had more character than f and s.)

   I have built numerous chairs from this walnut.  In my opinion it is beautiful.  I personally cannot tell the difference between air dried and kiln dried.  I machine the boards and use the ones I like, and make sure to match grain as close as possible.

   Sometimes I think we overthink these things when the end results, if any, are minimal.  pmm

1. 
   frenchy | Jun 28, 2009 04:22am | #7

   Amen Brother!  I couldn't agree with you more..

    I buy Mill run wood  which is boards as they come off the log.. It's cheaper that way and you get the wonderful stuff that's often sorted out and sold for great prices..

     The character and interest in that wood is fantastic.

    Have you ever seen fiddleback black walnut?  I've got a lot of it.. that and zebra stripe, burls and heck some knots make really interesting character to what otherwise would be a dull brown board!

6. 
   WillGeorge | Jun 30, 2009 06:50am | #8

   Fred..

   Sir..

   Go to your local hardwood supplier. Get the least expensive hunk of walnut with the sapwood and make something from it AS IT IS..

   I wonder why most folks try to change wood as it was in real life? I for one love it AS IS!

   I for one look for 'pretty wood'. I care less if some sapwood shows!

   EDIT:

   I lost my last walnut tree last week in a rain/wind storm here near Chicago.. Not sure what kind of walnut.. A very big tree that went down in my yard and my neighbors yard..

   We had to cut it up and haul it out for the village folks to take away. Such a shame.. It looked beautiful to me.. BUT most of the center of the tree had rotted away and was hollow..

   I wanted to save some of the wood but the village came with the 100 hp? TREE GRINDER before I could get any good wood!

   I am sure my walnut tree will be living in one of our parks as mulch under little children feet!

   
   

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   Edited 6/30/2009 12:07 am by WillGeorge