walnut-how to choose & where purchase?
woodenhead
| Posted in Wood and Materials on
I would like to purchase approx. 40bd ft. walnut, what should i look for,and where is a good source .I am located Long Island N.Y. ps what is the price per bd ft.
Replies
What to look for depends pretty heavily on what you want to make. For example, I make reproductions of 18th. century furniture. I buy flitch sawn boards wide enough to make cabinet sides and table tops with no glue up, or only one glue line. I also like wood that has not been steamed in drying, since that overly homogenizes the colors.
Modern furniture can encorporate sap wood color lightness into the designs, allowing purchase of narrower boards, or boards with more sap wood.
Sap wood isn't a defect in the grading system, by the way. So you can't know how much you will have if you just order 40 bd. ft. of FAS.
Kiln dried walnut that has been steamed is probably the most common outside of the producing areas such as Pennsylvania, and works well if you are seeking a look similar to factory made furniture. Steaming causes certain chemical changes that darken sapwood to make it more usable. Unfortunately, these changes also eliminate some of the color variations that can make walnut very interesting.
I'm still working off the last log I purchased, so don't have a handle on prices. I got the log at Groff & Groff in Lancaster County PA. There are others in the area that also have wonderful wood. One that I have used is Good Hope Hardwoods--its a small operation so call ahead. Hearn Lumber has a good reputation. Shipping from these locations isn't as expensive as you might think. Oh, all of these have web sites for more info.
Thanks for the infomation, you can cut your logs,what type of equiptment do you have ?
I wasn't very clear. I purchased most of the wallnut log flitch cut to 5/4 planks. The boards ranged from about 14" to almost 18" of heartwood (plus about 2" of sapwood on the edges, which were left waney, that I won't use.) I won't have to resaw the boards for my current project. I do have a 16" jointer/planer combination (Hammer) to reduce the amount of hand planing.
I personally like walnut that has not been steamed, it's jut got more character. But steamed is fine if that's all you can find. There are a number of hardwood dealers in western NY along the Niagara Frontier. I bought wood from many of them while living in Buffalo. Prices vary so much from place to place and based on the quantity that you purchase that it's difficult to say beyond a very generic price. I'd figure about $6.50 a bd.ft. as a minimum that I would expect to pay and it could go up from there.
Thanks for your input,what should the moisture content be for air dried walnut before you build a piece of furniture? Do you have a test procedure?/http://www.hearnehardwoods.com/Inventory/Apple.html
Edited 7/22/2006 10:02 am ET by woodenhead
woodenhead,
Your location will determine the exact amount of dryness.. In the winter here it's relatively easy to get wood down to the ideal 7% It's hard to get below 10% in the summer.
I use a mini Lingo moisture meter to determine the moisture in my wood..
woodenhead,
I too vote for air dried walnut. The colors you get from it are so dramatically better and brighter than steam injected kiln dried walnut that it seems a complete waste.
Heck if you use kiln dried and steamed walnut why not just buy plywood and stain it.. (I'm really sorry for that I'm extremely opinonated on the subject)...
Here in Minnesota Black FAS walnut sells for about $1.65 a bd.ft. rough and green at the mill. If I buy it kiln dried, surfaced four sides FAS it's about $9.80 a bd.ft. but comes in a nice clear plastic wrapper. I could buy it like that at Home depot or any lumberyard..
Now I buy mill run walnut because I hate it when somebody seperates out the really stunning wood with a lot of character Mill run sells for about $1.00 a bd.ft. (not long ago I could buy all I wanted at 17 cents a bd.ft. but prices have gone up dramatically in the last 8 years)..
Lumber yard wood seldom is wider than 6 or 8 inches. While it comes up to 22 inches wide at the sawmill. I f I go to a mill that has a top/bottom blade setup I can buy boards as wide as 45 inches.
Let me know what you wind up paying will you?
Woodenhead,
I usually frequent this place since it's only a few miles away:
ML CONDON 248 Ferris Ave. White Plains, NY 10603 tel: 914-946-4111 fax: 914-946-3779
They let you pick through the stacks; the lumber is S2S (13/16" for 4/4) and the walnut selection is pretty good. I've also purchased cherry, birch, butternut, maple and oak. They'll crosscut to fit in my truck, put a straight edge on one or more boards, and thickness plane it if you want (extra charge of course). Knowledgeable folks.
RoyH
You have an excellant source in NY that I use for small quantities and good wood, Their name is West Penn Hardwoods, inc, towards Cleveland, Ohio. They package good, cut to size, pick out good stuff, and I have been satisfied. Regarding price, they are in the ball park and generally high, but if you have a small project, sometimes it don't matter. They phone is 716-373-6434 And Web stie is westpenhardwoods.com.
Wall lumber in NC, will do it and ship small amounts ups (75lbs limit), more than that will be by common carrier. They have a regular sale on walnut, if you can use it. Decent price.
http://www.walllumber.com/special/Featured.asp
WOODENHEAD
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FREDDY ROMAN
18TH CENTURY FURNITURE MAKER
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