Walnut Stump

Griff,

In my opinion depending on the size, condition and quantity that is there would determine what I would do with the stump. Forming 1” boards would be decent to sell but depending on the twists, knots and cracks you may not get enough out to make it worthwhile. Slabbing off 3/8 or 1/4” would be fine maybe if you could slab off 1” or thicker it would be better, this way it could maybe be sold for a table top. Or some cases people will clean the whole stump up, slab off just a 1/2” to show the beauty of the wood and sell it as is and use it for an end table. Depending on the beauty of the wood will also show the consumer what they are getting and I’ve worked with alot of walnut and black walnut. Love em both! Gorgeous woods!!

Hope this helps.

-- "I don't cut wood. I machine it!" G.M.

I’ve asked this type of question of my peers and the concensus seems to be that you can’t tell what you have until you cut it. It’s a guessing game as to whether one section of the wood is more usable than another.

It all depends on who is going to use what for what. Cut it one way and somebody will say that it would have been nice to have cut it slightly different to get some crotch or swirl or live edge.

Maybe cut through the middle at the widest point to show off what a slab will be. Then sell/cut as needed by the customer. I don’t know….however you cut it, some one will for sure want something different.

-- arborial reconfiguration specialist

Cut it 2 1/2” thick for gunstock blanks if he is looking for a marketable product. If he is new to milling…this could be a learning experience…and a blade wrecking one. I would not even sharecut for 1/2’s personally, I would want an hourly rate + blade damage charge. Me milling a walnut stump.

And to add, sawn thick at first will allow the wood to dry intact/flat (with any luck) and could always be resawn later if he finds a market for thin stock. There is a lot of reaction wood in a stump and fresh sawn thin is asking for trouble drying IMO.

-- Urban logger, http://nelsonwoodworks.biz/

I’m watching this thread with interest as I have a lot of walnut stumps .I plan to cut 3 inch slabs that will finish out at 2 and something . Daren’s pictures are pretty cool -

I did not go into an explanation of blade damage. Depending on the soil (it’s rocky here) the roots overgrow the rocks and they can be nasty surprises on the sawmill. Being an urban logger I cut right through my fair share of nails…rocks just don’t cut with a band blade. It is a wreck when you hit one. I have had cases where after hitting a rock the band dove so hard off the cut I had to use tin snips to cut the band to even get it out of the kerf. No backing up or going forward, just cut the band and get it out of there (and wipe your butt on another $20 bill). And of course that slab and the next one were miscut due to the band diving. That is why I said I would never saw for 1/2. My last bit of advice would be if at all possible let that stump soak in a pond or something for a month or so, it will help clean it up. All that dirt/rocks are band killers and just a pressure washing is usually not enough. Wish your buddy good luck.

-- Urban logger, http://nelsonwoodworks.biz/